After the creation of the Duchy, (anti-)Medicean interests can be traced out of Florence, as a result of the Duchy’s competition with other great European powers. Counselors, ambassadors, diplomats and other ‘representative’ political figures start populating the international scene, destined to become promoters of new forms of patronage and collecting. The family’s growing interests towards Rome and the Neapolitan Viceregno turned these centers into fundamental junctions of Medicean international politics. The presence of the Medici was felt in Spain, especially after the marriage of Cosimo I with Eleonora di Toledo (1539), and in France, thanks to Maria de' Medici’s Regency from 1600. However, Medicean presence was not limited to Europe and recent studies have shown how the Levant and the principality of Transylvania, among other areas, were included into the sphere of the family’s patronage and influence. The aim of the conference is to investigate interaction (and opposition) strategies put forward by the Medici within this broad geographical and cultural framework.
We welcome contributions on the topic which focus on objects, collections and the mobility of artist, tying the arguments to specific political-ideological contexts, focusing on the relationship between art and power, and on the exchange, hybridization and recontextualization of political values and their symbols.
To participate, proposals of up to 2300 characters and accompanied by a brief CV of up to 1800 characters should be sent to medicifuorifirenze@gmail.com by 30 September 2021. We welcome 20-minutes-long papers in Italian, English, French and German. The proceedings will be collected in a volume published by Campisano editore (Rome). The conference will be held in presence, remotely or in hybrid form in accordance with current restrictions.
Scientific Committee
Alessandro Nova (Kunsthistorisches Institut in Florenz – Max-Planck-Institut), Novella Barbolani di Montauto (Sapienza Università di Roma), Gianluca Petrone (Sapienza Università di Roma), Stefano Pierguidi (Sapienza Università di Roma), Marco Ruffini (Sapienza Università di Roma), Lunarita Sterpetti (Sapienza Università di Roma).