History of the Accademia di San Luca in Rome – Archival Documents now online

A new online archive of interest to scholars of Italian art history.

History of the Accademia di San Luca

The History of the Accademia di San Luca, c. 1590–1635: Documents from the Archivio di Stato di Roma brings together a body of largely unpublished notarial records from the Trenta Notai Capitolini (TNC) found in the Archivio di Stato di Roma (ASR), many previously thought lost, concerning the institutional history of the Accademia. This new material sheds light on the foundation, operation, administration, and financial management of the academy from its origins in the late 16th century to its consolidation as a well-regarded institution in the 1630s.

The Database

The searchable database of this Web site provides access to a complete transcription of every extant notarial record of the period from the Archivio di Stato di Roma identified by the project team, as well as a digital image of the original document. The transcriptions and page images are viewable side by side.

More information  here or search the database here.

Podcast

The launch of the database was accompanied by a lecture on The History of Books and the Digital Future by Robert Darnton, Carl H. Pforzheimer University Professor and Director of the University Library, Harvard University. He applies the concept of pairing a scholarly book and a Web site to his own research on the clandestine book trade in prerevolutionary France. The lecture is available as a podcast from the National Gallery of Art Washington here.

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