Dear list members,
The attention of early and mid-career scholars in the field of art history
is drawn to the following research fellowship:
I Tatti/Museo Nacional del Prado Joint Fellowship
Villa I Tatti – The Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies in Florence, Italy, and the Museo Nacional del Prado in Madrid, Spain, offer a joint residential fellowship for the 2020-2021
academic year. Fellows will spend the fall term (September - December) in Madrid, with the support of the Centro de Estudios de Europa Hispánica (CEEH) and the spring term (January - June) in Florence.
The fellowship is designed for early and mid-career scholars in the field of art history, with preference given to advanced research projects that address the relationship between Spain and Italy (including transnational
connections and dialogues with Latin America) during the Renaissance,
broadly understood historically to include the period from the 14th to the 17th century.
Eligibility
Applicants must have their PhD certificate in hand by the time they apply and will be asked to upload a scan of it when submitting their application. Applicants must be conversant in English and Spanish and have at least a reading knowledge
of Italian, with a solid background in Italian and/or Spanish and Latin American studies. Each successful candidate must be approved by both the Museo Nacional del Prado and Villa I Tatti and will spend the fall term (mid-September – mid-December) at the Museo
del Prado in Madrid supported by Centro de Estudios de Europa Hispánica and the spring term (January-June) at Villa I Tatti in Florence. During both terms, it must be possible for Fellows to carry out most of their research with the resources available in
the city where they are resident. Priority will be given to applicants with no previous association with either I Tatti or the Museo del Prado. Renewals, repeats, or deferments of this Fellowship are not granted.
The Fellow will be expected to carry out original research on the topic for which they have been awarded their Fellowship.
Terms and details relating to Villa I Tatti
Terms and details relating to
the Museo del Prado
Application
Applications must be written in English and must be submitted electronically by midnight (Cambridge, MA time) on November 15, 2019. Scholars can apply to only one type of fellowship at I Tatti per academic year.
About
Villa I Tatti, The Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies is a center for the study of early modern culture with a focus on Italy, defined historically as the period
ranging from the 14th to the 17th centuries and geographically to include transnational dialogues between Italy and other cultures (e.g. Latin American, Mediterranean, African, Asian, etc.). The historic villa contains a unique collection of Renaissance and
Asian art, and also houses the Biblioteca Berenson, one of the over seventy libraries that make up the Harvard Library system. In addition to its holdings of nearly 185,000 volumes, an extensive and historically important photograph collection and archive,
and the Morrill Music Library, the Biblioteca Berenson also provides access to a vast range of online journals and other electronic resources, offering Fellows comprehensive interdisciplinary resources for the study of late medieval and early modern Italy.
The most important goals of I Tatti are to advance the understanding of the Italian Renaissance, to encourage the fruitful interchange of ideas, and to create an atmosphere conducive to research and writing. I Tatti offers Fellows the precious time they need
to pursue their studies with a minimum of obligations and interruptions together with a maximum of scholarly resources. Subjects covered include art and architecture, history, literature, material culture, music and performance, philosophy, religion, and science.
The Museo Nacional del Prado holds a unique collection closely linked to the history of Spain. The museum opened to the public in 1819 with the Royal Collection as its foundation, and has been gradually enriched
with paintings from the Museo de la Trinidad and works of art incorporated through bequests, donations and purchases. Today, the Museo Nacional del Prado boasts a collection of more than 8,000 paintings dating from the Middle Ages through the nineteenth century,
900 sculptures from ancient Egypt to the nineteenth century, 9000 drawings and 6000 prints, and an extensive and historically important collection of decorative arts, coins, and medals. In 2009, the Study Center of the Museo Nacional del Prado was founded
as a research center to foster and disseminate the study of art history and the Prado’s collections. Located at the Casón del Buen Retiro, it houses the curatorial departments, the Escuela del Prado, and the Library, Archive, and Documentation Service. The
Library’s holdings include more than 70,000 books and manuscripts and 1000 journal titles and auction catalogues of Western art; the Archive contains a wide range of documents related to the history of the museum, and the Documentation Service provides extensive
information on the works of art from the museum’s collections. Electronic resources, a music library, the Witt Library, and an important collection of antique books are also available for Fellows to consult in the Reading Room, located in the historic Ballroom
of Philip IV’s Palacio del Buen Retiro, beneath the splendid ceiling painted in fresco by Luca Giordano (c. 1697). Together with the seminars and meetings organized by the Escuela del Prado and the interaction with curators, restorers and scholars of the Study
Center, Fellows will benefit from direct access to all of the Prado’s exceptional resources and its international and interdisciplinary academic community.
-------------------------------------------
Amanda D. Smith,
Fellowship Administrator
I Tatti, The Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies
Harvard University
44r Brattle Street, Room 113
Cambridge, MA 02138
T +1 617 496 8724