ALFTER (NNA) – One of the internationally most coveted prizes in the subject of art history has been awarded to Elena Filippi, junior professor of art history at the anthroposophical Alanus University of Arts and Social Sciences in Germany. The academic won the prize for her monograph Umanesimo.

The Salimbeni prize (Premio Salimbeni per la Storia e la Critica d’Arte) is considered to be one of the most important awards for a publication of art history. It has been awarded annually since 1982 in San Severino Marche (Italy) and honours outstanding work in art historical research.

The philosopher and art historian was awarded the prize for her basic research on fine art and science in the fifteenth century. In here monograph, Filippi sets out the interaction between art and science in the early modern period using the example of the three great thinkers Nicholas of Cusa, Leon Battista Alberti and Albrecht Dürer. The monograph for the first time describes the effect of Cusa’s thinking on art, with comprehensive references to historical sources. Filippi succeeds in showing in her book that the dialogue between the disciplines was a key characteristic of the early modern period.

Elena Filippi obtained her doctorate in the subjects of art history and philosophy and is junior professor of art history at the Institute of Philosophy and Aesthetics at Alanus University. She is also a member of the Cusian Academy of European History. Her areas of special interest include Albrecht Dürer as a humanist as well as Nicholas of Cusa and fifteenth century painting. The book, Umanesimo e misura viva. Dürer tra Cusano e Alberti (Humanism as a living measure: Dürer in the context of Nicholas of Cusa und Alberti), is currently only available in Italian.

The jury of the Salimbeni prize comprises internationally established academics including Matthias Winner, former director of the Bibliotheca Hertziana in Rome, the British art historian Caroline Elam and the director of the Louvre for many years, Pierre Rosenberg. The Salimbeni prize was established by the influential Italian art historian and critic Federico Zeri (1921-1998).

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 Item: 130107-01EN Date: 7 January 2013

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