The Irish recreation of Raphael’s The School of Athens fresco with an all-women cast was presented in Rome in celebration of St Brigid’s Day on Monday, February 2nd. The image was exhibited at a symposium hosted by the Na Cailleaha collective in collaboration with the Embassy of Ireland to Italy and Ireland-Italy Projects.
Na Cailleacha is a collective of six visual artists exploring the collective female experience, ageing and the female body. Their project The School of Hibernia was staged in collaboration with Trinity’s History of Art and Architecture Department in the Museum Building in March 2024. The project is a full-scale recreation of the 16th century School of Athens located in the Vatican, and was created as a response to the all-male ensemble of the original piece.
The School of Hibernia features 41 Irish women, including Mary Robinson (the first female President of Ireland), and Trinity’s first female Provost Linda Doyle. Other participants included female leaders in many fields, such as Mary E Daly (first female president of the Royal Irish Academy), writer Melatu Uche Okorie and poet Eiléan Ní Chuilleanáin.
The event, which took place in the crypt of St Brigid’s Church, included speeches from Na Cailleacha curator Catherine Marshall, the former Deputy Director of the Vatican Museum Collections, Professor Arnold Nesselrath, the first woman Director of the National Gallery of Ireland, Caroline Campbell, and Trinity art historian, Professor Rachel Moss.
Speaking about The School of Hibernia, Prof Rachel Moss stated that the project “marks a moment in female achievement that would have been inconceivable at the start of Na Cailleacha’s careers”. The idea behind the tableau is to promote the visibility of women in the visual arts and challenge the pervasiveness of the patriarchy in history. Elizabeth McCullough, the Ambassador of Ireland to Italy also expressed her belief that the event “will allow us to reflect on the significant progress attained since The School of Athens was created”.
The event was followed by the premiere of Therry Rudin’s new documentary Rootstock: The making of The School of Hibernia (After Raphael): a film centering the story behind the creation of the project.
