Thesis: Theory, practice and culture of disegno in the Carracci’s Reform of the Arts, 1582-1619

Supervisors: Dr Giorgio Tagliaferro, Prof. David Ekserdjian, Dr. David Hemsoll

 

Background:

Laura Staccoli is a PhD Candidate in History of Art at the University of Warwick, co-supervised by Dr. Giorgio Tagliaferro (University of Warwick), Prof. David Ekserdjian (University of Leicester) and Dr. David Hemsoll (University of Birmingham). Laura studied Italian Literature and History of Art (BA, LM) at the University of Bologna and graduated magna cum laude. In 2017, she received her Master’s degree in History of Art (Distinction) from the Courtauld Institute of Art in London, where she specialised in prints and drawings from the Renaissance and the Early Modern period. In 2018-19, Laura worked in the Curatorial Department of Prints and Drawings (Royal Collection Trust) at Windsor Castle, researching and cataloguing a group of sixteenth-century Italian drawings in the Royal Collection. In 2023, she was awarded the British Museum's Michael Bromberg Fellowship to deepen knowledge of print history and printmaking techniques.

 

Research:

Drawing was at the core of the Carracci Academy, established in Bologna in 1582 by the brothers Agostino and Annibale together with their cousin Ludovico. Wanting to break with the local artistic tradition, the Carracci promoted a radically different approach to art, based on the study of nature and life drawing, and created a new pedagogical path for the education of the artist, which eventually came to dominate European art until the nineteenth century. By analysing the materiality, function and use of drawings in the Academy, with a particular focus on Agostino Carracci (Bologna 1557- Parma 1602), this project will explore the concept and practice of disegno, intended not only as an academic exercise, but also as a fundamental element in the visualization and exchange of ideas, and its impact on the development of knowledge and visual culture.

AHRC-funded Midlands4Cities Doctoral Training Partnership (M4C)

 

Teaching:

Senior Graduate Teaching Assistant - HA110: Drawing (2023-24), History of Art Department, University of Warwick

 

Email: Laura.Staccoli@warwick.ac.uk