Currently on view at the Portland Art Museum, Botticelli’s painting is a masterwork on its own, but is also part of a group of works that give us a precious window into this artist’s working methods and collaborative workshop practice. This talk will explore the Madonna of the Magnificat as an important part of a family of works that show Botticelli’s links to his own teachers, such as Fra Filippo Lippi, and set important precedents for High-Renaissance painters such as Michelangelo. Join us during the closing weekend of Masterworks | Portland: Botticelli for this insightful presentation with Benjamin David and for final viewings of the artwork.
Benjamin David specializes in Italian art from 1300-1600, with an emphasis on Early Renaissance painting. His scholarship and teaching engage the historical and theoretical implications of the practice of narrative in Renaissance art and theories of narrative more generally. He is especially interested in the relationship between art and literature. Other research projects and courses explore the complex nature of the Renaissance engagement with classical antiquity and visualizations of Dante’s Divine Comedy from the fourteenth century to the present day. He is also interested in how contemporary art creates dialogues with Renaissance and Medieval Art and in the intersections of art history and theories of memory. He holds an MA and PhD from the Institute of Fine Arts, New York and a BA from New York University.