Artists' writings and writings on arts in the Early Modern
Scritture d'artista e scritture d'arte nella prima età moderna
Résumé
How and why did artists write during the long Renaissance period, and how did language vary across generations and geographical regions? What problems do texts intrinsically linked to artistic practice pose from philological and interpretative perspectives? What are their cultural and social repercussions? This volume, Scritture d'artista e scritture d'arte nella prima età moderna (Writings by Artists and Writings on Art in the Early Modern Period), addresses these questions by examining the writings and genres practised by painters, sculptors, architects, and connoisseurs active between the mid-15^(th) and early 17^(th) centuries. Particular attention is paid to the epistolary genre, which evolved from private writing dedicated to practical purposes during these decades to become the main instrument of court relations. In printed collections, it also became an elegant compendium of intellectual and scholarly production. Moving from the most minute grammatical details to the lexicon and from argumentative strategies to conceptual frameworks, the studies brought together here offer insights into a comprehensive historical and social panorama. This panorama depicts the gradual and non-linear transition from the prototype of the artist as an artisan and craftsman to the prototype of the artist as a courtier who is familiar with rhetoric and the patterns of nascent art historiography.