Titolo: Which Baroque? Reloaded. The Fortune of the Baroque in the Collections and Exhibitions of European and American Museums in the 20^th Century. Part II

The Fortune of the Baroque in the Collections and Exhibitions of European and American Museums in the 20^th Century is the two-year research project that the Fondazione 1563 launched in 2021 in the framework of its Study Program on the Age and Culture of Baroque. The project aims to pursue the objectives of deepening and disseminating research outcomes on the Baroque Age through study days, seminars, conferences, research units on specific aspects, study groups, publications, digital products and lastly, the second year of the fellowship grants.

The 2022 notice of competition – Which Baroque? Reloaded. The Fortune of the Baroque in the Collections and Exhibitions of European and American Museums in the 20^th Century. Part II – intends to continue in the direction already explored and proposes to combine theoretical research on critical reception of artists and works of the Baroque Age (to be intended in the broadest chronological extension, in line with the 20th – century criticism) with ideas and thoughts that may arise by crossing different points of view, such as history of exhibitions, museum displays and changes in the arrangements, dynamics of art markets and strategies of art collecting.

The critical affirmation of the Baroque, the whole of the studies and its current critical reception ensue also from a long and difficult process of rediscovery of the 17^th and 18^th – century figurative culture. That process got started at the beginning of the 20th century and had a pivotal moment of intersection between culture and museum studies in La Mostra della pittura italiana del Sei e Settecento in Palazzo Pitti (The Exhibition of Italian Painting of the 17^th and 18^th centuries in Palazzo Pitti), held in Florence in 1922.

Intertwined reflections comparing the studies’ developments with the increasing presence of certain artists on the international art market; reflections on art fruition and art restoration, on the function as catalyst for change of museums and temporary exhibitions are of the utmost importance to this project and to this 2022 notice of competition.

Also, the project intends to examine figures of curators, critics, conservators and scholars who played a decisive role in the acquisition and the arrangement of museum collections and displays; proposes to investigate the critical fortune of artists, painting schools and the arts in their broadest sense (from painting to sculpture and applied arts); aims to contribute to a better understanding of the history of art and the history of architecture resulting from the connections expressed by art works exhibited in museum halls.

By way of example, possible topics could be:

–  Museology matters and museum practice in European and American museums, focusing on how 17^th and 18^th – century artworks have been displayed and enhanced

–  Analysis of exhibitions related to the Baroque artistic culture (with an emphasis on the artworks’ selection criteria, loans and displays), critical reflections on the political and propaganda role of temporary exhibitions in Europe and America

–  Study of art collecting and art markets: critical reception of artists and artworks, economic and commercial trends, dynamics and legal aspects related to artworks’ export and circulation

–  Affirmation the fortune of the Baroque through the thinking of historians, critics, art historians, architectural historians throughout the 20^th century

–  Study of the culture of art restoration in relation to 17^th – and 18^th – century artworks

–  Analysis of the figures of curators, critics, conservators, scholars, critics, collectors, gallerists, antiquarians, intermediaries who played a decisive role within this call’s topics

–  Study on how contemporary artistic production, furnishing and décor culture, cinema, the visual arts, publishing have received, interpreted, responded to the Baroque

–  Analysis of the different ways of communicating and disseminating the artistic culture of the Baroque, including specialist periodicals, publishing in the field, newspapers and magazines with high circulation.

Projects may include collaborations with European and American museums and archives initiated by candidates. As per the nature of the research and the goals of the Study Program on the Age and Culture of Baroque, the Fondazione may ask for candidates’ collaboration in digital humanities projects set up by the Fondazione itself. Therefore, applicants should possess adequate digital skills and familiarity with digital. Proposals will be evaluated also according to their dissemination potential, that is to say the accessibility of the project outcomes.

The project outcomes will be presented in a historical-critical essay and researchers will actively collaborate in conceiving collective projects.

Italian will be the default language of the research project, however the research outcomes may be drawn up in Italian, English, French or Spanish.

The call is open to post-doc applicants holding a doctorate, a specialisation degree or a 2^nd level specialised master’s degree from an Italian university, or equivalent degrees from an international university.

Applicants should normally be within 7 years of the award of their PhD or the above qualifications, or, at least, they must obtain them by the 31^st of December 2022.

There are no nationality requirements.

The Fondazione 1563 encourages applications from scholars of all backgrounds. We welcome diversity and are committed to creating an inclusive work environment.

The grants will cover one or more of the following disciplines and the proposals may be multi-or inter-disciplinary.

The following list is for example only and by no means exhaustive:

• social and demographic history
• political institutional history
• religious history and history of ecclesiastical institutions
• history of economics and economic thought
• history of science and technology
• history of literature
• history of philosophy
• music history
• theatre history
• heatre history
• cinema history
• art history
• history of architecture
• history of law

The following applications will not be considered:

• applications submitted by candidates who have been awarded other grants, funding or research fellowships, or other similar funding or benefits, concerning the same theme of the application submitted for this Fellowship;
• applications concerning projects whose topic is not original; original topics may include extensions of scientific work already completed by the applicant;
• applications concerning projects that cannot be recognized as research projects according to international scientific research standards.

Each of the 4 Fellowships consists of an annual grant amounting to € 23,000 before taxes and other charges.

On top of that, a flat-rate reimbursement of €2,000 is envisaged for covering expenses related to materials, digital instruments, registration fees, access to databases, travel and accommodation expenses related to the Fellowship. The reimbursement will be paid out in three instalments, along with the grant instalments, included in the pay slip and taxed under the ordinary tax scheme.

The grant will have a duration of one year, starting on the 1^st of January 2023 until the 31^st of December 2023, and may be extended for an additional quarter, at no additional charge for the Fondazione 1563 and with delayed payment to the grantee of the last instalment. Any extension requests must be submitted to the Scientific Committee at the Fondazione 1563 three months before the set date of completion. The Fondazione1563 reserves any decisions on extension requests.

In addition to developing their own research projects, the grantees will actively collaborate in conceiving digital humanities products and in carrying out other connected research actives in the framework of Which Baroque? project

The annual grant will be paid out in three instalments:

• the first, amounting to 40% of the overall grant, upon awarding the grant;
• the second, amounting to 30% of the overall grant, upon submission and evaluation of the half-year progress report;
• the third, amounting to 30% of the overall grant, upon conclusion and evaluation of the research project.

Applications must be submitted exclusively online by filling out the forms available on the Fondazione 1563’s website at www.fondazione1563.it.

Applications or attachments sent by any other means will not be accepted.

Applications must be submitted by 12^th September 2022, at midnight (Italian/CET time).

Eligible applications will be evaluated by a committee of experts appointed by the Fondazione1563, according to the applicant’s qualifications and the research project proposed. Selected applicants may be required to sit for an interview that will focus on the research proposal and the applicant’s scientific curriculum.

The research projects will be evaluated based on the following criteria (in no particular order):

1. coherence with the Call topic;
2. originality, quality and scientific relevance of the research project;
3. familiarity with concepts and methods;
4. clear description of objectives, envisaged activities, expected outcomes and criticalities;
5. contribution to the advancement of knowledge in international research;
6. applicant’s capacity to establish relations with qualified Research Institutions;
7. adequate planning in terms of research and implementation;
8. interdisciplinary nature of the research project;
9. dissemination and third mission (high scientific dissemination)

The Fellowships will be awarded by the Executive Board of Fondazione 1563. Fondazione 1563 reserves the right not to award all the Fellowships, in case the proposals submitted are deemed qualitatively inadequate. The winners will be announced in no particular order. The proposals that are not awarded grants will not be subject to classification.

The list of winners will be published no later than 30th November 2022 on the Fondazione 1563’s website, at www.fondazione1563.it.

The winners will be notified in writing and will be required to fill out and return the Fellowship Acceptance form, according to the terms contained therein, within 7 working days of reception of notification.

The Fellowships will begin on 1^st January 2023 and will last for one year and may be extended according to the terms illustrated in par. 3.

The grant instalments will be paid out provided that the research activities are carried out and subject to Fondazione 1563 approval based on progress made.

Six months after awarding the Fellowship, the grantee will submit a written progress report (no more than 12,000 keystrokes including spaces) and sit for an interview to illustrate project updates to the Fondazione1563 and/or to scientific experts appointed.

The grantees will submit a final project report within twelve months of awarding the Fellowship. The report will consist of a written scientific report containing at least 200,000 keystrokes (including spaces), in the languages outlined in par. 1 above. The report will include a bibliography, critical references (not included in the total keystroke count) and an abstract in both Italian and English no more than 12,000 keystrokes in length (including spaces).

The written report will be sent to the Fondazione 1563 in digital form.

The Fondazione 1563 may revoke the Fellowship, with an irrevocable decision, in case the research activity differs from or falls below the quality standards envisaged in the original project; the activities performed by the researcher have not been approved by the Fondazione1563; the eligibility criteria are no longer met.

If the Fellowship is revoked or the project cannot be completed, any amounts that have already been paid out at that point in time will be returned to Fondazione 1563 within 30 days of notification to the grantee that the Fellowship has been revoked.

The research projects carried out under the Rosaria Cigliano Fellowship Program will be collected by the Fondazione 1563 in the Research Program Archives. The grantees will be invited to contribute to the Research Program Archives by submitting relevant research texts and materials and digital products.

The Archives will be located on the premises of the Fondazione 1563 and will be accessible to interested scholars. Fondazione 1563 will regulate access to the Archives while safeguarding.

In order to disseminate the research outcomes and to provide additional scientific recognition to the grantee, the Fondazione 1563 will publish the research papers or any updates thereof, in digital form, in the series “Alti Studi sull’Età e la Cultura del Barocco”, and the publication will be registered with ISBN Agencies. The research may also be published in the collection “Quaderni sull’Età e la Cultura del Barocco” curated by the Fondazione 1563.

To this end, by participating in the Call, the grantees authorize the Fondazione 1563 to publish their research papers and related images in digital form, without any additional earnings for the grantee, provided that the Fondazione 1563 will gain no financial profit from the said publication.

The grantees will notify the Fondazione 1563 of any other publication of the research activities carried out within the framework of this Fellowship, as well as the presentation thereof at conferences or seminars.

These will contain a reference to the fact that the research on which the publication or presentation is based was funded by a Fellowship grant awarded by the Fondazione 1563.

In order to facilitate the implementation of the research project funded through the Fellowships, the Fondazione 1563 may organize intermediate workshops to discuss progress made and problems arising in connection thereto. Upon completion of their research projects, the grantees will present their activity in public events that may be organized by the Fondazione 1563.