Call for Papers | Studiolo #20

Issue #20 of the scientific review Studiolo
DOSSIER: ATLAS Sustain, sustainable
Deadline for submission: 10 March 2024
Publication date: Spring 2025

→ Download the call for papers in PDF format

Published by the Académie de France à Rome-Villa Médicis, Studiolo is an annual art history journal dedicated to artistic production and circulation of images between Italy, Europe and the World, from the Renaissance to the present day. The journal welcomes inedited art historic research with founded innovative methods.
Each issue includes a thematic section – dossier – as well as various sections: Varia, open to off-themes proposals, Débats, dedicated to historiographic issues, Villa Médicis, histoire et patrimoine, which looks into the history and patrimony of the Académie de France à Rome, as well as the activities and conservation programs undertaken by the History of Art Department. Finally, in the Champ libre section, Studiolo welcomes proposals from the year’s residents at Villa Medici.

Dossier : ATLAS Sustain, sustainable

Jacopo Zucchi, Atlas, 1589-90, fresco, Rome, Private Palace

Atlas carries the celestial sphere. From the end of the 16th century, with Gerardus Mercator and European expansion, his name began to reflect a desire to represent the whole of the known and colonised world. Today’s ecological imperatives force us to reconsider his effort to support the world itself, otherwise doomed to collapse. According to some authors, such as Herodotus, Atlas was not even a titan, but rather the name of a mountain in north-west Africa considered to be the pillar of the sky.

Now, while Atlas has already lent his name to Aby Warburg’s Mnemosyne Atlas and to his heuristic methods, the figure of Atlas the bearer, like that of the canephorus nymph, invites us to question the identity and the weight of the burden of those who carry.

Starting with this “figure of support”, the twentieth issue of Studiolo calls for a wide-ranging reflection on the representations of the actions of “supporting”, “carrying” and “taking charge of” and, by translation, on the notions of “supportability”, “sustainability”, “Nachhaltigkeit” in relation not only to images, iconographic and architectural elements but also to questions of materiality, visibility, urban ecology, art market, landscape and sustainable development, from a trans-chronological and transcultural point of view.

Faced with unbearable weight, isn’t there a lightness and a new harmony to be found? How can we distribute the otherwise intolerable weight fairly? What power relations are hidden behind the notions of support and, by translation, sustainability?

The new issue therefore invites us to consider the meanings and significance of these notions and (this)wide range of their issues, by calling for contributions that may offer a variety of methodological approaches. The essays can be of a more traditional form, or propose new ideas and perspectives on themes and objects from the Renaissance to the present day, as well as offering reflections on gender, social inequality, ecology and environmental sustainability in relation to the proposed theme.

The essays may address, but are not limited to, the following themes:

Supporting figures: atlantes, caryatids, telamons, “carrying” putti, christophoric figures…
The identity of the telamons or carrier figures (saints, angels, slaves, etc.); ethnic or gender differences of the figures (e.g. Moorish figures supporting lecterns or other monuments; caryatids or canephorae in urban spaces); the relationship between these representations of “carrying” and “support” and social, religious and ethnic conflicts.
Weight vs. (apparent) lightness: the support of heavy objects; the supports of works of art (frames, suspension systems, statue bases, etc.).
The “sustainability” of large formats and sculptures; the virtuosity of presentations which conceal the support.
Pedestals and their iconography.
More or less perennial durability, and more or less sustainable works and materials used (from marble to plastic); the relationship with fragility, waste and consumption.
Sustainable extraction and sourcing.
Sustainable art economy, durability and life of works: reuse, recycling of materials, forms, images and objects (e.g. reuse of statues and columns; recycling of drawing paper; reuse of paper; canvases or rough sculptures, of non finito, of functional objects and re-semanticized by reuse or diversion); artistic styles and techniques allowing savings in materials.
Sustainable economy of art, durability and life of works: reuse and recycling of materials, forms, images and objects (e.g.
Reusing statues and columns; recycling drawing paper; reuse of sheets; reuse of canvases or rough sculptures, of non finito, of functional objects re-semantised); artistic styles and techniques allowing savings in materials.
Sustainability of the art market and of contemporary world institutions, where the practice of “rehabilitation”– of buildings, places or urban spaces for example (such as Punta della Dogana) – needs to be considered critically, taking into account the opportunity it represents, but also the impact it has on the art world as a whole in terms of hegemony, autonomy and sustainability.
Temporality, durability and sustainability vs. ephemeral effects and objects (considered as waste or “consumables”).
Sustainable restoration and duration of works of art.
The relationship between museums/sustainable architecture and the environment.
Sustainability of man-made landscapes vs. unsustainable transformations.

Agnès Varda, Les Dites Cariatides, 1984, 12’, France

We are pleased to announce that Chiara Franceschini, Professor at Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität (LMU), München, has been invited to co-edit the thematic section dedicated to ATLAS Sustain, sustainable in the issue 20 of Studiolo.

Studiolo #20 – Bibliographical suggestions

ANGUISSOLA, 2018: Anna Anguissola, Supports in Roman marble sculpture: workshop practice and modes of viewing, Cambridge, 2018.

BOURGEOIS, 2003: Brigitte Bourgeois, « Secure for Eternity. Assembly Techniques for Large Statuary in the Sixteenth to Nineteenth Century », in Janet Burnett Grossman, Jerry Podany, Marion True (dir.), History of Restoration of Ancient Stone Sculpture, Los Angeles, 2003, p. 149-162.

BURNHAM, 1967: Jack W. Burnham, « Sculpture’s vanishing base », Artforum, VI, n° 3, 1967, p. 47-55.

CHABRE, 2012: Sandrine Chabre, Atlantes et cariatides: les supports anthropomorphes dans la théorie architecturale en France du XVIe au XVIIIe siècle, Paris, 2012.

CHEVILLOT, 1986: Catherine Chevillot, « Le socle », in La sculpture française au XIXe siècle, Paris, 1986.

DERRIDA, 1978: Jacques Derrida, La vérité en peinture, Paris, 1978.

ELSEN, 1974: Albert E. Elsen, « The passing of the pedestal: bringing sculptures down to earth », in Origins of Modern Sculpture: Pioneers and Premises, New York, 1974.

FROMMEL, 2018: Sabine Frommel (dir.), Construire avec le corps humain, les ordres anthropomorphes et leurs avatars dans l’art européen de l’antiquité à la fin du XVIe siècle, Rome, 2018.

GERSTEIN, 2007: Alexandra Gerstein (dir.), Display and Displacement: Sculpture and the Pedestal 1600 to 2000, Londres, 2007, p. 33-61.

DE GRIÑO, OLMOS, ARCE, 1986: B. de Griño, R. Olmos, J. Arce, L.-J. Balmaseda, « Atlas », in Lexicon Iconographicum Mythologiae Classicae, vol. 3.1, Zurich/Düsseldorf, 1986, p. 2-16.

HOMOLLE, 1917: Théophile Homolle, « L’origine des Caryatides », Revue Archéologique, 1917, t. 5, p. A1-67.

JULIEN, 2013: Pascal Julien, « Termes, atlantes et caryatides. Corps et décors d’une architecture discursive, XVIe-XVIIIe siècle », in Ralph Dekoninck, Caroline Heering, Michel Lefftz (dir.), Questions d’ornements XVIe-XVIIIe siècles, Turnhout, 2013, p. 121-135.

KING, 1988: Dorothy King, « Figured Supports: Vitruvius’ Caryatids and Atlantes », Numismatica e Antichità Classiche, n° 27, 1988, p. 275-305.

LE POGAM, 2015: Pierre-Yves Le Pogam, « Un art du recyclage: des sculptures gothiques remployées dans des façades gothiques », Cahiers archéologiques, t. 56, 2015, p. 149-172.

LESK, 2007: Alexandra Lesk, « “Caryatides probantur inter pauca operum”: Pliny, Vitruvius, and the Semiotics of the Erechtheion at Rome », Arethusa, n° 40, 2007, p. 25-42.

LLOYD-MORGAN, 1990: Glenys Lloyd-Morgan, « Caryatids and other Supporters », in Martin Henig (dir.), Architecture and Architectural Sculpture in the Roman Empire, Oxford, 1990, p. 143-151.

MCGRATH, 2012: Elizabeth McGrath, « Caryatids, Page Boys, and African Fetters: Themes of Slavery in European Art », in Elizabeth McGrath et Jack Massing (dir.), The Slave in European Art: From Renaissance Trophy to Abolitionist Emblem, Londres, 2012, p. 3-38.

MIERZWIŃSKI, 1981: Mariusz Mierzwiński, « Some Notes on the Terminology of Figural Supports in Greek and Roman Architecture », Eos, n° 69, 1981, p. 235-240.

MYLONAS SHEAR, 1999: Ione Mylonas Shear, « Maidens in Greek Architecture: The Origin of the “Caryatids”», Bulletin de Correspondance Hellénique, vol. 123, 1, 1999, p. 65-85.

PLOMMER, 1979: Hugh Plommer, « Vitruvius and the Origin of Caryatids», The Journal of Hellenic Studies, vol. 99, 1979, p. 97-102.

ROLLEY, 1994: CIaude Rolley, « Les Caryatides », in La sculpture grecque I. Des origines au milieu du Ve siècle, Paris, 1994, p. 221-224.

SCHMIDT, 1982: Evamaria Schmidt, Geschichte der Karyatide. Funktion und Bedeutung, Würzburg, 1982.

TASSIN, 2016: Raphaël Tassin, « Ornement ou supports ? Un ordre anthropomorphe en France à la Renaissance », in Thierry Verdier (dir.), La passion de l’ornement à la Renaissance, Montpellier, 2016, p. 17-31.

UTUDJIAN, 1966: Édouard Utudjian, Architecture et urbanisme souterrains, Paris, 1966.

VICKERS, 1985: Michael Vickers, « Persepolis, Vitruvius and the Erechtheum: the iconography of medism and servitude», Revue Archéologique, n° 1, 1985, p. 3-28.

WARBURG, JOLLES, 2004: Aby Warburg, André Jolles, « La ninfa, uno scambio di lettere » [1900], Aut Aut, dossier spécial Aby Warburg. La dialettica dell’immagine, Davide Stimilli (dir.), n° 321-322, 2004, p. 46-52.

WARDROPPER, 2008: Ian Wardropper, « “Piedestal et soubassement”: displaying Sculpture in Renaissance France », in Nicholas Penny, Eike D. Schmidt (dir.), Studies in the History of Art: Collecting Sculpture in Early Modern Europe, série Symposium Papers XLVII, vol. 70, actes de colloque (Washington, National Gallery of Art, 2003), Washington, 2008.

ZHONG MENGUAL, MORIZOT, 2018: Estelle Zhong Mengual, Baptiste Morizot, « L’illisibilité du paysage. Enquête sur la crise écologique comme crise de la sensibilité », Nouvelle revue d’esthétique, n° 22, 2018/2, p. 87-96.

Articles can be published in three languages, French, Italian and English, and must be inedited. Under the headings Dossier, Varia and Débats, articles can be between 30,000 and 80,000 characters long (including spaces and notes). In the last section, Villa Médicis, histoire et patrimoine, articles can be between 10,000 and 50,000 characters long (including spaces and notes). Images must be provided by the authors and be free of rights.

Authors are responsible for formatting their articles in accordance with editorial standards.

Authors will be responsible for formatting their article according to editorial standards. The article must be accompanied by an abstract and a biography of the author of 800 characters each. Authors must also mention their affiliation, current research, and recent publications, as well as their e-mail address. Abstract and biography must be sent in a separate document.

All documents should be emailed in Word format to Patrizia Celli, editorial secretary: [email protected].

Deadline for submissions: 10 March 2024
Publication date: Spring 2025

Director of publication: Sam Stourdzé
Editor-in-chief: Francesca Alberti

Editorial Committee: Marc Bayard (Mobilier National), Diane Bodart (Columbia University), Olivier Bonfait (Université de Bourgogne), Luisa Capodieci (Université Paris 1 Panthéon – Sorbonne), Stefano Chiodi (Università Roma Tre), Frédéric Cousinié (Université de Rouen Normandie), Ralph Dekoninck (Université de Louvain), Antonella Fenech (CNRS/ Centre André Chastel), Elena Fumagalli (Università degli Studi di Modena e Reggio Emilia), Sophie Harent (Musée national Magnin, Dijon), Michel Hochmann (EPHE, Paris), Anne-Violaine Houcke (Université Paris Nanterre), Dominique Jarrassé (Université de Bordeaux 3, École du Louvre), Annick Lemoine (Petit Palais, Musée des Beaux-Arts de la ville de Paris), Maria Grazia Messina (Università degli Studi di Firenze), Patrick Michel (Université Charles de Gaulle – Lille 3), Philippe Morel (Université Paris 1 Panthéon – Sorbonne), France Nerlich (Université de Tours, INHA), Patricia Rubin (Institute of Fine Arts, New York University), Maddalena Scimemi (Università Roma Tre), Tiziana Serena (Università degli Studi di Firenze), Anne-Elisabeth Spica (Université de Lorraine), Véronique Yersin (Édition Macula), Giovanna Zapperi (Université de Genève).

Editorial coordination: Cecilia Trombadori
Editorial secretary: Patrizia Celli
Graphic design: Schaffter Sahli
Publisher: Éditions Macula