We are delighted to announce that Dr Lucia Tantardini has been elected Vice-President of Clare Hall, effective from 1 October 2026.

Dr Tantardini is an Official Fellow, Praelector and Graduate Tutor at Clare Hall, where she has been a longstanding and active member of the College. She first joined Clare Hall as a Research Fellow and has since contributed to College life through a wide range of academic and cultural activities.

Her academic career has taken her through Italy, the United States and the UK. Before beginning her doctoral studies at Cambridge, she gained professional experience at Christie’s in Milan and London and at the Art Institute of Chicago, working closely with Old Master paintings, prints and drawings.

A specialist in Renaissance and Early Modern art, Dr Tantardini’s work focuses particularly on Italian drawing and painting and on the relationship between artistic ideas and creative practice. Her current projects include a monograph on Aurelio Luini and a volume devoted to drawing in Renaissance Milan.

Alongside her research, she teaches in the University of Cambridge Department of History of Art across a broad range of European art from the fifteenth to the eighteenth centuries. She has held several academic and administrative roles within the Department, including Part I Convenor and Outreach Coordinator, and has led the Special Subject Drawing in Renaissance and Early Modern Italy c. 1450–1600. She has also received fellowships from the Università degli Studi di Milano, the Fondazione Giorgio Cini in Venice, and the Dutch University Institute for Art History in Florence.

Her long association with Clare Hall has included co-organising the College’s 50th Anniversary international conference, Clare Hall and Italy (University of Bologna, 2015) , and editing the volume Ralph Erskine and the Invention of Clare Hall (2016). The publication grew out of a wider project exploring the creation of the College’s distinctive buildings and Ralph Erskine’s architectural vision, bringing together archival material, contributions from those involved in the original design process, and new reflections on Clare Hall’s place in post-war architecture.

I am honoured to represent Clare Hall as Vice-President. I look forward to working with Fellows, students and staff to support this exceptional community of scholars and thinkers.

Dr Lucia Tantardini

We warmly congratulate Dr Tantardini on her election and look forward to her taking on this important new role within the College community.

We would also like to express our sincere thanks to Professor Andrew Blake for his outstanding service as Vice-President from 2024 to 2026. His thoughtful leadership, dedication and generous contribution to College life have been greatly valued, and we are very grateful for all he has done for the Clare Hall community during his time in the role.