Paolo Penko proclaimed Honorary Academician

Master Goldsmith Paolo Penko joins the prestigious Accademia delle Arti del Disegno as an Honorary Academician in the Sculpture Class.

Since its foundation, the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno has celebrated the feast of Saint Luke, the Evangelist Saint who is the patron saint of the arts and artists, especially painters, and who is remembered as the first iconographer to paint the images of the Madonna, Saint Paul and Saint Peter.

On the same day, the opening ceremony of the Academic Year is held at the Palazzo dell’Arte dei Beccai, in Via Orsanmichele, where the historic Academy is located.

It was on this occasion that Master Goldsmith Paolo Penko was proclaimed an Honorary Academician in the Sculpture Class.

“It is with great joy and satisfaction that I have joined the prestigious Academy of the Arts of Design as an Honorary Academician in the Sculpture Class.

I would like to thank the President of the Academy Cristina Acidini, the President of the Sculpture Class Antonio Di Tommaso and the whole College of Professors of the Arts of Design who elected me.”

It is a tradition for new Academicians to present the Accademia with a work of art that represents them in some way. For this reason, Paolo Penko has donated two of his most cherished works to the Accademia: “The Seal of Peace”, symbol of the city of Florence’s testimony as a promoter of peace and values of freedom, and the “Tripartite Lily”, inspired by the similar one found on the sceptre in the portraits of the Medici family’s grand dukes.

What is the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno?

The Accademia delle Arti del Disegno is undoubtedly the oldest art academy in the world with a 454-year history.

Founded by the Compagnia di San Luca, which Florentine artists founded in 1339 to “help those who needed it according to the times, both in things of the soul and of the body”, the academy was established in 1563 by Duke Cosimo de’ Medici, following an idea by Giorgio Vasari and Don Vincenzo Borghini.

The Accademia’s mission was to assist the artists who lived and worked in Florence, to foster the education of young people and to act as a ‘ministry of culture’ in the Grand Duchy.

In 1784, educational activity at the Academy of Belle Arti began. The first academician elected with the title of ‘Father of the Arts’ was Michelangelo Buonarroti. He was followed by a host of illustrious artists and men of genius from every era, including Donatello, Benvenuto Cellini, Leonardo da Vinci, Galileo Galilei, through to Pablo Picasso and beyond.

The Academy Symbol

The symbol of the Accademia delle Arti del Disegno is inspired by Michelangelo’s three circles. These circles represent the three major arts intertwined as sisters: Architecture, Painting and Sculpture, which have the common foundation of Drawing.