Persia and the Medici: Magi, Knights, and Medusae

Mahnaz Yousefzadeh is Clinical Professor of Global Liberal Studies, Affiliate Professor at NYUAD, and Associated Professor in Italian Studies, at New York University. She is the author of City and Nation in Italian Unification: The National Festivals of Dante Alighieri (Palgrave Macmillan, 2011), and Florence’s Embassy to the Sultan of Egypt: An English Translation of Felice Brancacci’s Diary (Palgrave Macmillan, Dec 2018), and several articles on Early Modern relations between Italy and Persia. Her current research cuts across different fields (art istory/philosophy of art, Italian Renaissance, Middle East history), and her studies have offered original accounts of major artworks such as Caravaggio’s Medusa in the Uffizi Gallery of Florence and Masaccio’s Tribute Money in the Brancacci Chapel.