The colours of silence: deaf painters in early modern Italy

The paper investigates interconnections between art and disability in early modern Italy by focusing on the careers of deaf painters. By looking at early modern biographical accounts, archival documents, works of art and renaissance poetry, it challenges the stereotype that presents people with deafness as outcasts and emphasises that the consideration of intersectional factors was essential to how early modern people responded to impairment. The paper recognises for the very first time the presence of deaf artists in the history of early modern Italian art, presenting their artworks, notebooks and documents pertaining to their life to describe how through art practice they asserted their own profession, identity, and citizenship. The study emphasises the correlation between socio-economic background and access to artistic education. Furthermore, it looks at workshop practice and investigates matters pertaining to artistic specialisation.