The IEM wishes to express its sense of loss following the passing of the medievalist Juan Carlos Ruiz Souza, Professor of Medieval Art History at the Complutense University of Madrid and a specialist in the Arts of Islam, with a particular focus on the Iberian Peninsula. Prof. Ruiz Souza collaborated on initiatives at our Institute on various occasions, always contributing to the topics under discussion not only with rigorous and in-depth research but also with his enormous capacity to promote dialogue, exchange and share ideas in an atmosphere of academic conviviality.
He was always renowned for his scientific quality, confronting and deconstructing categories and clichés, conveying a vital energy that infected those around him, making any academic environment a comfortable place to be, encouraging young researchers and supporting, both scientifically and humanly, the many colleagues who approached him throughout his career. The academic community loses a great researcher and also an excellent person.
In the photo accompanying this note of condolence, Prof. Ruiz Souza is participating in a round table during the International Congress “Encounters NOVA-Complutense on Medieval Iberia“, held at Lisbon’s Instituto Cervantes in March 2018, whose organisation he supported from the outset and where he participated with his usual enthusiasm.