Baroque and Rococo Pictorial Imagery

Fülszöveg

Baroc^ue and Jlococo
PICTORIAL IMAGERY
CESARE RIPA
During the baroque and rococo periods in Europe certain symbolic representations were accepted by artists and poets as expressing basic , ideas, and formed an international language of metaphor (or iconography) which permeated painting, sculpture, other representational forms, poetry, and certain aspects of prose.
The heart of this symboHc lingua franca of the arts was, in large part, the work of the Italian mythopoet Cesare Ripa (c. 1560-c. 1623). In his Iconologia of 1593 he presented a codification of symbolic attributes associated with various ideas and phenomena, uniting a wealth of allusions from classical literature (both directly and via Renaissance interpretations), the Judeo-Christian heritage, an imaginative understanding of ancient Egypt, and similar sources. This iconography went through many editions during the next century and was drawn upon heavily by succeeding scholars, emblematists, and artists.
Ripa's... Tovább

Fülszöveg

Baroc^ue and Jlococo
PICTORIAL IMAGERY
CESARE RIPA
During the baroque and rococo periods in Europe certain symbolic representations were accepted by artists and poets as expressing basic , ideas, and formed an international language of metaphor (or iconography) which permeated painting, sculpture, other representational forms, poetry, and certain aspects of prose.
The heart of this symboHc lingua franca of the arts was, in large part, the work of the Italian mythopoet Cesare Ripa (c. 1560-c. 1623). In his Iconologia of 1593 he presented a codification of symbolic attributes associated with various ideas and phenomena, uniting a wealth of allusions from classical literature (both directly and via Renaissance interpretations), the Judeo-Christian heritage, an imaginative understanding of ancient Egypt, and similar sources. This iconography went through many editions during the next century and was drawn upon heavily by succeeding scholars, emblematists, and artists.
Ripa's original work was not illustrated, and succeeding editions sometimes attempted to remedy this deficiency by adding pictures to enlarge the text. The best of these illustrated editions based ultimately on Ripa is generally considered to be that of Hertel, published in Augsburg, around 1760. It consisted of 200 plates illustrating Ripa's system, although it did not include the basic text.
This present edition, edited by Edward A. Maser of the University of Chicago, reprints the 200 plates from the rare Hertel Históriáé et AUegoriae, translates the German and Latin captions, and adds full descriptions, interpretations and analyses based on Ripa's work. It is thereby the most satisfactory edition of Ripa ever made.
For scholars who are concerned with relearning the lost language of pictorial symbolism that flourished in premodern Europe, this book will be their best introduction to the symbolic and allegorical concepts of the time. Other modern readers will be delighted with the fine engravings, which are interesting in themselves and comprise an excellent source of copyright-free illustrations for artists and designers.
Unabridged Dover (1991) republication »f the edition published as Históriáé et AUegoriae by Johann Georg Hertel, Augsburg, 1758-60. 200 black-and-white illustrations. New introduction, translations of the captions and index, and plate descriptions by Edward A. Maser. 430pp. x Paperbound.
Free Complete Dover Catalog available upon request. Vissza