Art History Festival | Hidden Figures: Unlocking the Courtauld Collection

Michelangelo di Pietro Mencherini (1489-1521), Adoration of the Magi, Circa 1500-10, The Courtauld, London.

Join the Courtauld team as they unearth the hidden stories of people of colour in their collections through an exploration of both pictorial and material representation.

Ahead of the gallery’s relaunch in autumn, join the team at the Courtauld in unlocking the hidden figures of its collection. The Courtauld team will delve into both the pictorial and material to unearth the stories of people of colour usually on display at their home in Somerset House.

The event will first cover the obvious presence of people of colour — their depiction on the surface of objects in the collection. It will then scrutinise the very pigments fashioning these depictions to unveil a story that connects artworks to colonisation, exploitation and the histories of people who lived through it. This hour will traverse the explicit to the implicit, the presence of people of colour represented in the objects in the Courtauld’s collection revisited.

It will be made up of short lightning talks from members of the Courtauld community and will end with a panel discussion and Q&A where the audience will be invited to pose their questions to the speakers.

This event is delivered by The Courtauld. Sussan Babaie is Professor in the Arts of Iran and Islam. Ketty Gottardo is Martin Halusa Curator of Drawings, Maureen Cross is Lecturer of Conservation and Technology and host, Leyla Bumbra, is the Research Forum Programme Manager.