Nino Zchomelidse (on leave Fall 2008 – Spring 2009) specializes in medieval art, with an emphasis on theoretical, historiographical, and political aspects; the role of the arts for the construction of civic identity; and representation and mimesis. She is currently working on two projects, one of which is a revision of her book manuscript Art and Ritual: The Construction of Civic Identity in Medieval Campania (near completion). Her other recent research focuses on the notion of the “authentic” and the processes of authentication in medieval art, particularly of head-reliquaries, icons, and imprints on cloth or seals. Together with Giovanni Freni (Index of Christian Art) she is also preparing the publication of the papers of three joint sessions held at the International Congress on Medieval Studies in Kalamazoo, MI, 2007, which explore the various layers of meaning that buildings and works of art develop through ritual action. Nino Zchomelidse has published on medieval painting in the time of the Gregorian Reform, the representation of the “invisible God” and medieval image theory, and the liturgical and secular use of monumental church furnishings and manuscripts in southern Italy. Her secondary field of interest is early-19th-century landscape painting. In particular, she has worked on aesthetics and science in the academic tradition in Denmark, intellectual and artistic exchange between Rome and Copenhagen, and the role of landscape painting for the construction of “national” identity. Nino Zchomelidse has held academic positions at the University of Tübingen (Germany) and the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts (Copenhagen). She has received fellowships and grants from the Gerda Henkel Foundation (in connection with the Bibliotheca Hertziana, Rome), the Carlsberg Foundation (Copenhagen), and is currently the Samuel H. Kress Senior Fellow at the Center for Advanced Study in the Visual Arts, National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC.

PUBLICATIONS: Santa Maria Immacolata in Ceri: Sakrale Malerei im Zeitalter der Gregorianischen Reform (Rome, 1996); Fictions of Isolation: Artistic and Intellectual Exchange in Rome in the First Half of the 19th Century, co-edited with Lorenz Enderlein, Analecta Romana Instituti Danici, Supplementum 37 (Rome, 2006); Die Sichtbarkeit des Unsichtbaren: Zur Korrelation von Text und Bild im Wirkungskreis der Bibel, co-edited with Bernd Janowski (Stuttgart, 2003); "Deus - homo - imago. Representing the divine in the twelfth century," in Looking Beyond. Visions, Dreams and Insights in Medieval Art and History, papers of a conference held at the Index of Christian Art, Princeton University, ed. by Colum Hourihane (forthcoming); "Descending Word and Resurrecting Christ: The Exultet Rolls in Southern Italy," article in preparation for publication in Meaning in Motion. Semantics of Movement in Medieval Art and Architecture, papers held at the 42nd International Congress on Medieval Studies in Kalamazoo 2007 (co-edited with Giovanni Freni) in preparation.