PerformArt programme

Promoting, Patronising and Practising the Arts in Roman Aristocratic Families (1644-1740). The Contribution of Roman Families’ Archives to the History of Performing Arts

Consolidator Grant de l’European Research Council dans le cadre d’Horizon 2020

Project leader: Anne-Madeleine Goulet (CNRS)

Schedule: September 1, 2016 to August 31, 2021

Illustration : Philippe Casanova, Palais Pallavicini, 1995.

Presentation

Rome, centre of Christianity and capital of the Papal States, dotted with churches and religious institutions, was also in the 17th and 18th century the scene of conflict and intense rivalries between twenty great aristocratic families who could use the musical, theatrical and choreographic shows they organized to openly demonstrate their political positioning. This artistic production from the palaces and holiday villas of the nobility has been much less well studied than the artistic life of the papal court, the great theatres of the city or the main churches.

PerformArt was developed to enrich our knowledge of the history of shows in Rome among the Roman elites between 1644 and 1740, using the abundant documentation that constitutes the archives of eleven important families of the high aristocracy. It brings together several specialized archivists and international specialists from diverse and complementary disciplines already engaged in research themes linked to this micro-society.

This collaboration will ensure the updating and promotion, through a relational database, of original documents likely to shed light on social and artistic practices, the motivations and conditions of patronage, the material framework of artistic production, the status of the artist and his links of greater or lesser dependence on his protectors, and finally, the political, local and international scope of the engagement of these noble families in the artistic life of Rome.

Keywords

Theatre; music; dance; performing arts; social history of shows; Rome; patronage; collections; history of nobility; family archives; family history; cultural transfers

Key statistics

The team consists of 25 people:

18 researchers,
3 archivists,
2 archival experts,
2 administrative staff

Links for more information

www.performart-roma.eu/it

https://twitter.com/performart_roma/

https://www.instagram.com/performart_roma/

Expected results

12 interdisciplinary research seminar sessions, 9 of which will take place at the EFR
2 study days linked to our research themes (in 2018 and 2019)
1 international conference (September 2019)
publication of a special issue of MEFRIM
publication by Brepols of a collective, analytical and synthetic work on the history of the performing arts in Rome between 1644 and 1740
the PerformArt database will be put online in August 2021, which will gather all the significant data collected within the framework of the project

Dans la presse

« Magnificence » sur scène : Rome 1644-1740, entretien à Anne-Madeleine Goulet, par Irène Berelowitch (CNRS Le Journal, 4/11/2024)
À la découverte des madrigaux d'Ercole Bernabei (Classica, 01/03/2023), annonce de la sortie du deuxième disque issu du programme de recherche PerformArt, enregistré par l’ensemble Faenza (dir. Marco Horvat) pour le label EnPhases.
Spettacoli e "performance" artistiche a Roma (1644-1740). Analisi storica attraverso gli archivi delle famiglie aristocratiche (Il Mondo della Musica, 09/05/2022), recension de l'ouvrage Spectacles et performances artistiques à Rome (1644-1740). Une analyse historique à partir des archives familiales de l'aristocratie sous la direction d'Anne-Madeleine Goulet, José María Domínguez, Élodie Oriol publié par l'École française de Rome en 2021.
Compte rendu de Spectacle et performances artistiques à Rome (1644-1740). Une analyse historique à partir des archives familiales de l'aristocratie / Spettacoli e performance artistiche a Roma (1644-1740): analisi storica attraverso gli archivi delle famiglie aristocratiche, par Galliano Ciliberti, Revue Ad Parnassum (vol. 20, n° 38, avril 2022)
Roma. È finita la grande bellezza? Tra marmi antichi e rifiuti moderni, documentaire de Rai Documentari et Arte TV avec la participation de Brigitte Marin, directrice de l'Éccole française de Rome, et d'Anne-Madeleine Goulet, directrice de recherche au CNRS (Rai 2, diffusion le 08/07/2021 à 23h05, disponible en ligne sur Raiplay).
La version française : Rome Voyage au bout de la Ville éternelle (Arte TV, diffusion le 01/09/2021 à 23h50)