Dr. Joseph Koerner

Biography

Joseph Koerner is the Department Chair and Victor S. Thomas Professor in the Department of History of Art and Architecture at Harvard University. His teaching and research focus on the history of art from the late Middle Ages to the present, with particular attention to Northern Renaissance art, Dutch seventeenth-century painting, European Romanticism, and German and Austrian Modernism. He offers thematic courses on European prints and drawings, self-portraiture, and monuments, collaborating with colleagues on various projects. Koerner is the author of several influential books, including studies on the myth of Daedalus and Icarus, landscape paintings by Caspar David Friedrich, and the relationships between word and image in the works of Paul Klee. His recent publication, which appeared in 2025, discusses the representation of art amidst siege, featuring explorations of figures such as Bosch, Max Beckmann, and William Kentridge. He has curated exhibitions at prestigious institutions such as the Harvard Art Museums and the Austrian National Gallery. Additionally, he has written and presented a BBC television series on the Northern Renaissance and directed a feature film titled 'Burning Child', which delves into the cultural and historical contexts of Vienna. Koerner serves as a Life Trustee at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum and is an active member of the American Academy in Berlin, as well as the Executive Committee of the Center for Jewish Studies.

Research Interests

Courses