conference

Carracci ConservArt" research project

26.10 - 21.10.2023

Visualize and understand the Galerie des Carrache through its critical fortunes, conservation and restoration.
2022-2026

Two seminars have already been held at theAcadémie de France à Rome – Villa Médicis :

→ Research workshops W Roma. Collecting unofficial exhibits – April 18/20, 2023
The aim: to initiate discussions on a forthcoming publication devoted to the numerous graffiti uncovered beneath the layers of whitewash, notably during the latest restoration campaign in the Gallerie des Carrache.

→ Colloquium Les Chantiers des Carrache – November 8/9, 2023
Objective: to present studies and research devoted to the question of the Carracci’s technique of execution, in the major building sites outside Rome.

The research project Carracci ConservArt: Visualize and understand the Carracci Gallery through its critical fortunes, conservation and restoration. XVII ^e-XXIe sièclebrings together the Académie de France à Rome – Villa Médicis, l’French Embassy in Italy, l’École Pratique des Hautes Études – SAPRAT EA 4116the Fondazione Centro Conservazione e Restauro “La Venaria Realethe Soprintendenza Speciale Archeologia, Belle Arti, Paesaggio di Roma.

→ The project has been selected as one of the five-year projects of theÉcole française de Romefor the period 2022-2026, and theAgence nationale de la recherche.

The aim of the project is to study the Galerie des Carrache through the unpublished results of the Gallery’s last major complete restoration campaign, carried out in 2014-2015, in order to shed light in order to shed light on the manufacturing secrets, material transformations, history and important critical fortune of one of the monumental masterpieces of Baroque art. The conclusions of this major restoration project have joined the long list of projects “frozen” in archives that are inaccessible to researchers. By combining the technical and scientific results with the historical and critical research carried out on the work, the research project aims to produce a reference work on the material history of the Galerie des Carrache.

The study of the work will be complemented by the creation of an open access database containing all documentation relating to its critical fortunes; as well as an open access archive with all restoration data; and by the publication of a book devoted exclusively to the hundreds of graffiti found in the Gallery during its restoration.

The project Carracci ConservArt project is fully in line with the objectives of strengthened bilateral cooperation between France and Italy, established by the Quirinal Treaty and reaffirmed in 2022. All the restorers, scientists and art historians involved in the project have signed up to an ethical charter for collaborative research.

Scientific interest of the project

In recent decades, the history of art has been profoundly revitalized by the so-called sciences of heritage. Restoration campaigns are particularly valuable in this respect, as they provide an opportunity to launch a series of analyses and conduct close-up observations of the works. In the particular case of artists as famous as the Carracci, who benefit from a vast bibliography, we still lack abundant data on their techniques and working methods.

From this point of view, the materials collected during the work on the Galerie des Carrache provide an unprecedented documentation of capital importance, thanks to the scientific imagery and observations of the restorers and art historians in charge of the project.

Building up textual and iconographic reference documentation on the gallery requires a multidisciplinary approach, which is the basis of this research project involving art historians, scientists and heritage restorers.

Objectives of this project

- Analysis and presentation of previously unpublished data from the latest restoration of the Galerie des Carrache (publication)

- Study of the critical fortune of the work ( open access database)

- Archiving of all scientific documentation produced during restoration campaigns (online archive, open access)

- Analysis and presentation of the graffiti found in the Gallery (atlas, publication)

Committees

Steering committee:

- Alessandra ACCONCI, Soprintendenza speciale Roma

- Francesca ALBERTI, Academy of France in Rome – Villa Medici

- Rachel GEORGE, French School of Rom e

- Michel HOCHMANN, École Pratique des Hautes Études – SAPRAT EA 4116

Scientific advisors:

- Michela CARDINALI, F ondazione Centro conservazione e restauro “La Venaria Reale

- Giorgio CAPRIOTTI

Participants

Luisa BARUCCI (Studio Barucci CRB)
Diane BODART (Columbia University)
Anna BRUNETTO
Gisella CAPPONI (ex ICR)
Marco CARDINALI (Emmebì Diagnostica Artistica)
Tiziana CAVALERI (CCR Venaria Reale)
Laura Caterina CHERUBINI (ex SSR ABAP)
Lorenza D’ALESSANDRO (Studio Capriotti)
Beatrice DE RUGGIERI (Emmebì Diagnostica Artistica)
Antonio FARISI
Giulia GABELLINI (Studio Gatier)
Pierre-Antoine GATIER (Studio Gatier)
Carlo GIANTOMASSI
Carla GIANTURCO (Studio CRC)
Silvia GINZBURG (Università Roma 3)
Carla GIOVANNONE (ICR Roma)
Ophélie GRANGIER
Francesco GRISOLIA (Università Roma 2 Tor Vergata)
Valentina HRISTOVA (HU Berlin- Alexander von Humboldt Fellow)
Daniela LUZI (Erre Consorzio)
Vincenzo MANCUSO
Bertrand MARCEAU (University of Reims – CERHiC)
Charles MAZE (Atelier National de Recherche Typographique de Nancy)
Daniela MILANI (Studio Milani)
Emanuela OZINO CALIGARIS (Università di Torino – SUSCOR)
Paolo PASTORELLO (Studio CRC)
Federica POZZI (CCR Venaria Reale)
Gabriella PRISCO (ex ICR)
Serena QUAGLIAROLI (Università di Torino – SUSCOR)
Raffaella SARTI (Università di Urbino)
Paolo SCARPITTI (SSR ABP)
Claudio SECCARONI (ENEA)
Coline SUNIER (Institut supérieur des arts de Toulouse)
Romain THOMAS (INHA)
Andrés UBEDA DE LOS COBOS (Museo del Prado Madrid)
Rossella VODRET (ex SSR ABAP)

Scientific Consortium

This research project is based on a balanced scientific consortium of French and Italian institutions. The high quality of the partners’ profiles means that their skills complement each other perfectly to bring the project to a successful conclusion.

Partner institutions :