Semir Zeki was Professor of Neurobiology at University College London (UCL) until 2008 and was subsequently Professor of Neuroaesthetics there until 2025. He is now Professor Emeritus at UCL. He is best known for his work on the organization of the primate visual brain which showed, in particular, that the visual brain is functionally specialized to process three different fundamental attributes of the visual scene – namely colour, form and motion – in parallel and asynchronously. His work in neuroaesthetics has revolved mainly around the brain mechanisms that are engaged during the experience of beauty. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society (London), a member of the American Philosophical Society and of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a founder fellow of the Academy of Medical Sciences (London). Among his several prizes are the King Faisal Prize in Biology and the Erasmus Medal (Academia Europeae). In addition to specialized papers in scientific journals, he has published four books – A Vision of the Brain; Inner Vision: an exploration of art and the brain and Splendours and miseries of the brain. He has also co-authored two books: La Quête de l’essentiel with the late French painter Balthus and La bella e la bestia with Ludovica Lumer.