In September The Royal Netherlands Institute in Rome (Koninklijk Nederlands Instituut Rome, KNIR) welcomes Elisa Pesapane as KNIR Artist-in-Residence 2025.
The KNIR Artist-in-Residence 2025 is the outcome of a special collaboration between the artist, The KNIR and the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden Leiden (Dutch National Museum of Antiquities) –– distinct from the regular annual KNIR Arts Fellowship, which is co-funded by the Society of Arts.
The Royal Netherlands Institute Rome (KNIR) is one of the five Dutch Academic Institutes abroad (NWIB). Since its foundation in 1904, the KNIR is an important place for Dutch and international researchers and students to work and meet.
One of the main tasks of the institute is to inspire and support studies of Rome, Italy and the influence and significance of Italy and Italian culture in the past and present, in Italy and beyond, through on-site research and training in Rome.
The KNIR conduces knowledge exchange and debate between the Dutch and Italian academic communities as well as the extensive international academic network present in Rome.
During her KNIR residency, Elisa Pesapane will be working on her exhibition ODYSSEUS and the Drowned and the Saved (Odysseus en de verdronkenen en de geredden), which will be on display at the Rijksmuseum van Oudheden in Leiden in 2026, as part of a project comprising eleven exhibitions -each inspired by a different strand in the tapestry of the museum’s collection.
ODYSSEUS and the Drowned and the Saved is also supported by het Cultuurfonds.
Inspired by Etruscan art, reception literature and life experience, Pesapane combines drawing, literature and heritage in a titillating exhibition and homonymous publication:
The main character is a modern and very young Odysseus and his little brother, who travel by ship with a peculiar crew between past and present in search of lost humanity.
Central is the Etruscan culture, where seafaring, mythology and an open world view come together and the traveler’s curiosity, the stranger who brings enrichment. A personal story that also touches on contemporary themes such as identity and migration and offers a fresh and accessible path for young and old to the Etruscan art and culture.
Design of the exhibition and publication – Yolanda Huntelaar
Details of murals: Tarquinia, Detail Tomb Of The Acrobats, Tarquinia | Tomb of the Augurs, TarquiniaDrawings: studies by Elisa Pesapane for ODYSSEUS
Staue: The Head of Leucothea from Pyrgi,the “white Goddess” of the sea (Thesa for the Etruscans), Collection Museo Villa Giulia, Rome
Details of murals: Tarquinia, Detail Tomb Of The Acrobats, Tarquinia | Tomb of the Augurs, Tarquinia
