Lecture in Art History at UNC with Alexander Marr– open to community

University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill is hosting an art history lecture on November 3, 2026, from 5:30 p.m. to 7 p.m., at University Room, Hyde Hall, 176 E Franklin Street, Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The lecture is free and open to the community. The speaker will be Alexander Marr, University of Cambridge. The topic is "Pictorial Intelligence in Renaissance Art: Holbein’s Wit." A weeknight or daytime permit is now required after 5:00 pm on weekdays. No permit is required from 5:00 pm Friday through 7:30 am Monday. A $1.00 one-night pass is available in selected lots. More information can be found here. The Renaissance witnessed intense debate about the nature and location of human intelligence. When it came to artists, this was focused on natural endowments versus trained skill, the relationship between the mind and the hand, and—especially among humanists—whether pictorial art was capable of intelligent authorship as opposed to mere replication of the visible world. Taking Hans Holbein the Younger as a case study, this lecture will explore how the mindful hand of a supremely gifted painter could demonstrate the inherent ingenuity and playful wit of an inventive–rather than merely mimetic–artistic intelligence. Alexander Marr is University Professor of Renaissance and Early Modern Art. He specializes in European art 1400-1800, especially its intellectual and literary aspects in their social contexts.

Last updated October 25, 2026