Ivan Drpić Named Cecil L. Striker Associate Professor of History of Art

Ivan Drpić has been named the inaugural Cecil L. Striker Associate Professor of History of Art. Drpić joined the Penn faculty in 2017 and is currently serving as the Undergraduate Chair of the Department of History of Art.

Drpić’s research interests center upon the art, architecture, and material culture of Byzantium and its Slavic neighbors in Southeastern Europe, with a particular focus on the period from the 11th to the 15th centuries.

Winner of the 2017 Runciman Book Award and the 2019 Karen Gould Prize, Drpić’s first book Epigram, Art, and Devotion in Later Byzantium examines the intersection of art, personal piety, and self-representation in the last centuries of the Byzantine period. He is currently working on a second book project titled The Enkolpion: Object and Self in Medieval Byzantium, which explores the interplay of subjectivity, materiality, and the power of objects in Byzantine culture. This latest project examines “enkolpia,” a broad category of objects worn around the neck, such as crosses, engraved gems mounted in precious metal, and miniature reliquaries. Drpić has also authored a number of peer-reviewed articles, book chapters, and is the recipient of several research grants.

Ute Striker generously endowed the Cecil L. Striker Professorship in honor of her late husband, Cecil L. Striker, Professor Emeritus of the History of Art, whom she met at Kalenderhane Camii in Istanbul. She taught Italian at Bryn Mawr and Haverford Colleges and German and Italian at Drexel University. Ute Striker gratefully acknowledges the advice and help of her nephew, Robert Lee Striker, Esq., in establishing this chair.

A world-renowned archaeologist and leading authority on Byzantine and Western Medieval architecture, Cecil L. Striker served on the Penn faculty from 1968 to 2001. During his tenure, he mentored generations of undergraduate and graduate students, and was instrumental in developing innovative graduate programs in the history of art. His groundbreaking archaeological work in Istanbul included the restoration of key Byzantine sites, such as Kalenderhane Camii and Bodrum Camii, where he uncovered Roman baths, medieval frescoes, rare mosaics, and earlier phases of ecclesiastic monuments.

Cecil L. Striker was a pioneer in applying dendrochronology to date medieval Mediterranean structures, and he was among the first to introduce computer-based analysis and statistical methods to the study of architectural history. Beyond his academic contributions, he held leadership positions with the American Research Institute in Turkey and the Council of American Overseas Research Centers, and advised the Istanbul municipality on major infrastructure projects. Working at the nexus of architecture and archaeology, he was also a driving force in shaping the late 20th century as a golden era for Byzantine Studies in North America. This professorship honors his enduring legacy of scholarship, mentorship, and innovation.

https://www.sas.upenn.edu/news/ivan-drpic-named-cecil-l-striker-associate-professor-history-art