ulrich pfisterer studied art history, classical archaeology, and philosophy at the university of freiburg and the ludwig maximilian university of munich. in 1997, he received his ph.d. from the university of göttingen with a dissertation on “donatello and the discovery of style, 1430-1445” (donatello und die entdeckung der stile, 1430–1445). he was subsequently a postdoctoral fellow at the kunsthistorisches institut in florence with a lectureship at the university of göttingen. from 1999 to 2002, he was an assistant professor and from 2002 to 2006 a junior professor at the kunstgeschichtliches seminar at the university of hamburg. in 2006, he completed his habilitation in hamburg with a book on “lysippus and his friends: gifts and memory in renaissance rome – or, the first century of medallions” (lysippus und seine freunde. liebesgaben und gedächtnis im rom der renaissance – oder: das erste jahrhundert der medaille).