Umbra Institute professor, Dr. Michael W. Kwakkelstein, has accepted the prestigious position of Director of the Dutch University Institute for Art History in Florence, effective September 1st. This highly competitive position is awarded to a scholar who is deemed worthy to represent the Netherlands internationally. Kwakkelstein has been on the faculty of the Institute for the past four years, leading special topics courses on Michelangelo, Leonardo da Vinci, and a survey course on Italian Renaissance art.

Kwakkelstein also teaches at the Umbra Institute’s partner school in Florence, the Institute at Palazzo Rucellai. Kwakkelstein intends to continue teaching at Palazzo Rucellai and plans to maintain relations with the Umbra Institute. “I want to use my contact with the American programs in Florence and Perugia to examine possibilities of future collaborative projects. The emphasis for the Dutch Institute not only focuses on art and research, but also on the artistic exchange between Italy and other countries,” said Kwakkelstein.

Though Kwakkelstein says he will miss teaching and his constant interactions with students, this new position will allow him the opportunity to continue his research on Leonardo da Vinci. Kwakkelstein is currently finishing his second book on da Vinci, which follows his first book, Leonardo da Vinci as a Physiognomist: Theory and Drawing Practice.

The Dutch University Institute for Art History in Florence, founded in 1958, promotes research on Italian art, on Dutch and Flemish art and artists in Italy and on the rich tradition of artistic exchange and mutual influence between Italy and the North. It provides scholars and students from the Netherlands and elsewhere with accommodation, research and publication opportunities and the use of its library in a city with extraordinary resources for art historical research and international academic training and exchange. In addition, the Dutch Institute publishes scholarly works and organizes lectures, conferences and exhibitions.

In photo: Professor Kwakkelstein lectures on the significance of Verrocchio's statue of David in the Bargello Museum in Florence, Italy. Kwakkelstein led excursions to Rome, Florence, and Milan with members of his classes at the Umbra Institute.