Accademia Nazionale di San Luca

Informazioni Generali

Accademia Nazionale di San Luca has its origin in the institution established between the late 1500s and early 1600s, as well as in the older University of Art and Painting of Rome. The first statutes of the Universitas picturae [ac] miniaturae date back to 1478 and are to this day held in the Academy’s archive: on the frontispiece Saint Luca is represented in the act of receiving the new rules of the Art from four members of the University. In the small church of San Luca on the Esquilino hill, first seat of the University, there was an altar piece, traditionally attributed to Raphael and dedicated to the Evangelist Luca, patron of painters. The altar piece was later moved to the church of Santi Luca e Martina at the Foro Romano, and finally to Palazzo Carpegna, where it can still be found today.