Studying at the Warburg: An interview with PhD student Hugh Cullimore

Hugh Cullimore completed his MA in Cultural, Intellectual and Visual History at the Warburg Institute in 2022 and is currently pursuing his PhD at the Institute. His research focuses on the reception and perception of ancient Egypt during the sixteenth century, particularly in Italy.

Recently, Hugh conducted research in Berlin, Rome, and London as part of the Census Fellowship in the Reception of Antiquity. The fellowship provided him with invaluable opportunities to delve deeper into his studies, explore various archives, and connect with other scholars. Read on to discover more about Hugh's intriguing research, his journey to the Warburg Institute, and the experiences he gained from the fellowship.

You’re currently a PhD student at the Warburg Institute. Could you tell us more about your research?

My research examines the reception and perception of ancient Egypt during the sixteenth century, with a main focus on Italy. The research generally looks at the emblematic genre and how these Egyptian ideas influenced its creation and in turn how this knowledge was used by artists and humanists alike. Within this, I am hoping to map out an intellectual network of the spread of these ideas and build a database of emblems from works by the likes of Cesare Ripa, Pierio Valeriano, and Andrea Alciato that were directly quoted from what they believed to be Egyptian sources.

What led you to the Warburg Institute?

During my undergraduate studies, I came across Raphael’s Allegory of Justice (1519/20) in the Sala di Costantino and was so taken aback by his unusual incorporation of an ostrich. Several essays and a long dissertation on Raphael’s Egyptian influences meant I was continually coming across the works of art historians who either studied or taught at the Warburg or were affiliated in some way. Aby Warburg himself tried to work on this topic at one point but was not allowed access to the materials he wished to view – materials that we now have access to. After much researching of potential PhD supervisors in America and the UK everything just kept pointing me back to the Warburg. In 2018, I visited the Institute for the first time to meet some professors and after that there was no doubt in my mind that this was the place for me.

What have you enjoyed most about the PhD programme so far?

The people and the access to archives and libraries that it allows. There’s such a weird and wonderful array of topics that I can easily discuss with my peers or the academics around the Institute that I couldn’t elsewhere (and in the one place). In terms of access to materials, if undergraduate me knew that I can now visit places like the Vatican Apostolic Library (BAV), or that I was able to spend two months working in the Hertziana, I think he would be very impressed. The BAV, for example, was something that I remember quizzing one of my professors in Australia about – to me it was so impressive that they were able to go in there and look at such incredible texts, and now I can too!

You recently conducted research in Berlin, Rome, and London as part of the Census Fellowship in the Reception of Antiquity. Could you tell us more about this?

The fellowship really came at a pivotal time for me in my studies. In the first year of my PhD, I had struggled a lot with finding funding and so had not allowed myself enough time to process and work through a lot of the texts and materials that I had found. I was really lucky that this fellowship was centred around a database, as it provided a great opportunity to use the Census’ platform to help examine my material. In short, my time in Berlin was spent learning about the database and how I can build a database for my research (an ongoing project); London was spent consolidating material, and preparing material for the first chapter of my PhD; and Rome was spent making the most of the Hertziana’s incredibly library. I found several texts (often simply by applying Aby Warburg’s rule of the good neighbour) that will be very important for the overall project.

Why did you apply for the fellowship?

To be honest, I was struggling with funding and wanted to find any way that I could to continue working on my PhD that also included some form of funding. As a result, I was applying for a lot, but with limited success. When this fellowship got advertised, however, everything changed. It just aligned with my interests so closely that I had to apply. I spent a long time writing the application and running it past anyone who agreed to proofread it. As it turned out, the fellowship helped advance my research in the way I was hoping, but also in many ways I couldn’t have predicted.

How did the Warburg help you with your application?

The support of my supervisors was invaluable in the process. I had applied for many opportunities before I applied for this, but all throughout, Caspar and Raphaële have always supported me, be it writing references, proofreading applications, or just offering general advice. Supervisors aside, other staff such as John and Charles discussed the application with me and gave me some great pointers. I can’t thank them enough. Lastly, the Warburg has a brilliant community of PhD students (both studying here and who are occasional students) who are quite social and we’re all going through similar things. I was really fortunate to be able to discuss my application with peers that had been successful in these applications, also. This advice was invaluable. It really is a fantastic support network that we have at the Institute.

Any highlights of the fellowship in particular?

There was a fellows meeting at the Hertziana about a fortnight after I started where the Director, Tristan Weddigen, mentioned a fortnightly initiative he has set up that explored different parts of Rome, focussing on one or two monuments or areas in each session, saying something to the effect of “it’s so easy to spend time during a fellowship in Rome and not see much of the city itself”. This really struck a chord with me and after discussing this with my father, he recommended I purchase a copy of Baedecker’s Rome – a guide to Rome written in the 1860s that goes through many sites in much detail, much of which remains today. This was his guide to Rome when he visited as a student in the late 1970s. I was lucky enough to find a slightly beaten-up, late 19th century, copy for not much money and every morning set myself the task of visiting a new site or monument on the way to whichever library I was working at that day. That book is now falling apart – it got a lot of use. I saw and learned so much more about Rome than I would have done otherwise. In doing this, I found myself looking closer than I perhaps would ordinarily, being guided by Baedecker. I even found a previously undocumented (as far as I can tell) Allegory of Justice that incorporates an ostrich in a church that I would not have ordinarily visited that has led me to some conclusions about the Medici and this iconography that I aim to prove in the upcoming months. 

Aside from the academics, it was great to meet other scholars from around the world that were studying at the different institutes. I’ve made some really good friends, and had the opportunity to catch up with other friends working in Rome and Berlin. The beauty of such a fellowship for me, and getting beyond London to study is that I found so many people who are studying similar things, or whose research – be it factually or their use of technology – will have some sort of impact on my research… Not to mention meeting others that are going through the same experiences in terms of the ‘PhD life’.

What key things have you learnt while undertaking your research?

Talk to people. The more you discuss your research with others, the more likely you are to find little niches or books to consult that you wouldn’t have otherwise. 

To bring it back to the advice from Tristan above, exploring a city is also really important, and not to mention enjoyable. 

Would you recommend the Institute as a place to study and why?

I definitely recommend it – without a doubt – but with a slight caveat. For me, it is great and I love every minute I get to spend there. There’s an incredible network of people in many different capacities who I’ve found really inviting and friendly, not least to mention all the kooky and esoteric conversations you can find yourself having at any point in time. What I will say, though, is that for anyone considering studying at the Warburg, do your research first. I came to the Warburg as it was the perfect fit for my research, but that is not to say I did not look seriously at alternatives. At the end of the day, I chose the Warburg based on who could supervise my PhD. I first got in touch with Raphaële as a prospective PhD supervisor in 2018 and based on her enthusiasm for my topic, I really couldn’t go anywhere else.

For those whose prospective supervisors are at other universities, the Occasional Student program is great. There are several students from other universities that probably spend more time at the Warburg than their own institutions and they quickly become part of the PhD social groups, attend Warburg events, and get the best of both worlds. So my primary advice would be: do your research and aim to work with the professor(s) that best suit your research – there is always the option to work at the Warburg in other capacities. 

Just to end, I would like to express my deep gratitude to Kathleen Christian, Bill Sherman, and Tristan Weddigen – directors of each of the institutes that hosted me and who selected me for this fellowship. I also wish to thank all those that I’ve mentioned above who helped me throughout the application process and the fellowship itself. It was a great experience.

Prior to coming to the Warburg, Hugh Cullimore studied Art History and Curatorship at the Australian National University, where he left with first-class honours, winning the award for highest grade in his cohort. This included a masters-length dissertation on Raphael and his Egyptian influences. Following this, Hugh spent three years working in curatorial roles at the Australian War Memorial, and teaching Art History at the Australian National University. In 2021, he moved to London to complete the MA in Cultural, Intellectual, and Visual History at the Warburg where he graduated with distinction, writing a dissertation on South-East Asian weaponry in Dutch Old Master paintings. At present, Hugh is taking part in the Turing Scheme, working with the Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies at the University of Pennsylvania; and teaches curatorship and archival studies as part of the Bachelor of Digital Media at the University of South Australia.