Dr. Carol Richardson

Biography

Carol M Richardson specializes in institutional patronage, particularly in the Early Modern period. Her research primarily concerns the papal city of Rome and how individuals and corporate entities combine to create identity. With a background rooted in Scotland, Carol earned her degrees from the University of St Andrews. She has taught at various institutions including Aberdeen and the Open University Milton Keynes, before moving to Edinburgh in 2012. Passionate about Art History, Carol views it as an interdisciplinary subject area that presents challenges and inclusivity. She believes that art can be an antidote to the media's focus on global crises, serving to atone for humanity's inhumanity. Her teaching includes specialized courses such as Making Italian Renaissance Art (1400-1550) and Art and the Catholic Reformation (1534-1610). Carol has authored numerous books, including 'Gilio's Dialogue on the Errors and Abuses of Painters' (2018) and 'Reclaiming Rome' (2009), noted as ‘a milestone’. As a Paul Mellon Senior Fellow from October 2018 to June 2019, she completed work on a book analyzing the English Catholic Church's sacred geography during the 1580s. Carol currently supervises PhD students working on topics ranging from communal art in late medieval Italy to material culture and belief in post-Reformation Scotland.

Research Interests

Experience