Dr. Elizabeth Petcu

Biography

Elizabeth J. Petcu’s research and teaching examine intersections of visual and scientific inquiry within the artistic and architectural culture of the early modern world. Her work interrogates the nature of formed and mediated images within these contexts. Petcu is an expert in art and architectural culture of northern Europe and colonial Latin America, emphasizing the interplay of natural sciences. By scrutinizing the relationships between art, architecture, and science from the start of the modern period within colonial contexts, her research discloses historical conditions influencing contemporary epistemological and environmental challenges. Petcu’s book, "Architectural Image and Early Modern Science: Wendel Dietterlin and the Rise of Empirical Investigation" (Cambridge University Press, 2024), explores significant architectural treatises from the German Renaissance. It details how artistic techniques of observation and description influenced the architectural culture of sixteenth-century northern Europe. Her investigations reveal how architecture engaged with the emerging empiricism, especially in the context of early science. Additionally, she has explored Albrecht Dürer's impact on the intersection of measurement and art, addressing how it served as both a tool for depicting knowledge and a medium for probing uncertainty. Petcu’s academic contributions appear in significant journals and edited volumes, and she has been involved in advanced research supported by prestigious foundations. She joined the University of Edinburgh after serving as a Wissenschaftliche Assistentin in Munich and holds a Ph.D. from Princeton University.

Research Interests

Experience