Gabriella L. Johnson Appointed Next AFC Postdoctoral Fellow

Gabriella Johnson, a native of Atlantic City, New Jersey, specializes in the seventeenth-century art and material culture of southern Italy. Her dissertation, Galatea’s Realm: The Art of Coral, Shells, and Marine Fossils in Early Modern Sicily, Naples, and the Maltese Islands, studies how humans related to and understood aquatic nature through artmaking over the course of the seventeenth century.

“I am excited to work with the rich and historic collections at Capodimonte,” Johnson says. “Naples was never on the periphery of artistic achievement, but very much an important and original chapter in the history of Italian art. The fellowship is a great opportunity to enrich the public’s understanding of southern Italian art, especially within Italian diaspora communities.”

Gabriella will start her fellowship in September 2025. Click here to learn more about Gabriella.

Claire Van Cleave (‘20-’21 Senior AFC Fellow) has just published her book on the Farnese drawings at Capodimonte. At its peak, the Farnese collection included over 850 works on paper, today 57 drawings with a Farnese provenance are present at Capodimonte. Claire began her research during her AFC fellowship. The resulting book comprises two parts: a history of the Farnese collection and a catalogue including works by Parmigianino and Sofonisba Anguissola.

The book is published by Editori Paparo and can be ordered here. It includes forwards by Capodimonte Director Eike Schmidt and prints and drawings curator Vincenzo Stanziola. Stay up to date on Claire’s new publication through her Instagram page @farnese_drawings

Serving One of Europe’s Greatest Museums

The American Friends of Capodimonte (AFC) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose mission is to build awareness in the English-speaking world of one of Europe’s greatest museums. We are a group of scholars and art lovers dedicated to sharing Capodimonte’s magnificent collection as well as raising funds for special projects at the Museum and its Royal Park. Thanks to our Capodimonte Fellowships, we are the first and only American organization to place talented, young American art historians directly inside an Italian museum. For more information on the AFC Fellowship, click here.

Benefits

Contributors to the AFC will receive exclusive access to the Capodimonte Museum—an unprecedented rarity in Italy. Our members and donors enjoy private tours, events, and dinners in the Museum and Royal Park. When works from the collection travel to America, we invite all who contribute to join us for events and exhibitions. Every summer the doors of Southern Italy’s greatest monuments and private palaces are opened exclusively for us during our annual journey to Naples. 

View the Latest Instagram Posts from our AFC Fellow

On the second floor of the museum visitors can now watch the ongoing restoration of twenty paintings, mainly from Capodimonte’s Bourbon collections. The open laboratory allows for a glimpse into a process that usually takes place behind closed
Today is Good Friday, the day upon which Christ’s death is commemorated. Many Catholic parishes organize processions to mark the event. The Good Friday procession in Chieti (Abruzzo) is one of the oldest in Italy, dating back to the 9th century
(2/2) Our AFC Fellow Emma de Jong was accepted to attend a seminar on print curation in London and Paris, organized by Print Quarterly and fully funded by the Getty Paper Project. In Paris, the group visited the Rothschild Collection at the Louvre, t
(1/2) Our AFC Fellow Emma de Jong was accepted to attend a seminar on print curation in London and Paris, organized by Print Quarterly and fully funded by the Getty Paper Project. The first three days were spent in London, visiting the British Museum

Our Impact

Fellowships and Research

The AFC’s Fellowship is the only program to offer young American art historians the transformative, multi-year experience of working hands-on in an Italian museum. Our Fellows engage in essential English-language outreach and produce publications that open Capodimonte to a global audience.
Interested AFC Fellowship applicants can find application details on our Fellowships page.

Technology

Thanks to the AFC’s efforts, the Capodimonte Museum is Google Arts & Culture’s largest partner in Italy and the seat of an Apple Foundations Program.

International Exchange

The AFC has made the Capodimonte Museum a global meeting point by facilitating and encouraging dialogue with professors, journalists, diplomats, and American servicemen and women.

We would love to hear from you! Please reach out to us through our contact form and click here for more information about donating and becoming a member of our organization. 

Watch an Introduction to the Capodimonte’s Print and Drawings Collection with AFC Fellow Emma C. de Jong (’23-’25)

Read About Emma’s Research on the Carlo Firmian Print Collection

Click on the image to go to the article published on the CODART website.

Watch AFC Fellow Caroline Paganussi (’21-’23) Give an Introduction to the Capodimonte Museum

Listen to Caroline Talk to the BBC About a Caravaggio Masterpiece

Click on the image to be taken to the BBC Radio 4 website.