Tristan Weddigen

Tristan Weddigen is a renowned art historian and director of the Department Weddigen at the Bibliotheca Hertziana – Max Planck Institute for Art History in Rome since 2017. He holds a full professorship in the history of early modern art at the University of Zurich (since 2009) and has previously held academic positions at the University of Bern (2008) and University of Lausanne (assistant professor).

• Research Priorities:
  • Global aspects of Italian art from early modern to contemporary
  • Materiality and mediality of art
  • Transnational history of art history
  • Digital visual studies
  • Decolonizing Italian visual culture

His work critically engages with transcultural art discourses, decolonial methodologies, and computational approaches. He leads the Collected Works of Heinrich Wölfflin project and the Bellori Edition Project, both foundational to art-historical scholarship. The department also drives the ScienceForUkraine initiative, addressing geopolitical challenges.

Selected Publications: Weddigen co-edits the Collected Works of Heinrich Wölfflin (10+ volumes) and Bellori’s Vite (13 volumes), exploring intersections of art theory, biography, and methodological innovation. His department’s projects emphasize digital infrastructures like the Hertziana DH Lab and collaborate with institutions such as the Getty Foundation and Research Centre Ukraine.