Harvard Club of Japan

Prof. Jonathan Nelson on "An Economic Approach to Renaissance Art: Raphael and his Patrons"

Jonathan Nelson, Assistant Director of I Tatti, The Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies near Florence, Italy, will speak to HCJ members at the FCCJ in Tokyo on Monday, May 20th

The Harvard Club of Japan cordially invites you to a lecture by Professor Jonathan K. Nelson, Assistant Director at Villa I Tatti - The Harvard University Center for Italian Renaissance Studies (Florence), on Monday, May 20, 2013 from 19:00 - 21:00 at the Foreign Correspondents Club of Japan.

Professor Nelson will give a presentation entitled "An Economic Approach to Renaissance Art: Raphael and his Patrons”.

We usually talk about art from the point of the view of artists or viewers, but this lecture takes the perspective of individuals who ordered works by Raphael, including Pope Leo X. Leo, the son of another famous patron —Lorenzo de'Medici 'the Magnificent'—grew up in 15th century Florence, where one patron clearly explained the motivations for his art patronage. The commissions brought him “the greatest pleasure because they serve the glory of God, the honor of the city, and the commemoration of myself.”  Focusing on Raphael’s patrons, the talk considers three main elements for analyzing commissions: benefits, costs, and limiting factors. The patron’s goal was to commission a work that would bring the maximum benefits for the lowest costs, working within the applicable constraints. 

Raphael is currently the subject of the subject of a major exhibition at the National Museum of Western Art, Tokyo; for more information, see <http://www.nmwa.go.jp/en/exhibitions/raffaello2013.html>

About Villa I Tatti:

Professor Nelson will also give a brief introduction to Villa I Tatti, the foremost research institution in the world for Italian Renaissance art, history, literature, and music. Harvard University inherited Villa I Tatti and its estate outside Florence from the distinguished art historian Bernard Berenson, together with his vast collection of books, photographs, and works of Italian Renaissance and Asian art.

Today, the Center offers fifteen full-year post-doctoral Fellowships annually, as well as several Visiting Fellowships for shorter periods. A new fellowship is designed to support and promote Italian Renaissance studies in areas that have been under-represented at I Tatti, including Asia. In its first year, in 2012, this fellowship was given to a Japanese scholar. For more information about I Tatti, see their website: http://itatti.harvard.edu/, or Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/villaitatti.