Descrizione

Hardback, 303 pages, Size:178 x 254 mm, Illustrations:48 b/w, 9 col., Language: English. ISBN 9782503583334. Summary European Renaissance Festivals are noted for their extravagance, for their inherited classical culture, and as evidence of how court and civic spectacles could express political, religious, social, and economic aspirations. In this new monograph, the accent is firmly on the violent context of Magnificence: it examines how war affected the minds and practice of both artists and princes, and shows how victims and their suffering were as prominent in festival as were conquerors and their projections of victory. What emerges here is the dark side represented in princely entries where imperial ambitions are built upon civic devastation and where myths elaborate and expose their ambiguous nature and message. Artists and poets collaborated in bringing victory and violence together: Mantegna and Durer in triumphal processions; Frans Floris and Rubens on the canvases they created for triumphal arches, where mythology was put to work to arouse excitement for deeds of heroism and death, while engravers depicted scenes of war and destruction to accommodate contemporary taste. TABLE OF CONTENTS Preface and Acknowledgements List of Illustrations Plates Introduction Chapter I. The Military Entry Classical Prototypes of Triumph Military Pomp in Renaissance Triumphs Charles V's Entry into Bologna - Defender of the Faith Chapter II. The Phantom of Empire Aspirations for Empire Assertions of Imperialism through Cartography and Tapestries Appropriation of the Imperial Dream Chapter III. Military Spectacle during Princely Entries Chivalric Performances Mock Sieges and Mock Battles Naumachia Military Drills Chapter IV. Representations of Victory and of the Conquered Images of War in Art and in Poetry Ambivalence in the Vision of Triumph and Defeat The Roman Legacy A Taste for Scenes of War Memorials of Achievement Chapter V. Mythological Representations of Victory and Violence Hercules and his Twelve Labours Jupiter's Triumph over the Giants Jason and the Golden Fleece Gideon, Man of God Chapter VI. Symbolic Images of Achievement and Inscriptions of Hope The Persuasive Power of Symbols Allegories as Expressions of Victory and Punishment Imprese, Hieroglyphs and Dynasties The Sun: Symbol of Power Coherence and Confusion: Addiction to Symbols Chapter VII. How to Express the Extraordinary: The Art of Hyperbole Resplendence: A Necessary Condition Believing the Hyperbole Poetry and Music Epilogue: The Realities of Performance Authenticity of Records Preparations for the Entry The Realities of Performance Reconstruction Bibliography I List of Entries into European Cities, 1480-1635 II Printed Primary Sources III Catalogues IV Secondary Studies Index of Ceremonial Entries General Index