It is the young Salento scholar Luke Male (Poggiardo, 1997), a doctoral student in Cultural Heritage Sciences at theUniversity of Salento, who is the winner of the 2025 edition of the "Sir Denis Mahon" 2025 International Essay Prize, an award established in memory of Denis Mahon, one of the most influential art historians of the 20th century. The announcement, released by the Municipality of Cento today, on the day dedicated to the birth of Sir Denis Mahon, comes to confirm the vitality of the bond that unites the Emilian city with the great British scholar, an honorary citizen of Cento since 1982 for his commitment to the valorization of Guercino’s work.
Luke Male’s award-winning work explores in depth the artistic and intellectual relationship between Girolamo Porti, a literary man from Ferrara, and Giovanni Francesco Barbieri, known as Guercino, restoring an unprecedented picture of the cultural interactions that animated the Emilian milieu in the 17th century. The jury chose to award the essay for the originality of the research, methodological rigor and interpretative depth demonstrated by an author who is still young but already capable of proposing significant contributions to art historiography. Maschio will receive a scholarship of 2,000 euros, intended to support the continuation of his investigations on Guercino and the cultural context of the time.
The award ceremony will be held on Saturday, November 30, 2025, at 5 p.m. in the “F. Zarri” of the Governor’s Palace in Cento, on the occasion of the Study Day promoted by the International Study Center “il Guercino.” The event, which traditionally accompanies the anniversary of the reopening of the Civica Pinacoteca, is an important appointment for scholars, art historians and enthusiasts of the Italian seventeenth century. During the day, Maschio will present a summary of his essay to the public, illustrating the reflections and findings that earned him the prize.
The “Sir Denis Mahon” Prize was established in 2010, on the centenary of the English art historian’s birth, thanks to the initiative of a group of friends and colleagues who wanted to continue his moral and intellectual legacy. Until 2023 it was promoted by The Sir Denis Mahon Foundation in London; today its organization is entrusted to the International Study Center “il Guercino,” which takes care of its scientific direction and management. For the 2025 edition, the first under the aegis of the Center and the Municipality of Cento, the prize has been able to count on the support of the Fondazione Cassa di Risparmio di Cento, which has guaranteed economic coverage of the scholarship. The banking institution, historically active in supporting cultural activities and the education of young people, thus renewed its commitment to research and the enhancement of the local artistic heritage.
The bond between Sir Denis Mahon and the city of Cento has its roots in the 1980s, when the British historian, among the most important scholars of the Italian Baroque, received honorary citizenship for his contribution to the knowledge and protection of Guercino and his school of painting. Mahon, who was born in 1910 and died in 2011, was one of the absolute protagonists of 20th-century art historiography. His long and rigorous career intertwined academic research and curatorial activity, with seminal studies on artists such as Caravaggio, Guido Reni, Guercino and Poussin. His method, based on scrupulous analysis of sources and a deep sense of history, has influenced generations of scholars and collectors.
The prize jury consisted of Giovanni Sassu, director of the Pinacoteca Civica di Cento, and art historians Fausto Gozzi, Joanna Kilian and David Stone, who evaluated nine competing essays from young Italian and foreign scholars. The variety of topics and the quality of the research confirmed the vitality of Baroque and seventeenth-century studies, a field that continues to offer insights for European art history.
“It is a great satisfaction for the City of Cento to have received the baton from the Sir Denis Mahon Foundation for the organization of this prestigious initiative,” says Culture Councillor Silvia Bidoli. “This recognition confirms the value of an international cultural dialogue that unites Cento and London in the sign of Guercino and art-historical research. A deep bond that confirms how much research, passion and talent of young people can continue to keep Sir Denis Mahon’s lesson alive. I thank the London Foundation for the trust and opportunity it has given us and the President of the Carice Foundation for the generous support received.”
Also very pleased is the President of the Study Center, Valeria Tassinari: “The mission of the Study Center finds full expression in picking up the baton of the Mahon Prize from the London Foundation, and the excellent quality of the participating essays, from both national and international sources, confirms the vitality of research in art history among young scholars.”
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| Young scholar Luca Maschio wins the Sir Denis Mahon Prize 2025 |
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