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Cesare Ripa

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Cesare Ripa
Portrait of Cesare Ripa inDella novissima iconologia di Cesare Ripa perugino(1624)
Born1555
Perugia
Died22 January 1622(1622-01-22)(aged 66–67)
Rome
NationalityItalian
Occupation(s)Iconographer and scholar
Known forIconologia overo Descrittione dell’imagini universali cavate dall’antichità et da altri luoghi(1593)
Academic background
InfluencesPrudentius,Martianus Capella,Domenico Nani Mirabelli,Francesco Colonna,Andrea Alciato,Paolo Giovio,Achille Bocchi,Pierio Valeriano Bolzani,Giglio Gregorio Giraldi,Natalis Comes,Vincenzo Cartari
Academic work
InfluencedPietro da Cortona,Gerard de Lairesse,Willem van Mieris,Vermeer,Vondel,Artus Quellinus,Antonio Cavallucci,Winckelmann,George Richardson,Piero Buscaroli

Cesare Ripa(c. 1555,Perugia–(1622-01-22)January 22, 1622Rome) was an Italianiconographerwho worked for CardinalAnton Maria Salviatias acookandbutler.

Life[edit]

Little is known about his life. He was born of humble origin in Perugia about 1555. The exact date of his birth has never been established. He was very active in academic circles as member of the Filomati and theIntronatiinSiena,both dedicated to the study of antiquities and of Greek and Latin literature, and the Insensati in his native Perugia.

While still very young he went to Rome to work at the court of CardinalAntonio Maria Salviati.He attended the Accademia degli Incitati theAccademia di San Luca,where he probably met theDominicanmathematicianIgnazio Danti,and was introduced into the learned circles of Baroque Rome. In 1593 he published the first edition (without illustrations) of hisIconologia;[1]the work was highly successful, and went through several editions and subsequent translations. In 1598 Ripa was knighted Cavaliere dell'Ordine dei Santi Maurizio e Lazzaroby the PopeClement VIII.

Work[edit]

Allegory ondignity.

TheIconologiawas a highly influentialemblem bookbased on Egyptian, Greek and Roman emblematical representations, manypersonifications.The book was used byorators,artists,poetsand "modern Italians" to give substance to qualities such asvirtues,vices,passions,artsandsciences.The concepts were arranged in alphabetical order, after the fashion of theRenaissance.For each there was a verbal description of theallegoricalfigure proposed by Ripa to embody the concept, giving the type and color of its clothing and its varied symbolic attributes, along with the reasons why these were chosen, reasons often supported by references to literature (largely classical).[2]

History[edit]

Sentences of theIconologiaillustrating theBureau du Roi(King's Desk or Louis XV's roll-top secretary) marquetry in the Palace of Versailles

The first edition of hisIconologiawas published without illustrations in 1593 and dedicated to Anton Maria Salviati. A second edition was published in Rome in 1603 this time with 684 concepts and 151woodcuts,dedicated to Lorenzo Salviati.[3]Jean Baudointranslated theIconologiainto French and published it in Paris in 1636 under the titleIconologie.For the French translation, the Flemish engraverJacob de Bieturned the prints from Ripa's original book into linear figures inside circular frames, thus turning Ripa's allegories into the reverse side of Roman coins.[4]

The book was extremely influential in the 17th and 18th centuries and was quoted extensively in various art forms.[3]In particular, it influenced the painterPietro da Cortonaand his followers. Also Dutch painters likeGerard de Lairesse,Willem van Mierisbased work on Ripa's emblems.Vermeerused the emblem for the museCliofor hisThe Art of Painting,and several others in hisThe Allegory of Faith.A large part ofVondel's work cannot be understood without this allegorical source, and ornamentation of the AmsterdamtownhallbyArtus Quellinus,a sculptor, is totally dependent on Ripa.[5]An English translation appeared in 1709 byPierce Tempest.[6][7]

The baroque painterAntonio Cavalluccidrew inspiration for his paintingOrigin of Musicfrom the book. In 1779, the Scottish architectGeorge Richardson'sIconology; or a Collection of Emblematical Figures; containing four hundred and twenty-four remarkable subjects, moral and instructive; in which are displayed the beauty of Virtue and deformity of Vicewas published in London. The drawings were byWilliam Hamilton.

Several editions of theIconologiaappeared throughout Europe in XVII and XVIII centuries (Paris, 1636; Amsterdam, 1644, 1657, 1698; Hamburg, 1659; Frankfurt, 1669-70; Augusta, 1704; London, 1709; Nürburg, 1732-34; Delft, 1726, 1743-50),

Ripa's work fell out of favor with the rise ofneoclassicismin the mid-eighteenth century. In hisVersuch einer Allegorie,written between 1759 and 1763,Winckelmannharshly criticizes Ripa. “In the whole of theIconologiaof Cesare Ripa,” snorted Winckelmann, “there are two or three passable allegories.” Winckelmann's attack was effective in the long term, and only recently have scholars rediscovered the seminal importance of Ripa'sIconologia.[8]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^Ripa, Cesare (31 May 2017)."Iconologia di Cesare Ripa...: divisa in tre libri, ne i quali si esprimono varie imagini di virtù, vitij, affetti, passioni humane, arti, discipline, humori, elementi, corpi celesti,..."presso Cristoforo Tomasini – via Google Books.
  2. ^Maser, E.A. (1971)Cesare Ripa. Baroque and Rococo. Pictural Imagery.The 1758–1760 Hertel edition of Ripa'sIconologiawith 200 engraved illustrations, p. viii–ix.The Hertel Edition
  3. ^abEnglish Translations and Adaptations of Cesare Ripa'sIconologia:From the 17th to the 19th Century by Hans-Joachim Zimmermann
  4. ^Olga Vassilieva-Codognet,À la recherche des généalogies effigionaires de princes: Series of Retrospective Dynastic Portraits and the Social Implications of True Likeness (Antwerp, ca. 1600),p. 102-105
  5. ^Miedema, H. (1987)Beeldespraeck: register op D.P. Pers' uitgave van Cesare Ripa's Iconologia(1644), p. III.
  6. ^"Tempest, Pierce".Dictionary of National Biography.London: Smith, Elder & Co. 1885–1900.
  7. ^Iconologia, or, Moral emblems.Printed by Benj. Motte. 31 May 2017.OL24131257M.
  8. ^Mandowsky, Erna (1939). "Ricerche intorno all'Iconologia di Cesare Ripa".La Bibliofilia.XLI.Leo S. Olschki.

External links[edit]

Media related toCesare Ripaat Wikimedia Commons

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