Henriette Hertz Lecture

Each year we remember our founder and benefactress Henriette Hertz (1846–1913) with two different events: in the morning with a traditional commemorative ceremony at the Roman Cimitero acattolico where she is buried, and in the evening with a lecture given primarily by women scholars whose excellent research qualifies them to make a special contribution to the memory of our patron.

While the commemorative ceremony is designed as an event for employees and fellows, the festive evening lecture is aimed at a broader audience. Henriette Hertz had a wide range of cultural interests. Consequently, the content of the lecture may go beyond specifically art historical questions. The Hertziana’s academic community is involved in the selection of the speakers and is invited to submit proposals for the next lecture on an annual basis.

2023

Prof. Emily Braun, Hunter College, The City University of New York

Giorgio de Chirico and the Modern Literary Imagination

A painter poet and a poet’s painter, Giorgio de Chirico arguably influenced the 20th century literary imagination more than any other modernist artist. This lecture considered why his art entranced the American poets John Ashbery, Elizabeth Bishop, Sylvia Plath, and Mark Strand.

2024

Prof. Ramie Targoff, Jehuda Reinharz Professor for Humanities, Brandeis University

Proxy Wooings and Weddings. From Shakespeare to Rubens

Why does Rubens’s painting of the wedding of Maria de’ Medici and Henri IV lack a portrait of the groom? This paper explored the history of the proxy wedding and the theoretical problems raised by such ceremonies when confronted with expectations of affective bonds between spouses.