Dynamic Interiors: Transitional and Liminal Spaces in Florence's Early Modern Palazzi
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Exeter
Department Name: Modern Languages
Abstract
Project details to be refined.
The project will focus on an aspect of Renaissance Italian art and architecture that intersects with the National Gallery collections, most likely one or more artworks originally produced in Florence (c. 1400-1550) from a religious or secular setting (or indeed both). The project will involve case studies of the original settings and environment of selected works from the National Gallery collection together with an element of digital humanities research, exploring how digital 3D modelling can be used to understand the context and built environment which these artworks originally occupied (churches, palaces etc.). There will be leeway for the student to develop a research topic in discussion with the supervisors, that may for instance focus on religious/secular settings for paintings, but might extend from this to focus on the oeuvre of one artist or workshop, or works related to a specific part of the city. The project would have elements of traditional art historical research (archival and primary research) and this would in part be transposed into the 3D digital modelling process, that the PhD student would learn skills for, but would not be exclusively responsible for.
The project will be delivered in parallel to an ongoing collaboration between the National Gallery and Prof. Nevola's 'Immersive Renaissance' project (funded by the Getty Foundation, through its Digital Art History initiative), and the PhD will adopt and test a robust workflow which has already produced new research findings and proposes new standards for the delivery of digital art history (including addressing issues of uncertainty modelling, the annotation of models, the use of CiDOC-CRM ontologies, etc.). Two possible case examples are suggested here, either of which could form the basis for a significant contribution to the scholarship, and to the existing knowledge on works in the National Gallery collections:
1. Filippino Lippi altar (NG293) for the Rucellai chapel at San Pancrazio. There is an opportunity here to digitally reinstate the altar to its original setting; extensive archival records survive.
2. The digital reconstruction of rooms from the Palazzo Medici including paintings in the National Gallery collection: Paolo Uccello, 'Battle of San Romano' (NG583) and Filippo Lippi overdoors (NG666, NG667). Again, extensive archival records survive.
This project will be conducted as a collaboration with the National Gallery on account of the Gallery's unrivalled collection of relevant artworks and the potential of extending the contextualized understanding of these in line with the wider project aims and activities of the 'Immersive Renaissance' project. We would also be open to the student developing possible connections with the other CDP institutions, the Bowes Museum and York Museums Trust, as both have Italian holdings in their collections.
The activity will build on growing activity the National Gallery is involved in through digital approaches to research and audience engagement, while also developing the skills of the PhD student and extending the digital art history capacity and expertise at the University of Exeter.
The main outcome will be to deliver a PhD thesis that creates new knowledge around one or more artworks from the National Gallery collection (and where possible the Bowes Museum/York Museums Trust). A core aspect of this new knowledge will be applied to and derived from the creation of digital models, and as such the PhD candidate will also acquire skills that will be increasingly valuable to continuing to research in both HE and the gallery sector, as well as in the wider heritage industry. We would also hope to create digital content (assets) that could be redeplo
The project will focus on an aspect of Renaissance Italian art and architecture that intersects with the National Gallery collections, most likely one or more artworks originally produced in Florence (c. 1400-1550) from a religious or secular setting (or indeed both). The project will involve case studies of the original settings and environment of selected works from the National Gallery collection together with an element of digital humanities research, exploring how digital 3D modelling can be used to understand the context and built environment which these artworks originally occupied (churches, palaces etc.). There will be leeway for the student to develop a research topic in discussion with the supervisors, that may for instance focus on religious/secular settings for paintings, but might extend from this to focus on the oeuvre of one artist or workshop, or works related to a specific part of the city. The project would have elements of traditional art historical research (archival and primary research) and this would in part be transposed into the 3D digital modelling process, that the PhD student would learn skills for, but would not be exclusively responsible for.
The project will be delivered in parallel to an ongoing collaboration between the National Gallery and Prof. Nevola's 'Immersive Renaissance' project (funded by the Getty Foundation, through its Digital Art History initiative), and the PhD will adopt and test a robust workflow which has already produced new research findings and proposes new standards for the delivery of digital art history (including addressing issues of uncertainty modelling, the annotation of models, the use of CiDOC-CRM ontologies, etc.). Two possible case examples are suggested here, either of which could form the basis for a significant contribution to the scholarship, and to the existing knowledge on works in the National Gallery collections:
1. Filippino Lippi altar (NG293) for the Rucellai chapel at San Pancrazio. There is an opportunity here to digitally reinstate the altar to its original setting; extensive archival records survive.
2. The digital reconstruction of rooms from the Palazzo Medici including paintings in the National Gallery collection: Paolo Uccello, 'Battle of San Romano' (NG583) and Filippo Lippi overdoors (NG666, NG667). Again, extensive archival records survive.
This project will be conducted as a collaboration with the National Gallery on account of the Gallery's unrivalled collection of relevant artworks and the potential of extending the contextualized understanding of these in line with the wider project aims and activities of the 'Immersive Renaissance' project. We would also be open to the student developing possible connections with the other CDP institutions, the Bowes Museum and York Museums Trust, as both have Italian holdings in their collections.
The activity will build on growing activity the National Gallery is involved in through digital approaches to research and audience engagement, while also developing the skills of the PhD student and extending the digital art history capacity and expertise at the University of Exeter.
The main outcome will be to deliver a PhD thesis that creates new knowledge around one or more artworks from the National Gallery collection (and where possible the Bowes Museum/York Museums Trust). A core aspect of this new knowledge will be applied to and derived from the creation of digital models, and as such the PhD candidate will also acquire skills that will be increasingly valuable to continuing to research in both HE and the gallery sector, as well as in the wider heritage industry. We would also hope to create digital content (assets) that could be redeplo
People |
ORCID iD |
| Fabrizio Nevola (Primary Supervisor) | |
| Anna McGee (Student) |