Appel à communication : « Raphael in the Academies of Art » (Rome, octobre 2020)

As part of the celebrations marking the fifth centenary of the death of Raphael, the Accademia Nazionale di San Luca will be organising an exhibition entitled L’Accademia di San Luca e il mito dell’Urbinate [The Accademia di San Luca and the Myth of the Artist from Urbino], with works from the Academy’s own collection and important loans illustrating the role that the Academy itself played in constructing and endorsing the myth of Raphael in Rome from the 16th to the 19th centuries.
In parallel with the exhibition and within the context of a wider series of initiatives dedicated to the fifth centenary, the Academy will also be organising a symposium which will consider the role and function of Raphael, of his oeuvre, and of its influence on the academies of art across Europe and beyond – a theme of central importance both in the history of the teaching of art and in the history of the diffusion of the myth of Raphael outside Italy.

With original papers focusing on different geographical, temporal and thematic contexts, the symposium – which will take place in October 2020 – is intended to provide an opportunity for analysis and reassessment of the role that the academies of art played in promoting and consolidating the centrality of the figure of Raphael in the artistic education not just of painters, sculptors and architects, but also in that of decorative painters, stucco workers, woodcarvers, stone carvers and other craftsmen and artists who, either through direct study or via reference to stock images, metabolised and re-elaborated the lessons offered by Raphael in an extraordinary variety of forms. Points of particular interest include the question of which Raphael was taken as a model in different geographical locations and different periods, and the varying fame and influence of his easel paintings, altarpieces, fresco cycles, architectural designs and decorative schemes, particularly in periods in which little distinction was made between the artist’s own hand and interventions by his apprentices and associates. Additional reflections might regard the theme of Raphael as a model in contemporary artistic education.

We invite proposals for papers exploring one or more of the following topics:

– The practice of copying in artistic education;
– “Transliterations” and stock images (engravings, collections of drawings, etc.);
– The collection and use of materials for educational purposes and the formation of the academic collections;
– The restoration of works by Raphael as a source of new information and new interpretations;
– The critical debate within the academies: for and against Raphael;
– Raphael as an enduring model in the contemporary teaching of art and architecture.

Proposals for contributions which regard aspects not included in this list will be taken into consideration, provided they are relevant to the general theme of the symposium.
Proposals should be submitted by 10th October 2019 in the form of an abstract (maximum 2000 characters) accompanied by a brief author biography (maximum 1000 characters), to be sent to raffaelloaccademiasanluca@gmail.com.

Raphael in the Academies of Art: The Ideal, its Function and its Reception
Study Day

We have not yet decided the exact date of the event, but it will be held in October 2020.

Organizers: Francesco Moschini, Valeria Rotili, Stefania Ventra
Scientific Committee: Olivier Bonfait, Giovanna Capitelli, Carla Mazzarelli, Susanne A. Meyer, Antonio Pinelli
Languages: Italian, English, French

We regret that travel and accommodation expenses cannot be reimbursed. Where possible, the organisers will endeavour to arrange discounts.