ABSTRACT
The art history section of the Biblioteca Berenson lives in close proximity with the Fototeca Berenson. This collection holds about 250,000 photographs of Italian paintings from between 1250 and 1550. The years since Harvard acquired Villa I Tatti have seen its evolution from a quiet outpost of scholarship into an internationally recognized center for Renaissance studies. Relationships to the local academic scene are enhanced by a small group of Florentine scholars who participate as Research Associates in the activities of the Center. Individual research projects cover all aspects of the Renaissance: the history of art; political, economic and social history; philosophy; religion; literature; music; and science. Berenson’s activity as an art historian was mostly dedicated to paintings and drawings. This limitation is also reflected in his library which holds a considerable number of monographs in both fields, but which is astonishingly weak in Renaissance architecture or sculpture.
