Carmen Bambach

Carmen C. Bambach (born April 27, 1959) is a Chilean art historian and curator of Italian and Spanish drawings at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art who specializes in Italian Renaissance art. She is considered one of the world's leading specialists on Leonardo da Vinci, especially his drawings.

Career Bambach received her bachelor's, master's, and doctoral degrees from Yale University.

Commenting on the 2017 exhibition of over 130 Michelangelo drawings at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, "Michelangelo: Divine Draftsman and Designer", Bambach, who curated the showing, attributed a black chalk sketch to the artist against the then current consensus among her colleagues.

She published the four-volume Leonardo da Vinci Rediscovered in 2019 to mixed reviews. The same year, she was the first recipient of the Vilcek Prize for Excellence, recognizing work that reflects immigration's impact on American society.

In 2020, an honoree of the Great Immigrants Award named by Carnegie Corporation of New York.

In 2026, she curated the exhibition Raphael: Sublime Poetry at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

Selected works

Bambach, Carmen C., ed. Raphael: Sublime Poetry, exhibition catalogue (New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, distributed by Yale University Press, 2026).