Raffaello Sanzio was undoubtedly the most "reproduced" artist in the Western tradition. The ongoing diffusion of his work around the contemporary world has led to his art being altered and modified, making it substantially extraneous when compared to its original conception. The digital world and multimedia have further multiplied and exploded this situation. Therefore, investigating in the present, the Raphael galaxy seems to be an effective tool for understanding languages and the uses of art, yet due to the historical stratification his work has undergone throught the years, the "objective knowledge" ("objektives Wissen") about the goals and origins of his work has be skewed.
This is why the Raphael in Reproductions conference (one of the events celebrating the five hundredth anniversary of the painter's death) aims to explore the reception of Raphael's work in a global context. The aim is to shed new light on the impact which reproductions have on Raphael's role not only in national art histories, but also in popular culture at the end of the 19th and 20th centuries. The discussion will mainly propose comparisons with case studies from different countries and discuss different approaches and evaluations in a comparative way. The contributions of European, American and Asian scholars will aim to present new perspectives on Raphael and his diffusion and reception worldwide.
What keeps Europe together: the European knowledge