Decorum and Wit: the Poetry of Venetian Painting: Essays in the History of the Classical Tradition (Bibliotheca artibus et historiae) - Hardcover

Fehl, Philipp P.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 3900731101 ISBN 13: 9783900731106

Publisher: Irsa Verlag, 1992

Synopsis

The union of poetry and painting in the work of the great Venetian artists is the theme which links the 18 essays brought together in this book. There is, writes the author, a tendency still to regard the Venetians as "a gang of happy painters whose works are sublime as paintings but short on sense". On the contrary, he argues, whether their source was Ovid or Philostratus, Pietro Aretino or the Gospels, the Venetians cared deeply about meaning in their paintings. But we will only understand how faithfully they observed decorum if we recognize the subtlety of their wit. Professor Fehl encourages the reader to look at some of the most famous, but often misinterpreted, Venetian paintings, among them Titian's (or Giorgione's) "Concert Champetre" and his "Bacchanals", Punishment of Marsyas" and "Rape of Lucretia". Other studies explore the narrative richness of Veronese's "Marriage at Cana" and his so-called "Feast in the House of Levi", the painting which in 1573 attracted the attention of the Inquisition (the essay includes the complete transcript of the trial and other documents from the Inquisition archives in Venice).

About this edition

• Publisher: Irsa Verlag
• Publication date: 1992
• ISBN 10: 3900731101
• ISBN 13: 9783900731106
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 430