Pedro Germano Leal

An emblem scholar, I specialize in the relationship between literature and visual cultures in the early-modern period, with an emphasis in the early Americas. After obtaining a PhD in Text and Image Studies from the University of Glasgow, I held research and teaching positions in Brazil, Belgium and Scotland, before settling in the neighborhood of HP Lovecraft.

Currently I study the impact of the emblematic culture among indigenous populations in the Americas, with two books edited on this subject: Emblems in Colonial Ibero-America (Glasgow Emblem Studies 18) and Jeroglificos en la Edad Moderna (Janus, Spain). More recently, I co-edited a special issue, 'Digital Emblematica', of Early-Modern Digital Review (Renaissance and Reformation / Renaissance et Réforme, 2023), and became the new Editor in Chief of Emblematica: Essays in Word and Image, published by Droz. I also write on the reception of Horapollon's Hieroglyphica in the long Renaissance (1, 2).

At the JCB, I am responsible for digital operations and the library's information architecture—such as digital collections, projects and exhibitions, and I am leading the development of Americana, a research platform that allows users around the world to create annotated editions, exhibits, projects and presentations using the library's extraordinary collection.