Life models in Florence are threatening court action against the Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze in a bid to improve working conditions. They have also said they might protest naked in public.
Nude models at the fine arts academy, which was founded in 1784, complained to Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera about their “exhausting” work. They want more breaks and argue that their renewable annual contracts, which offer 500 hours over 11 months, do not compensate for the mental and physical suffering caused by their job.
One model told the newspaper, “Each of us signs a 500-hour contract for occasional work, from November to October. Part-time, considering the academic year’s break periods. We have no protection: no insurance, no holidays, no sick leave, not even a digital timecard to record attendance like janitors.”
Another model said his colleagues were considering filing a lawsuit in an administrative court and staging a nude protest in the courtyard of the Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze’s HQ.
The academy traces its roots back to the prestigious Accademia delle Arti del Disegno, which was founded by Cosimo de’ Medici in 1563. Artemisia Gentileschi and Michelangelo have been among its members. Today, almost 2,000 students study art at the academy.
Under legislation brought in by Italy’s universities and research ministry in 2024, life models employed by public institutions who have completed at least three years of service after an official recruitment process should be offered a permanent contract.
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However, Giancarlo Iacomini, the president of the ABC union representing those affiliated with art and music academies, told the Art Newspaper that the academy has said that models employed over three years ago under simplified procedures do not qualify. Iacomini said ten life models, several of whom have worked at the academy for more than three decades, were impacted.
“To expect them now to have gone through a formal recruitment process, when none was foreseen at the time, is deeply contradictory,” he said.
On April 9, Iacomini met the academy’s director, Gaia Bindi, to hash out a resolution. Bindi reportedly argued that she was simply following ministry rules, but Iacomini replied by saying that institutions had “the right and duty to interpret the rules they are asked to apply.” He added that it was “good news” that models in Florence were fighting for their rights.
The Accademia di Belle Arti di Firenze said that three senior staffers met the disgruntled life models on April 7, and that further meetings with union representatives hope to “stabilize [the models’] position and properly value their irreplaceable contribution to education.” The academy added that a new public recruitment notice will be published soon, in which previous contracts “held in the specific job role” will be valid among the assessed qualifications.