Vincenzo Cartari (c. 1531 – 1590) was a

mythographer Myth is a folklore genre consisting of narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not objectively true, the identification of a narrat ...

, secretary, and diplomat of the

Italian Renaissance The Italian Renaissance ( it, Rinascimento ) was a period in Italian history covering the 15th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Europe and marked the trans ...

, studied by

Jean Seznec Jean Seznec (19 March 1905, in Morlaix – 22 November 1983, in Oxford) was a historian and mythographer whose most influential book, for English-speaking readers, is ''La Survivance des dieux antiques'' (1940), translated as '' The Survival of t ...

and scholars of the

Warburg Institute The Warburg Institute is a research institution associated with the University of London in central London, England. A member of the School of Advanced Study, its focus is the study of cultural history and the role of images in culture – cros ...

. Born in

Reggio Emilia Reggio nell'Emilia ( egl, Rèz; la, Regium Lepidi), usually referred to as Reggio Emilia, or simply Reggio by its inhabitants, and known until 1861 as Reggio di Lombardia, is a city in northern Italy, in the Emilia-Romagna region. It has abou ...

, he worked for Duke Alfonso II Este and the cardinals Ippolito II and Luigi II Este, in the courts of

Ferrara Ferrara (, ; egl, Fràra ) is a city and ''comune'' in Emilia-Romagna, northern Italy, capital of the Province of Ferrara. it had 132,009 inhabitants. It is situated northeast of Bologna, on the Po di Volano, a branch channel of the main stream ...

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

, Tivoli (Rome),

Fontainebleau Fontainebleau (; ) is a commune in the metropolitan area of Paris, France. It is located south-southeast of the centre of Paris. Fontainebleau is a sub-prefecture of the Seine-et-Marne department, and it is the seat of the ''arrondissement ...

, and

Bruxelles Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...

''The Images of the Gods of the Ancients''

As the first Italian translator of

Ovid Pūblius Ovidius Nāsō (; 20 March 43 BC – 17/18 AD), known in English as Ovid ( ), was a Roman poet who lived during the reign of Augustus. He was a contemporary of the older Virgil and Horace, with whom he is often ranked as one of the th ...

's ''I Fasti'', a Latin poem about the gods and religious beliefs of the ancient Romans, Cartari gained a deep knowledge of the classical world and its myths. After publishing the translation and commentary of his ''I Fasti'', in 1551 and 1553, he authored the first mythographic handbook not written in Latin, but in Italian, thereby widening his readership. ''Le Imagini con la sposizione dei dei de gli antichi'' (''The Images of the Gods of the Ancients and their Explanations'') was first published in Venice in 1556, and continuously enriched with illustrations – such as the woodcuts of the ancient gods by Giuseppe Porta Salviati and Bolognino Zaltieri. Notes and translations in other languages had been added by the same author and others, for at least 150 years.

Iconographic focus on Classical myths

Cartari also chose an unedited special focus on ekphrastic descriptions and visual iconography of the various gods, presented through a charming and informative gallery of identifying epiphanies, triumphs, clothing, expressions, poses, attributes, ceremonies, and legends. Although inspired by the more traditional and vast works of Lilio Gregorio Giraldi ''(De deis gentium varia et multiplex historia,'' 1548),

Giovanni Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio (, , ; 16 June 1313 – 21 December 1375) was an Italian writer, poet, correspondent of Petrarch, and an important Renaissance humanist. Born in the town of Certaldo, he became so well known as a writer that he was somet ...

(''Genealogie Deorum Gentilium'', second part of 14th century), and Classical literature and comments, Cartari invented a new, visual approach to antiquity. As a result, his ''Le Imagini'' had considerable influence on both artists – starting from

Paolo Veronese Paolo Caliari (152819 April 1588), known as Paolo Veronese ( , also , ), was an Italian Renaissance painter based in Venice, known for extremely large history paintings of religion and mythology, such as ''The Wedding at Cana'' (1563) and ''The ...

– and on antiquarians and art writers, like

Gian Paolo Lomazzo Gian Paolo Lomazzo (26 April 1538 – 27 January 1592; his first name is sometimes also given as "Giovan" or "Giovanni") was an Italian artist and writer on art. Praised as a painter, Lomazzo wrote about artistic practice and art theory after ...

and

Cesare Ripa Cesare Ripa (c. 1555, Perugia – Rome) was an Italian iconographer who worked for Cardinal Anton Maria Salviati as a cook and butler. Life Little is known about his life. He was born of humble origin in Perugia about 1555. The exact date of ...

with its encyclopedic ''Iconologia'' (1593).

Lorenzo Pignoria

The antiquarian and egyptologist Lorenzo Pignoria added some important notes in 1615 and 1624. In particular, his appendix ''Seconda Parte delle Imagini de gli Dei Indiani'' displays detailed illustrations of some archeological remains portraying

Mexican Mexican may refer to: Mexico and its culture *Being related to, from, or connected to the country of Mexico, in North America ** People *** Mexicans, inhabitants of the country Mexico and their descendants *** Mexica, ancient indigenous people ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

ian,

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

n and

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese gods, seeking a sort of unique visual language in pre-Christian religions.Cartari edited by Grossato In his ''Teutschen Academie''

Joachim von Sandrart Joachim von Sandrart (12 May 1606 – 14 October 1688) was a German Baroque art-historian and painter, active in Amsterdam during the Dutch Golden Age. He is most significant for his collection of biographies of Dutch and German artists the ''Te ...

writes of his respect for Cartari's work, which Sandrart republished in translation in 1680 with new illustrations.

Editions

* V. Cartari, ''Le imagini de i dei de gli antichi'', edited by G. Auzzas, F. Martignago, M. Pastore Stocchi, P. Rigo, Vicenza, Neri Pozza, 1996 * V. Cartari, ''Le immagini degli dei di Vincenzo Cartari'', edited by C. Volpi, Roma, De Luca, 1996 * V. Cartari, ''Imagini delli dèi de gl’antichi'', edited by A. Grossato, Milano, Luni, 2004 * V. Cartari, ''Images of the Gods of the Ancients: the First Italian Mythography'', edited by J. Murlyan, Tempe, Acmrs, 2012

Studies

* E. Calderoni, ''Raccontare gli Antichi. Le'' Imagini ''di Vincenzo Cartari'', Roma, Aracne, 2017 * M. Palma, ''Vincenzo Cartari'', in ''Dizionario Biografico degli Italiani Treccani'': http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/vincenzo-cartari_(Dizionario-Biografico)/ * J. Seznec, ''The Survival of the Pagan Gods: The Mythological Tradition and Its Place in Renaissance Humanism and Art'', Princeton, Princeton University Press, 1972 * ''Vincenzo Cartari e le direzioni del mito nel Cinquecento'', edited by S. Maffei, Roma, Gbe, 2013 * C. Volpi, ''Le vecchie e le nuove illustrazioni delle Immagini degli dei degli antichi di Vincenzo Cartari'', in «Storia dell’arte», 1992, n. 74, pp. 48–80 * C. Volpi, , ''Lorenzo Pignoria e i suoi corrispondenti'', in «Nouvelles de la Republique des Lettres», 1992, n. II, pp. 71–128

References

External links

* http://amsdottorato.unibo.it/6782/ * https://dinamico2.unibg.it/cartari/ * https://iconographic.warburg.sas.ac.uk/vpc/VPC_search/results_advanced_search.php?p=1&aut=60 * https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/347175 * http://www.treccani.it/enciclopedia/vincenzo-cartari_(Dizionario-Biografico)/ {{DEFAULTSORT:Cartari, Vincenzo 1531 births 1590 deaths 16th-century Italian diplomats Italian Renaissance humanists Mythographers 16th-century Italian translators