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61-553: The book offers a poignantly nostalgic evocation of an idealized milieu — that of the small courts of the High Renaissance which were vanishing in the Italian Wars — with a reverent tribute to the friends of Castiglione's youth. It pays tribute in particular to the chastely married Duchess Elisabetta Gonzaga of Urbino, to whom Castiglione had addressed a sequence of Platonic sonnets, and who died in 1526. The work

122-538: A beautiful spectacle for others to contemplate." As explained by Count Ludovico, the success of the courtier depends greatly on his reception by the audience from the first impression. This partly explains why the group considers the courtier's dress so vital to his success. Castiglione's characters opine about how their courtier can impress his audience and win its approval. Similar to the Classical Roman rhetoricians Cicero and Quintilian , Castiglione stresses

183-728: A chair at the university in Florence. Although unsuccessful, the discussions between the two were instrumental in Boccaccio writing the Genealogia deorum gentilium ; the first edition was completed in 1360 and this remained one of the key reference works on classical mythology for over 400 years. It served as an extended defence for the studies of ancient literature and thought. Despite the Pagan beliefs at its core, Boccaccio believed that much could be learned from antiquity. Thus, he challenged

244-504: A conversion of Boccaccio by Petrarch from the open humanist of the Decameron to a more ascetic style, closer to the dominant fourteenth-century ethos. For example, he followed Petrarch (and Dante) in the unsuccessful championing of an archaic and deeply allusive form of Latin poetry. In 1359, following a meeting with Pope Innocent VI and further meetings with Petrarch, it is probable that Boccaccio took some kind of religious mantle. There

305-992: A counselor to Queen Joanna I of Naples and, eventually, her Grand Seneschal . It seems that Boccaccio enjoyed law no more than banking, but his studies allowed him the opportunity to study widely and make good contacts with fellow scholars. His early influences included Paolo da Perugia (a curator and author of a collection of myths called the Collectiones ), humanists Barbato da Sulmona and Giovanni Barrili, and theologian Dionigi di Borgo San Sepolcro . In Naples, Boccaccio began what he considered his true vocation of poetry. Works produced in this period include Il Filostrato and Teseida (the sources for Chaucer 's Troilus and Criseyde and The Knight's Tale , respectively), The Filocolo (a prose version of an existing French romance), and La caccia di Diana (a poem in terza rima listing Neapolitan women). The period featured considerable formal innovation, including possibly

366-425: A mix of prose and poems, completing the fifty- canto allegorical poem Amorosa visione in 1342, and Fiammetta in 1343. The pastoral piece "Ninfale fiesolano" probably dates from this time, also. In 1343, Boccaccio's father remarried Bice del Bostichi. The other children by his first marriage had all died, but he had another son named Iacopo in 1344. In Florence, the overthrow of Walter of Brienne brought about

427-481: A proper sense of style and flow to their words. These words must be factual yet entertaining as the Count states, "then, it is necessary to arrange what is to be said or written in its logical order, and after that to express it well in words that, if I am not mistaken, should be appropriate, carefully chosen, clear and well formed, but above all that are still in popular use" (Courtier 77). This form of emphasis on language

488-419: A time when Italian culture was very much in fashion. Of the many qualities Castiglione's characters attribute to their perfect courtier, oratory and the manner in which the courtier presents himself while speaking is amongst the most highly discussed. Wayne Rebhorn, a Castiglione scholar, states that the courtier's speech and behavior in general is "designed to make people marvel at him, to transform himself into

549-470: A versatile writer who amalgamated different literary trends and genres, making them converge in original works, thanks to a creative activity exercised under the banner of experimentalism. His most notable works are The Decameron , a collection of short stories, and On Famous Women . The Decameron became a determining element for the Italian literary tradition, especially after Pietro Bembo elevated

610-448: Is a persistent (but unsupported) tale that he repudiated his earlier works as profane in 1362, including The Decameron . In 1360, Boccaccio began work on De mulieribus claris ("On famous women") , a book offering biographies of 106 famous women, that he completed in 1374. A number of Boccaccio's close friends and other acquaintances were executed or exiled in the purge following the failed coup of 1361; although not directly linked to

671-403: Is discovered, it quite destroys our credit and brings us into small esteem" (Castiglione 1.26). The Count reasons that by obscuring his knowledge of letters, the courtier gives the appearance that his "orations were composed very simply" as if they sprang up from "nature and truth [rather] than from study and art" (1.26). This much more natural appearance, even though it is not natural by any means,

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732-413: Is done and said as if it was done without effort and virtually without thought" (31). The Count advocates the courtier engage in sprezzatura, or this "certain nonchalance", in all the activities he participates in, especially speech. In Book I, he states, "Accordingly we may affirm that to be true art which does not appear to be art; nor to anything must we give greater care than to conceal art, for if it

793-533: Is more advantageous to the courtier. The Count contends that if the courtier wants to attain grazia and be esteemed as excellent, it would be in his best interest to have this appearance of nonchalance. By failing to employ sprezzatura, he destroys his opportunity for grace. By applying sprezzatura to his speech and everything else he does, the courtier appears to have grazia and impresses his audience, thereby achieving excellence and perfection (Saccone 16). Another feature of rhetoric which Castiglione discusses

854-407: Is not certain whether he was present in plague-ravaged Florence. His stepmother died during the epidemic and his father was closely associated with the government efforts as minister of supply in the city. His father died in 1349 and Boccaccio was forced into a more active role as head of the family. Boccaccio began work on The Decameron around 1349. It is probable that the structures of many of

915-438: Is noted by Graham as; "Although the Count is aware that more traditional aspects of the orator (appearance, gestures, voice, etc.) ... all this will be futile and of little consequence if the ideas conveyed by these words themselves are not witty or elegant to the requirements of the situation". High Renaissance In art history , the High Renaissance was a short period of the most exceptional artistic production in

976-516: Is referred to in art history. The serene mood and luminous colours of paintings by Giorgione and early Titian exemplify High Renaissance style as practiced in Venice . Other recognizable pieces of this period include Leonardo da Vinci 's Mona Lisa and Raphael 's The School of Athens . Raphael's fresco, set beneath an arch, is a virtuoso work of perspective, composition and disegno . In more recent years, art historians have characterised

1037-408: Is the best language in which to write rhetoric. The Count's response is that the language does not matter, but rather the rhetoric's style, authority, and grace (Courtier 71). Robert J. Graham, a Renaissance literary scholar, notes that "questions of whose language is privileged at any given historical moment are deeply implicated in matters of personal, social and cultural significance", which he states

1098-505: Is the primary reason for Castiglione's usage of the native vernacular. This also illustrates the Count's response to the relativity of language in Latin. With the role of language set, Castiglione begins to describe the style and authority in which the courtier must write in order to become successful. The Count explains, "It is right that greater pains would be taken to make what is written more polished and correct... they should be chosen from

1159-621: Is the role of written language and style. Castiglione declined to imitate Boccaccio and write in Tuscan Italian, as was customary at the time; instead he wrote in the Italian used in his native Lombardy (he was born near Mantua ): as the Count says, "certainly it would require a great deal of effort on my part if in these discussions of ours I wished to use those old Tuscan words which the Tuscans of today have discarded; and what's more I'm sure you would all laugh at me" (Courtier 70). Here,

1220-753: The Studium (the present-day University of Naples ), where he studied canon law for the next six years. He also pursued his interest in scientific and literary studies. His father introduced him to the Neapolitan nobility and the French-influenced court of Robert the Wise (the king of Naples) in the 1330s. Boccaccio became a friend of fellow Florentine Niccolò Acciaioli , and benefited from Acciaioli's influence with Catherine of Valois-Courtenay , widow of Philip I of Taranto . Acciaioli later became

1281-499: The Compagnia dei Bardi and, in the 1320s, married Margherita dei Mardoli, who was of a well-to-do family. Boccaccio may have been tutored by Giovanni Mazzuoli and received from him an early introduction to the works of Dante . In 1326, his father was appointed head of a bank and moved with his family to Naples . Boccaccio was an apprentice at the bank but disliked the banking profession. He persuaded his father to let him study law at

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1342-599: The Sack of Rome in 1527, when several artists were killed and many other dispersed from Rome , and Stokstad agrees. Raunch asserts that 1530 has been considered to be the end of the High Renaissance. Hartt adds that 1520 to 1530 was a transition period between the High Renaissance and Mannerism . Traditionally, the end of the High Renaissance in Florence is seen as marked by the end of the Republic of Florence and

1403-512: The Boccaccian style to a model of Italian prose in the sixteenth century . Bocaccio wrote his imaginative literature mostly in Tuscan vernacular , as well as other works in Latin, and is particularly noted for his realistic dialogue which differed from that of his contemporaries, medieval writers who usually followed formulaic models for character and plot. The influence of Boccaccio's works

1464-521: The High Renaissance as a movement as opposed to a period, one amongst several different experimental attitudes towards art in the late fifteenth and early sixteenth century. This movement is variously characterised as conservative, as reflecting new attitudes towards beauty, a deliberate process of synthesising eclectic models, linked to fashions in literary culture, and reflecting new preoccupations with interpretation and meaning . High Renaissance sculpture, as exemplified by Michelangelo 's Pietà and

1525-424: The High Renaissance include Leonardo da Vinci , Michelangelo , Raphael , and Bramante . In the 21st century, the use of the term has been frequently criticized by some academic art historians for oversimplifying artistic developments, ignoring historical context, and focusing only on a few iconic works. The art historian Jill Burke was the first to trace the historical origins of the term High Renaissance . It

1586-521: The High Renaissance started at the beginning of the 16th century. Another seminal work of art which was created in the 1495–1500 timeframe was Michelangelo's Pietà , housed in St. Peter's Basilica , Vatican City , which was executed in 1498–99. In contrast to most of the other art historians, Manfred Wurdram, in Masterpieces of Western Art , 2007, actually states that the dawn of the High Renaissance

1647-405: The High Renaissance. Even relatively minor painters of the period, such as Fra Bartolomeo and Mariotto Albertinelli , produced works that are still lauded for the harmony of their design and their technique. The elongated proportions and exaggerated poses in the late works of Michelangelo , Andrea del Sarto and Correggio prefigure so-called Mannerism , as the style of the later Renaissance

1708-669: The Italian states, particularly Rome , capital of the Papal States , and in Florence , during the Italian Renaissance . Most art historians state that the High Renaissance started between 1490 and 1500, and ended in 1520 with the death of Raphael, although some say the High Renaissance ended about 1525, or in 1527 with the Sack of Rome by the mutinous army of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor , or about 1530. The best-known exponents of painting, sculpture and architecture of

1769-460: The arguments of clerical intellectuals who wanted to limit access to classical sources to prevent any moral harm to Christian readers. The revival of classical antiquity became a foundation of the Renaissance, and his defence of the importance of ancient literature was an essential requirement for its development. The discussions also formalized Boccaccio's poetic ideas. Certain sources also see

1830-551: The audience. Edoardo Saccone states in his analysis of Castiglione, " grazia consists of, or rather is obtained through, sprezzatura ." According to the Count, sprezzatura is the most important rhetorical device the courtier needs. Peter Burke describes sprezzatura in The Book of the Courtier as "nonchalance", "careful negligence", and "effortless and ease". The ideal courtier is someone who "conceals art, and presents what

1891-705: The beginning of the Duchy of Florence in 1532. High Renaissance style in architecture conventionally begins with Donato Bramante , whose Tempietto at S. Pietro in Montorio at Rome was begun in 1510. The Tempietto, signifies a full-scale revival of ancient Roman commemorative architecture . David Watkin writes that the Tempietto, like Raphael's works in the Vatican (1509–1511), "is an attempt at reconciling Christian and humanist ideals". The High Renaissance of painting

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1952-610: The conspiracy, in that year Boccaccio left Florence to reside in Certaldo , where he became less involved in government affairs. He did not undertake further missions for Florence until 1365, and travelled to Naples and then on to Padua and Venice , where he met up with Petrarch in grand style at Palazzo Molina , Petrarch's residence as well as the location of Petrarch's library . Boccaccio later returned to Certaldo; he met Petrarch only one more time, in 1368, again in Padua. Upon hearing of

2013-537: The death of Petrarch (19 July 1374), he wrote a commemorative poem, including it in his collection of lyric poems, the Rime . He returned to work for the Florentine government in 1365, undertaking a mission to Pope Urban V . The papacy returned to Rome from Avignon in 1367, and Boccaccio was again sent to Urban, offering congratulations. He also undertook diplomatic missions to Venice and Naples. Of his later works,

2074-517: The detailed Esposizioni sopra la Commedia di Dante . Boccaccio and Petrarch were also two of the most educated people in early Renaissance in the field of archaeology . Petrarch even offered to purchase Boccaccio's library, so that it would become part of Petrarch's library . However, upon Boccaccio's death, his entire collection was given to the monastery of Santo Spirito, in Florence , where it still resides. Bocaccio's final years were troubled by illnesses, some relating to obesity and what often

2135-401: The discussion. The ideal courtier is described as having a cool mind, a good voice (with beautiful, elegant and brave words) along with proper bearing and gestures. At the same time though, the courtier is expected to have a warrior spirit, to be athletic, and have good knowledge of the humanities, Classics and fine arts . Over the course of four evenings, members of the court try to describe

2196-576: The expansion of networks of patronage , and a gradual attenuation of figural forms into the style later termed Mannerism . Alexander Raunch in The Art of the High Renaissance and Mannerism in Rome and Central Italy , 2007, states the High Renaissance began in 1490, while Marilyn Stokstad in Art History , 2008, states it began in the 1490s. Frederick Hartt states that Leonardo's The Last Supper ,

2257-560: The government of popolo minuto ("small people", workers). It diminished the influence of the nobility and the wealthier merchant classes and contributed to the relative decline of Florence. The city was hurt further in 1348 by the Black Death , later represented in the Decameron , which killed some three-quarters of the city's population. From 1347, Boccaccio spent much time in Ravenna, seeking new patronage and, despite his claims, it

2318-463: The iconic David , is characterized by an "ideal" balance between stillness and movement. High Renaissance sculpture was normally commissioned by the public and the state, this becoming more popular for sculpture is an expensive art form. Sculpture was often used to decorate or embellish architecture, normally within courtyards where others were able to study and admire the commissioned art work. Wealthy individuals like cardinals, rulers, and bankers were

2379-411: The importance of delivery while speaking. In Book I, the Count states that when the courtier speaks he must have a "sonorous, clear, sweet and well sounding" voice that is neither too effeminate nor too rough and be "tempered by a calm face and with a play of the eyes that shall give an effect of grace" (Castiglione 1.33). This grace, or grazia , becomes an important element in the courtier's appearance to

2440-466: The individual parts of the painting had a complex but balanced and well-knit relationship to the whole. Painting of the High Renaissance is considered to be the absolute zenith of western painting and achieved the balancing and reconciliation, in harmony, of contradictory and seemingly mutually exclusive artistic positions, such as real versus ideal, movement versus rest, freedom versus law, space versus plane, and line versus colour. The High Renaissance

2501-683: The introduction of the Sicilian octave , where it influenced Petrarch . Boccaccio returned to Florence in early 1341, avoiding the plague of 1340 in that city, but also missing the visit of Petrarch to Naples in 1341. He had left Naples due to tensions between the Angevin king and Florence. His father had returned to Florence in 1338, where he had gone bankrupt. His mother possibly died shortly afterwards. Boccaccio continued to work, although dissatisfied with his return to Florence, producing Comedia delle ninfe fiorentine in 1341 (also known as Ameto ),

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2562-518: The moralistic biographies gathered as De casibus virorum illustrium (1355–74) and De mulieribus claris (1361–1375) were the most significant. Other works include a dictionary of geographical allusions in classical literature, De montibus, silvis, fontibus, lacubus, fluminibus, stagnis seu paludibus, et de nominibus maris liber . He gave a series of lectures on Dante at the Santo Stefano church in 1373 and these resulted in his final major work,

2623-758: The more likely private patrons along with very wealthy families; Pope Julius II also patronized many artists. During the High Renaissance there was the development of small scale statuettes for private patrons, the creation of busts and tombs also developing. The subject matter related to sculpture was mostly religious but also with a significant strand of classical individuals in the form of tomb sculpture and paintings as well as ceilings of cathedrals. Boccaccio Giovanni Boccaccio ( UK : / b ə ˈ k æ tʃ i oʊ / bə- KATCH -ee-oh , US : / b oʊ ˈ k ɑː tʃ ( i ) oʊ , b ə ˈ -/ boh- KAH -ch(ee)oh, bə- ; Italian: [dʒoˈvanni bokˈkattʃo] ; 16 June 1313  – 21 December 1375)

2684-462: The most beautiful of those employed in speech" (Courtier 71). This is where the style of which the courtier writes encourages the persuasiveness or success of a speech. The success of a written speech, in contrast to the spoken speech, hinges on the notion that "we are willing to tolerate a great deal of improper and even careless usage" in oral rhetoric than written rhetoric. The Count explains that along with proper word usage, an ideal courtier must have

2745-713: The painting of which began in 1495 and concluded in 1498, makes a complete break with the Early Renaissance and created the world in which Michelangelo and Raphael worked, while Christoph Luitpold Frommel, in his 2012 article "Bramante and the Origins of the High Renaissance," states The Last Supper is the first High Renaissance work but adds that the peak period of the High Renaissance was actually 1505 to 1513. David Piper in The Illustrated History of Art , 1991, also cites The Last Supper writing

2806-681: The perfect gentleman of the court. In the process, they debate the nature of nobility, humor, women, and love. The Book of the Courtier was one of the most widely distributed books of the 16th century, with editions printed in six languages and in twenty European centers. The 1561 English translation by Thomas Hoby had a great influence on the English upper class's conception of English gentlemen. The Courtier enjoyed influence for some generations, not least in Elizabethan England following its first translation by Sir Thomas Hoby in 1561,

2867-556: The precursors of humanism , of which he helped lay the foundations in the city of Florence , in conjunction with the activity of his friend and teacher Petrarch. He was the one who initiated Dante's criticism and philology: Boccaccio devoted himself to copying codices of the Divine Comedy and was a promoter of Dante's work and figure. In the twentieth century, Boccaccio was the subject of critical-philological studies by Vittore Branca and Giuseppe Billanovich, and his Decameron

2928-537: The present day. From 1350, Boccaccio became closely involved with Italian humanism (although less of a scholar) and also with the Florentine government. His first official mission was to Romagna in late 1350. He revisited that city-state twice and also was sent to Brandenburg , Milan and Avignon . He also pushed for the study of Greek, housing Barlaam of Calabria , and encouraging his tentative translations of works by Homer , Euripides , and Aristotle . In these years, he also took minor orders . In October 1350, he

2989-523: The tales date from earlier in his career, but the choice of a hundred tales and the frame-story lieta brigata of three men and seven women dates from this time. The work was largely complete by 1352. It was Boccaccio's final effort in literature and one of his last works in Tuscan vernacular; the only other substantial work was Corbaccio (dated to either 1355 or 1365). Boccaccio revised and rewrote The Decameron in 1370–1371. This manuscript has survived to

3050-414: The use of the old and outdated Tuscan language is seen as a form of excess rather than a desirable trait. Castiglione states that had he followed Tuscan usage in his book, his description of sprezzatura would appear hypocritical, in that his effort would be seen as lacking in nonchalance (Courtier 71). Federico responds to the Count's assessment of the use of spoken language by posing the question as to what

3111-513: The work announced the High Renaissance and was one of the most influential paintings of the High Renaissance, but contradictorily states that the High Renaissance began just after 1500. Burchkardt stated the High Renaissance started at the close of the 15th century, while Franz Kugler, who wrote the first "modern" survey text, Handbook of Art History in 1841, and Hugh Honour and John Fleming in The Visual Arts: A History , 2009, state

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3172-456: Was transposed to the big screen by the director and writer Pier Paolo Pasolini . The details of Boccaccio's birth are uncertain. He was born in Florence or in a village near Certaldo where his family was from. He was the son of Florentine merchant Boccaccino di Chellino and an unknown woman; he was likely born out of wedlock. Boccaccio's stepmother was called Margherita de' Mardoli. Boccaccio grew up in Florence. His father worked for

3233-547: 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 sometimes simply known as " the Certaldese " and one of the most important figures in the European literary panorama of the fourteenth century . Some scholars (including Vittore Branca ) define him as the greatest European prose writer of his time,

3294-482: Was composed over the course of twenty years, beginning in 1508, and ultimately published in 1528 by the Aldine Press in Venice just before the author's death. An influential English translation by Thomas Hoby was published in 1561. The book is organized as a series of conversations supposed to have taken place over four nights in 1507 between the courtiers of the Duchy of Urbino , at a time when Castiglione

3355-517: Was delegated to greet Francesco Petrarch as he entered Florence and also to have Petrarch as a guest at Boccaccio's home, during his stay. The meeting between the two was extremely fruitful and they were friends from then on, Boccaccio calling Petrarch his teacher and magister . Petrarch at that time encouraged Boccaccio to study classical Greek and Latin literature. They met again in Padua in 1351, Boccaccio on an official mission to invite Petrarch to take

3416-465: Was first coined in German by Jacob Burckhardt in German ( Hochrenaissance ) in 1855 and has its origins in the "High Style" of painting and sculpture of the time period around the early 16th century described by Johann Joachim Winckelmann in 1764. Extending the general rubric of Renaissance culture, the visual arts of the High Renaissance were marked by a renewed emphasis upon the classical tradition,

3477-565: Was heralded by Leonardo's Adoration of the Magi of 1481, for which only the underpainting was completed. As far as the end of the High Renaissance is concerned Hartt, Frommel, Piper, Wundrum, and Winkelman all state that the High Renaissance ended in 1520 with the death of Raphael. Honour and Fleming stated the High Renaissance was the first quarter of the 16th century meaning it would have ended in 1525. By contrast, Luigi Lanzi, in his History of Italian Painting , 1795–96, stated it ended with

3538-460: Was himself a member of the Duke's Court (although he is not portrayed as one of the interlocutors). The nature of an ideal courtier is debated between the many characters on the basis of various qualities, such as the need for noble rank, physical prowess, modesty, and pleasant physique, among other attributes. Different characters grant different levels of importance to these various qualities throughout

3599-530: Was not limited to the Italian cultural scene but extended to the rest of Europe, exerting influence on authors such as Geoffrey Chaucer , a key figure in English literature , and the later writers Miguel de Cervantes , Lope de Vega and classical theatre in Spain. Boccaccio is considered one of the "Three Crowns" of Italian literature along with Dante Alighieri and Petrarch . He is remembered for being one of

3660-485: Was the culmination of the varied means of expression and various advances in painting technique, such as linear perspective , the realistic depiction of both physical and psychological features, and the manipulation of light and darkness, including tone contrast, sfumato (softening the transition between colours) and chiaroscuro (contrast between light and dark), in a single unifying style which expressed total compositional order, balance and harmony. In particular,

3721-648: Was traditionally viewed as a great explosion of creative genius, following a model of art history first proposed by the Florentine Giorgio Vasari . The paintings in the Vatican by Michelangelo and Raphael are said by some scholars such as Stephen Freedberg to represent the culmination of High Renaissance style in painting, because of the ambitious scale of these works, coupled with the complexity of their composition, closely observed human figures, and pointed iconographic and decorative references to classical antiquity , can be viewed as emblematic of

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