Cosimo Bartoli (December 20, 1503 in
Florence – October 25, 1572) was an Italian diplomat, mathematician,
philologist, and
humanist. He worked and lived in
Rome and
Florence and took minor orders. He was a friend of architect and writer
Giorgio Vasari, and helped him to get his ''
Vite'' ready for publication.
[Miller]
Life
Bartoli worked in diplomatic circles, including as secretary to Cardinal Giovanni de’ Medici and as diplomatic agent for Duke
Cosimo I. Bartoli wrote ''Ragionamenti accademici'' (Venice, 1567), which was mainly a criticism of
Dante. One chapter, however, gave descriptions of composers and instrumentalists. He cited the composers
Johannes Ockeghem and
Josquin des Prez
Josquin Lebloitte dit des Prez ( – 27 August 1521) was a composer of High Renaissance music, who is variously described as French or Franco-Flemish. Considered one of the greatest composers of the Renaissance, he was a central figure of the ...
as equal to
Donatello and
Michelangelo
Michelangelo di Lodovico Buonarroti Simoni (; 6 March 1475 – 18 February 1564), known as Michelangelo (), was an Italian sculptor, painter, architect, and poet of the High Renaissance. Born in the Republic of Florence, his work was insp ...
in their respective arts, and stated that Ockeghem and Donatello were the precursors to Josquin and Michelangelo. In this book he also critiques architecture and painting, mainly focusing on the arts of his native Florence. He extolled the concept of ''invenzione'' in all the arts.
Works
*
He also published a collection of translations of works by
Leon Battista Alberti under the title ''Opuscoli Morali di Leon Batista Alberti, gentil’huomo firentino''. Venice, 1568. These included:
*''Momo, ovvero del Principe''
*''De’ discorsi de senatori, altrimenti Trivia''
*''Dell’amministrare la regione''
*''Delle commodità e delle incommodità delle lettere''
*''Della vita di S. Potito''
*
''La cifra''
*''Le piacevolezze matematiche''
*''Della repubblica''
*''Della statua''
*''Della mosca''
*''Del cane''
*''Cento apologi''
*''Hecatomphila''
*''Deiphira''
References
*Clement A. Miller. "Cosimo Bartoli", ''
Grove Music Online
''The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians'' is an encyclopedic dictionary of music and musicians. Along with the German-language ''Die Musik in Geschichte und Gegenwart'', it is one of the largest reference works on the history and theo ...
'', ed. L. Macy (accessed March 18, 2006)
grovemusic.com(subscription access).
;Notes
1503 births
1572 deaths
Diplomats from Florence
Scientists from Florence
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