Black Italian Renaissance – Screening of the new documentary by Sky

(NYU Florence Community only)

The Sky Original production Black Italian Renaissance: African Presence in Art (exclusively on Sky Arte from Sunday 27 November at 9:15 pm, streaming on NOW and also on demand) discovers the stories of Black Africans in Italian Renaissance art through characters, through works and documents, starting from the portraits of one of the most famous figures of African descendant in Italy, the first Duke of Florence, Alessandro de’ Medici, passing through the representations of enslaved individuals or important African ambassadors, along with the portraits of those who made up the fabric of Renaissance society: gondoliers, knights, religious figures.

The documentary, written by Francesca Priori and directed by Cristian Di Mattia, brings together an international team of art historians who have found new ways to explore Black history in Italy, focusing on the lives of Africans and those of African descent who lived in the Renaissance period, reconfiguring their identity and their role in society and finally revealing an aspect of this extraordinary era that has remained hidden so far, despite an indelible presence in some of the most famous works of art in the world.

The event will be followed by a brief dialogue with Justin Randolph Thompson, The Recovery Plan.