The Figino, or On the Purpose of Painting: Art Theory in the Late Renaissance PDF
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Gregorio Comanini THE FIGINO, OR ON THE PURPOSE OF PAINTING Art Theory in the Late Renaissance Translated and Edited by Ann Doyle-Anderson and Giancarlo Maiorino Gregorio Comanini's dialogue // Figino overo del fine della Pittura (1591) offers one of the most comprehensive overviews of aesthetic theory and prac- tice in the late sixteenth century. The dialogue takes the form of a conversa- tion among the author's friends about the fine, or ultimate purpose, of art. Comanini's interlocutors draw extensively from classical and contemporary theory - Plato, Aristotle, Horace, Mazzoni, Tasso, Paleotti - in addressing the vigorously debated aesthetic issues of their day: the nature of imitation and the role of the artist's imagination; verisimilitude in literature and painting; correspondences and differences among literature, painting, and music; the superiority of one art to another; and the question of artistic decorum, a deli- cate issue in the climate of the Counter-Reformation. Accompanying this theoretical discussion are comments on works by Michelangelo, Giulio Romano, Dante, Petrarch, Ariosto, andTorquato Tasso. Two painters, Ambrogio Figino and Giuseppe Arcimboldo, are presented as emblematic of the two opposing aesthetic stances - art is to teach / art is to please - that structure the dialogue. Although the discussion ends with the apparent triumph of the moral, didactic aesthetic, an ambiguity remains. What emerges from Comanini's blending of ethical and aesthetic considerations is his absolute conviction that art plays a critical role in human existence, whether as enter- tainment, mirror of human activity, or teacher of moral truths. Ann Doyle-Anderson and Giancarlo Maiorino provide the first complete English translation of Comanini's text, along with an introduction and ex- tensive notes. Their work is a welcome addition to the field of Renaissance studies. (Toronto Italian Studies) ANN DOYLE-ANDERSON is Associate Professor, Department of Modern Lan- guages, Stephen F. Austin State University. GIANCARLO MAIORINO is Rudy Professor of Comparative Literature, Indiana University. This page intentionally left blank GREGORIO COMANINI The Figino, orThe Figino, or On the Purpose of Painting ART THEORY IN THE LATE RENAISSANCE Translated, with introduction and notes, by Ann Doyle-Anderson and Giancarlo Maiorino UNIVERSITY OF TORONTO PRESS Toronto Buffalo London www.utppublishing.com © University of Toronto Press Incorporated 2001 Toronto Buffalo London Printed in Canada ISBN 0-8020-3574-4 (cloth) ISBN 0-8020-8446-X (paper) Printed on acid-free paper Toronto Italian Studies National Library of Canada Cataloguing in Publication Data Comanini, Gregorio The Figino, or, On the purpose of painting : art theory in the late Renaissance (Toronto Italian studies) Translation of: II Figino, published 1591. Includes bibliographical references and index. ISBN 0-8020-3574-4 (bound) ISBN 0-8020-8446-X (pbk.) 1. Arts - Philosophy - Early works to 1800. 2. Painting - Philosophy - Early works to 1800. 3. Aesthetics - Early works to 1800. I. Doyle-Anderson, Ann II. Maiorino, Giancarlo, 1943- III. Title. IV. Title: On the purpose of painting. V. Series. ND1130.C6413 2001 700M C2001-901964-5 This book has been published with the help of grants from the Grupo Espiritu Santo. University of Toronto Press acknowledges the financial assistance to its publishing program of the Canada Council for the Arts and the Ontario Arts Council. University of Toronto Press acknowledges the financial support for its publishing activities of the Government of Canada through the Book Publishing Industry Development Program (BPIDP). Contents ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Vll Introduction ix On the Translation xviii THE FIGINO 1 Dedication 3 The Dialogue 5 NOTES 111 SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY 147 INDEX 149 This page intentionally left blank Acknowledgments Throughout this project we have benefited from the aid and cooperation of both institutions and individuals. We are grateful to our respective universi- ties for grants and research leaves that have enabled us to complete our work. We are deeply indebted to Professor Albert P. Steiner, Jr, for allowing us to use his translations of Latin poetry, in particular excerpts from Sannazaro's De partu virginis, and for offering us invaluable advice on Greek, Hebrew, and Latin texts. Jody Shiftman's efforts as research assistant were both tireless and meticulous. Among others who have been particularly generous with their time and support, we wish to thank David Armstrong, David Bollotin, Mark Clark, Mary Devine, Richard Lounsbury, Richard Lower, and James Magruder for their advice in matters of classical aesthetics; and Enrique Alarcon, Ignazio Angelelli, Ted Baeninger, John Dahmus, Ron Groschen, Louis Mackey, and Kenneth Steinhauser for their assistance with medieval philosophy, theological terms, Church history, and patristic litera- ture. Louis Waldman gave us excellent advice on Renaissance iconography. At the University of Toronto Press, Theresa Griffin's superb editing greatly improved the manuscript, and we also wish to thank Ron Schoeffel and Anne Laughlin for their interest and professionalism throughout the project. We further express our appreciation to Lone Wittliff for her assistance with works in Swedish, and to Robert Young of Special Collections at the Ernst Mayr Library, Harvard University, for his aid in locating Renaissance texts on alchemy and zoology. We extend thanks to the Dartmouth University Library and the Lilly Library of Indiana University, and special thanks to Jackie Ferguson and Richard Ford of the Interlibrary Loan office of Stephen F. Austin State University, without whose perseverance and dedication this book would not have been possible. This page intentionally left blank Introduction Gregorio Comanini's dialogue // Figino overo del fine della Pittura (1591) offers one of the most comprehensive overviews of aesthetic theory and practice in a period characterized by a proliferation of treatises on art - indeed, an 'age of criticism/ as Baxter Hathaway has so aptly described the late sixteenth century.1 As Comanini's interlocutors attempt to resolve the issue of the fine, or ultimate purpose, of art, they draw extensively from classical and contemporary theory - Plato, Aristotle, Horace, Mazzoni, Tasso, Paleotti - in order to deal with the most discussed, and sometimes most hotly debated, aesthetic issues of their day: whether art is to teach or to please; the nature of imitation and the role of the artist's imagination; verisimilitude in literature and in painting; correspondences and differences among literature, painting, and music; the superiority of one art to another; and the question of artistic decorum, a delicate issue in the climate of the Counter-Reformation. Accompanying this exhaustive treatment of theory are numerous analytical comments on works by Michelangelo, Giulio Romano, Dante, Petrarch, Ariosto, and Torquato Tasso. Indeed, two painters, Ambrogio Figino and Giuseppe Arcimboldo, are presented as emblematic of the two opposing aesthetic stances - art is to teach / art is to please - that structure the dialogue. Although the discussion ends with the apparent triumph of the moral, didactic aesthetic, there remains a certain ambiguity, a lack of resolution in some issues that shows Comanini more closely aligned with his friends Paolo Lomazzo, Torquato Tasso, and Giacopo Mazzoni, all passionately engaged in artistic debate, than with the strictly doctrinal Paleotti.2 In short, Comanini's dialogue is a compendium of issues from an age in which debates are characterized by true scholarly precision, elaborate discussion, and, perhaps most tellingly, conclusions less conclusive than they seem.
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