Dr. Jessica Fripp - The French Academy in Rome: Adventures in Bromance, 2021

Winning the Royal Academy’s prix de Rome was a major accomplishment for aspiring painters and sculptors in 18th-century France. The prize came with a three-year funded stay in Rome, and provided an opportunity for artists to finish their education by viewing firsthand antique, Renaissance, and Baroque works of art in the Eternal City. But, much like students who study abroad today, their time in Rome involved just as much play as work.

In this lecture, Dr. Jessica L. Fripp, Associate Professor of Art History and Undergraduate and Graduate Coordinator at Texas Christian University, will talk about works of art that provide a view into the less studious side of artists’ time in Rome: caricatures. What can these “silly” drawings tell us about life in Rome as a young artist, and the role of friendship and play in academic artistic training? This program will also be livestreamed on the DMA’s YouTube channel.

Dr. Fripp's recent book Portraiture and Friendship in Enlightenment France will be available for purchase at the DMA Store, and a book signing will follow the event on-site.