Dr. Bette Talvacchia is the director of the School of Art and Art History at the University of Oklahoma. She holds a Ph.D. in Art History from Stanford University. Her scholarly work focuses on the art and culture of the Italian Renaissance, and on issues of sexuality and gender. This renowned scholar will present at the library September 16 and 17, 2016.
Talvacchia has been a Fellow, a Guest Scholar and Robert Lehman Visiting Professor at Villa I Tatti, The Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies in Florence. She has held Fellowships at The Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton; The Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts at the National Gallery, Washington; and at the Metropolitan Museum of Art. During the academic year 2011-12, she was the first Scholar in Residence at the Dutch University Institute in Florence; at the start of her career she was a Fulbright Fellow in Rome. Her presentations are made possible in part by the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor.
The Case of the 2 Michelangelos
Friday, September 16
6:30 p.m. | Marvin Auditorium
“In the history of art, no name has carried as much recognition throughout time as ‘Michelangelo.’ Michelangelo was the given name for both the sculptor and the painter from Caravaggio.” So writes Dr. Talvacchia in her forthcoming book, The Two Michelangelos. Dive into the iconic Renaissance imagery of the 2 Michelangelos with a discussion of common themes, and the larger historic backdrop that still has enduring meaning for our own culture.
Depictions of Bacchus
Saturday, September 17
2 p.m. | Marvin Auditorium
Bacchus, the deity whose special attribute was wine, also happens to be a figure of great symbolic importance to artists. This talk will consider the various ways in which both Michelangelos portrayed Bacchus in their art, and suggest how the younger artist might have engaged a dialogue with the work of the older master. In both cases, the artists were highly aware of the classical traditions surrounding the mythological subject matter, although each responded to them in a very different way.
