George L. Gorse

Viola Horton Professor of Art and Professor of Art History; Chair of Art History
With Pomona Since: 1980
  • Expertise

    Expertise

    As an art historian, George Gorse specializes in architectures and urbanism in medieval and Renaissance Genoa from the 11th to the 16th centuries, focusing on family groups within the city. He has also written on the history of palaces, villas and gardens. Combining his knowledge of medieval and Renaissance cities with an ongoing research interest in modern architecture and sustainability allows him to make connections between medieval and modern urbanism.

    Research Interests

    • Medieval and Renaissance Genoa (11th-16th centuries)
    • Medieval and modern architecture and urbanism
    • History of palaces, villas and gardens
    • Architecture and sustainability

    Areas of Expertise

    ART HISTORY

    • Italian Renaissance Art and Architecture
    • Italian Baroque Art and Architecture
    • Medieval Art History
    • History of Cities, Palaces, Villas and Gardens
    • History of Genoa
  • Work

    Work

    Co-Editor with M. Fantoni and M. Smuts, The Politics of Space: European Courts, ca. 1500-1750 (Rome: Bulzoni Editore, 2009)

    “Chapter 9. Architecture and Urban Typology,” A Companion to Medieval Genoa, ed. C. Beneš, (Leiden: Brill Press, 2018), 218-242

    “Body Politics and Mythic Figures: Andrea Doria in the Mediterranean World,” CIS e-journal, California Italian Studies Association, ed. J. Greenstein & W. Tronzo, vol. 6 (2016), 1-28

    “Augustan Mediterranean Iconography and Renaissance Hieroglyphics at the Court of Clement II: Sebastiano del Piombo’s Portrait of Andrea Doria,” in The Pontificate of Clement VII: History, Politics, Culture, ed. K. Gouwens & S. Reiss (London: Ashgate, 2005), 313-339

    “Genova: repubblica dell’Impero,” in Storia dell’architettura italiana: il secondo Cinquecento, ed. C. Conforti & R. Tuttle (Milan: Electa, 2001), 240-265

    “A Classical Stage for the Old Nobility: The Strada Nuova and Sixteenth-Century Genoa,” Art Bulletin, 79 (1997), 301-327

    “Between Republic and Empire: Triumphal Entries in Genoa during the Sixteenth Century,” in ‘All the world’s a stage…’: Art and Pageantry in the Renaissance and Baroque, ed. B. Wisch & S. Munshower (University Park: Pennsylvania State University Press, 1990), 189-256

  • Education

    Education

    Ph.D.
    Brown University

    Master of Arts
    Brown University

    Bachelor of Arts
    The Johns Hopkins University

    Recent Courses Taught

    Gendering the Renaissance

    High Renaissance & Mannerism in Italy

    Intro to Art History: Renaissance to Modern

    Italian Baroque Art

    Medieval & Renaissance Cities

    Modern Architecture & Sustainability

    Critical Inquiry Seminars: Pomona Goes Green; Pilgrimage, Travel, and Cultural Encounter

  • Awards & Honors

    Awards & Honors

    Bogliasco Institute, Genoa, Italy, Visiting Fellow, February-April 2001; January-February 2018

    National Endowment for the Humanities, American Academy in Rome, Summer Seminar, Roman Palaces, 1998

    NEH, Wesleyan University, Summer Seminar, Renaissance Patronage, 1994

    Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, Visiting Member, 1989-90

    Villa I Tatti, Harvard Center for Italian Renaissance Studies, Florence, Fellow, 1988-89

    NEH, Italian Archival Institute, Newberry Library, Chicago, Summer, 1988

    American Council of Learned Societies, Summer Research Grants, 1984, 1981