Violence in Renaissance Art

Discover Botticelli's sensitive approach to violence. Taking the Gardner's iconic painting Story of Lucretia as a point of departure, Scott Nethersole discusses Botticelli's violent art and its role in the homes of Renaissance Florence.

Speaker:

Scott Nethersole, Senior Lecturer in Italian Renaissance Art, Courtauld Institute of Art

Scott Nethersole is a Senior Lecturer in Italian Renaissance Art, 1400-1500. His research focuses in particular on Florence during the 15th century, although his teaching covers a wider geographical area during the same period. He has had a long-term interest in the relationship between art and violence, especially the manner in which a focus on representations of violence, or the viewer’s experience of violence, complicates our understanding of the period and its artistic achievements. His thoughts on the subject have appeared in various articles and a monograph with Yale University Press entitled Art and Violence in Early Renaissance Florence (2018). He is now turning his attention to new research projects, including work on Botticelli’s Trinity Altarpiece in the Courtauld Gallery, the sculptor Lorenzo Ghiberti, and connections between southern Europe and Africa during the 15th century. 

Tickets are required and include Museum admission.

Adults $15, seniors $12, students $10, free for members and children 17 and under.

• Online, by clicking the TICKETS button above*
• By calling the box office at 617 278 5156, Wednesday-Monday, 10 am-4 pm*
• In person: Visit the Museum and purchase at the door, Wednesday-Monday, 11 am-4:30 pm

*Handling charges apply to these orders

Photo at top: Sandro Botticelli (Italian, 1444 or 1445-1510), The Story of Lucretia (detail), 1499-1500. Tempera and oil on panel, 83.8 x 176.8 cm (33 x 69 5/8 in.) Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston (P16e20)