Vincenzo Mancuso
Vincenzo Mancuso (Italy, 1987) is a doctor in modern art history (Sorbonne University, EPHE) and a former research fellow at the National Institute of Art History. His doctoral research focused on altar paintings by Carlo Maratti, to which he dedicated several articles. His current research examines the practices of painters in Rome and Sicily, as part of the program “Painting in the cities of Southern Europe in the 17th and 18th centuries” at the University of Perpignan.
His project at Villa Medici
During his residency at the Villa Medici, Vincenzo Mancuso will develop a research project on “the profession of a painter and the practice of devotional painting in Rome (1650-1700): an ‘arte senza tempo’ or a ‘bottegaro’ practice?”
Since its foundation in 1563, the Accademia di San Luca comprised two groups of painters, the “maggiori” and the “minori.” The former were part of the “congregazione dei pittori eletti,” and the latter formed a “compagnia.” According to the academy’s statutes, the painters belonging to the “congregazione” had to be capable of “working by themselves, without the designs or models of others.” The academicians aimed to distinguish themselves from the numerous painters in Rome who produced copies, often of devotional images or portraits, which were sold to the general public. Painters who created small devotional paintings for this lucrative market risked being excluded from academic hierarchies. An emblematic case is that of Giovan Battista Salvi, known as Sassoferrato (1609-1685), the author of a large number of high-quality devotional paintings. However, the serial nature of his production prevented him from achieving institutional and critical recognition. On the other hand, Carlo Maratti (1625-1713), also considered a painter of “Madonnine” (small Madonnas), was a celebrated academician and served as director of the Accademia di San Luca on several occasions. Through the comparison of these artists, this project examines devotional painting in terms of “copy” and “replica” in collecting and artistic literature of the 17th century.