The Jacob Burckhardt Prize was founded in 2004 on the initiative of the former directors of the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz (KHI), Prof Max Seidel and Prof Gerhard Wolf.
The prize is to be awarded every two years to up-and-coming researchers who will be selected by the directors and the Friends of the KHI. As well as a three-month stay at the Florence-based institute to conduct research, prize winners will be invited to give a public lecture and to publish an article in the Mitteilungen des Kunsthistorischen Institutes in Florenz (Proceedings of the Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz).
The prize takes its name from the Swiss cultural and art historian Jacob Burckhardt (1818 – 97). His works such as “The Cicerone. A Guide to the works of art in Italy (1855), The Civilisation of the Renaissance in Italy. An Essay” (1860) and “The Architecture of the Italian Renaissance” (1867) have had an enduring influence on research in the arts. It is therefore primarily thanks to Burckhardt that from the second half of the 19th century onwards writers on art history in the German-speaking countries saw exploration of the art of the Italian Renaissance as their most important mission. This enthusiasm explains why the first German-established centre for the study of art history founded in Italy in 1897 was located in Florence.

Prof Dr Stanko Kokole (2004), Prof Dr Johannes Myssok (2007) and Dr Rebecca Müller (2009).