CPF: Against the Medici: Art and Dissent in Renaissance Italy (Florence, 26 – 27 May 2016)

Archivio  di  Stato, Florence, 26 – 27 May 2016

As  patrons  of  art,  the  Medici  left  a  legacy  that  is  unrivalled.  Their  well known  narrative  lies  at   the   center   of   Renaissance   scholarship.   The   Medici   patronized   painters   and   sculptors,  founded   academies,   preserved   and   curated   their   collections,   and   used   both   artists   and  artworks  as  political  tools  to  convey  their  agendas  and  augment  their  prestige  amongst  the  courts   of   Italy   and   Europe.   Yet,   just   as   Medici   identity   was   expressed   in   terms   of this  cultural  patrimony,  so  too  were  the  attacks  of  their  enemies.  A  rich  corpus  of  anti-Medicean  works  of  art  remain underappreciated  and  understudied:  works  of  art  that  communicated  messages  of  opposition,  hostility  and  even  hate  that struck  at  the  very  heart  of  the  political  identity  of  the  Medici  dynasty.  Recognizing  the  role  that  art,  artists,  and  artistic  patronage  played  in  opposing  the  Medici  (roughly  from  Cosimo  the  Elder  to  the  end  of  the  sixteenth  century),  this  two-day  event,  sponsored by  the  Medici  Archive  Project  and  the  Archivio  di  Stato   in   Florence,   will   address   this   lacuna.

The   organizers   of  the   conference,   Alessio  Assonitis   and  Stefano   Dall’Aglio,   invite   proposals for   25 minute   papers   that   pertain   to  subjects  including,  but  not  limited  to:

– Anti- Medici  Patronage  in  the  Quattrocento

– Savonarola  and  the  Piagnoni:  aesthetics,  patronage  and  artistic  production

– Michelangelo:  between  pro Medici  and  anti-Medici

– Anti-Medici  art  and  patronage  in  Rome

– Art  and  architecture  in  the  time  of  the  Republic(s)

– Dissent  and  absolutism  under  the  Medici  Dukes

– Anti‐Medicean  sentiment  in  academies,  workshops,  and  confraternities

– Graffiti  and  vandalism

– Florentine  patronage  in  exile

– Duplicity  and  dissimulation

– Censorship  and  Damnatio  Memoriae

The  keynote  speaker  will  be  Paolo  Simoncelli  (Sapienza  Università  di  Roma).

Scholars  interested  in  participating  should  send  an  abstract in  English  or  Italian (no  more  than  200  words)  and  a  one  page  C.V.  to  conference@medici.org by  1  January 2016

The  papers  can   be  presented  in  English  or  Italian.   Selected  participants  will  receive  partial  funding  for  travel  and  accommodation.