Dr Ana Debenedetti is an art historian specializing in Florentine art, artistic literature, patronage and workshop practice in the Renaissance. She is Director of the Bemberg Foundation in Toulouse, which comprises a rich collection of fine and decorative arts spanning 5 centuries of creation from the late 15th century to 1945. From 2013 to 2021, she was Curator of Paintings at the Victoria and Albert Museum, responsible for the collections of paintings, drawings, watercolours and miniatures. From 2021 to 2022, she was Director of Exhibitions and Culture at Culturespaces, responsible for the cultural programmation of the Musee Jacquemart-Andre in Paris and the Hotel de Caumont at Aix-en-Provence. She was also acting as consultant for the Des Lumieres network, which presents immersive art experience in France and abroad. She has written and published on Renaissance art, philosophy and poetry and holds a PhD in History of Art focusing on the artistic and cultural milieu of Quattrocento Florence, the interaction between philosophy and artistic literature through the work of Marsilio Ficino (1433-1499). She was co-curator of the exhibition « Constable: The Making of a Master » (2015), « Botticelli reimagined » (2016), both at the V&A, and recently curated « Botticelli Artiste et Designer » (2021) at the Musée Jacquemart-André.
Au XVe siecle, le philosophe florentin Marsile Ficin (1433-1499) redige un texte singulier intitu... more Au XVe siecle, le philosophe florentin Marsile Ficin (1433-1499) redige un texte singulier intitule De vita coelitus comparanda ou « comment obtenir la vie du ciel » qui deviendra le troisieme et dernier livre d’un ouvrage medical de plus large envergure, le De vita libri tres, consacre a conserver et a prolonger la sante des hommes de lettres accables sous le poids de l’etude. Ce texte est tout entier consacre au pouvoir apotropaique et prophylactique du talisman ou « image astrologique », une notion savante qui apparait en Occident au milieu du XIIIe siecle, et insiste tout particulierement sur la materialite, la forme et l’apparence de ces images. Ainsi Ficin developpe-t-il un discours original par rapport a la tradition en se concentrant sur le processus de fabrication, discours qui n’est pas sans rappeler les premieres theories de l’art qui apparaissent a la meme epoque a Florence. Ficin rehabilite la figure du mage antique dans le cadre d’une reflexion plus vaste qui met en ex...
Digital exhibition for The Visual Commentary on Scripture (VCS): a freely accessible online publi... more Digital exhibition for The Visual Commentary on Scripture (VCS): a freely accessible online publication that provides theological commentary on the Bible in dialogue with works of art.
A revealing look at the commercial strategy and diverse output of this canonical Renaissance arti... more A revealing look at the commercial strategy and diverse output of this canonical Renaissance artist.
In this vivid account, Ana Debenedetti reexamines the life and work of Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli through a novel lens: his business acumen. Focusing on the organization of Botticelli’s workshop and the commercial strategies he devised to make his way in Florence’s very competitive art market, Debenedetti looks with fresh eyes at the remarkable career and output of this pivotal artist within the wider context of Florentine society and culture. Uniquely, Debenedetti evaluates Botticelli’s celebrated works, like The Birth of Venus, alongside less familiar forms such as tapestry and embroidery, showing the breadth of the artist’s oeuvre and his talent as a designer across media.
It was during the Renaissance period that sculptors’ models, together with drawings, were first a... more It was during the Renaissance period that sculptors’ models, together with drawings, were first assembled by avid collectors fascinated by the tangible evidence of the creative process of the artist. This fully illustrated collection of essays by distinguished scholars and experts in the field focuses on the process of sculptural design in 15th- and 16th-century Europe.
Co-authored with Alessandra Rodolfo (Musei Vaticani) and Brett Dolman (Royal Historic Palaces), t... more Co-authored with Alessandra Rodolfo (Musei Vaticani) and Brett Dolman (Royal Historic Palaces), this book presents a new consideration of Raphael's achievements a designer across media, shedding fresh light on the Cartoons history from their creation, their acquisition by the English Crown in 1623, to their loan to the South Kensington Museum by Queen Victoria in 1865.
Au XVe siecle, le philosophe florentin Marsile Ficin (1433-1499) redige un texte singulier intitu... more Au XVe siecle, le philosophe florentin Marsile Ficin (1433-1499) redige un texte singulier intitule De vita coelitus comparanda ou « comment obtenir la vie du ciel » qui deviendra le troisieme et dernier livre d’un ouvrage medical de plus large envergure, le De vita libri tres, consacre a conserver et a prolonger la sante des hommes de lettres accables sous le poids de l’etude. Ce texte est tout entier consacre au pouvoir apotropaique et prophylactique du talisman ou « image astrologique », une notion savante qui apparait en Occident au milieu du XIIIe siecle, et insiste tout particulierement sur la materialite, la forme et l’apparence de ces images. Ainsi Ficin developpe-t-il un discours original par rapport a la tradition en se concentrant sur le processus de fabrication, discours qui n’est pas sans rappeler les premieres theories de l’art qui apparaissent a la meme epoque a Florence. Ficin rehabilite la figure du mage antique dans le cadre d’une reflexion plus vaste qui met en ex...
Digital exhibition for The Visual Commentary on Scripture (VCS): a freely accessible online publi... more Digital exhibition for The Visual Commentary on Scripture (VCS): a freely accessible online publication that provides theological commentary on the Bible in dialogue with works of art.
A revealing look at the commercial strategy and diverse output of this canonical Renaissance arti... more A revealing look at the commercial strategy and diverse output of this canonical Renaissance artist.
In this vivid account, Ana Debenedetti reexamines the life and work of Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli through a novel lens: his business acumen. Focusing on the organization of Botticelli’s workshop and the commercial strategies he devised to make his way in Florence’s very competitive art market, Debenedetti looks with fresh eyes at the remarkable career and output of this pivotal artist within the wider context of Florentine society and culture. Uniquely, Debenedetti evaluates Botticelli’s celebrated works, like The Birth of Venus, alongside less familiar forms such as tapestry and embroidery, showing the breadth of the artist’s oeuvre and his talent as a designer across media.
It was during the Renaissance period that sculptors’ models, together with drawings, were first a... more It was during the Renaissance period that sculptors’ models, together with drawings, were first assembled by avid collectors fascinated by the tangible evidence of the creative process of the artist. This fully illustrated collection of essays by distinguished scholars and experts in the field focuses on the process of sculptural design in 15th- and 16th-century Europe.
Co-authored with Alessandra Rodolfo (Musei Vaticani) and Brett Dolman (Royal Historic Palaces), t... more Co-authored with Alessandra Rodolfo (Musei Vaticani) and Brett Dolman (Royal Historic Palaces), this book presents a new consideration of Raphael's achievements a designer across media, shedding fresh light on the Cartoons history from their creation, their acquisition by the English Crown in 1623, to their loan to the South Kensington Museum by Queen Victoria in 1865.
Conference proceedings edited by Ana Debenedetti and Caroline Elam spanning four centuries of Bot... more Conference proceedings edited by Ana Debenedetti and Caroline Elam spanning four centuries of Botticelli's artistic fame and reception from the fifteenth century to the present.
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In this vivid account, Ana Debenedetti reexamines the life and work of Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli through a novel lens: his business acumen. Focusing on the organization of Botticelli’s workshop and the commercial strategies he devised to make his way in Florence’s very competitive art market, Debenedetti looks with fresh eyes at the remarkable career and output of this pivotal artist within the wider context of Florentine society and culture. Uniquely, Debenedetti evaluates Botticelli’s celebrated works, like The Birth of Venus, alongside less familiar forms such as tapestry and embroidery, showing the breadth of the artist’s oeuvre and his talent as a designer across media.
In this vivid account, Ana Debenedetti reexamines the life and work of Renaissance artist Sandro Botticelli through a novel lens: his business acumen. Focusing on the organization of Botticelli’s workshop and the commercial strategies he devised to make his way in Florence’s very competitive art market, Debenedetti looks with fresh eyes at the remarkable career and output of this pivotal artist within the wider context of Florentine society and culture. Uniquely, Debenedetti evaluates Botticelli’s celebrated works, like The Birth of Venus, alongside less familiar forms such as tapestry and embroidery, showing the breadth of the artist’s oeuvre and his talent as a designer across media.