Roman Antiquities in Renaissance France, 1515-65

by Richard Cooper

Overview

Making use of new and original material based on firsthand sources, this book interrogates the vogue for collecting, discussing, depicting, and putting to political and cultural use Roman antiquities in the French Renaissance. It surveys a range of activity from the labours of collectors and patrons to royal entries, considers attacks on the craze for the antique, and sets literary instances among a much wider spectrum of artistic endeavour. While Renaissance collecting and antiquarianism have certainly been the object of critical scrutiny, this study brings disparate fields into a single focus; and it examines not only areas of antiquarian expertise and interest (such as statues, coins, and books), but also important individual historical figures. The opening chapters deal with the role played in Rome by French ambassadors, who sent back antiques to collectors at court, who in the person of Jean Du Bellay, undertook excavations, and assembled a major personal collection, which was housed in a new villa in the ruined Baths of Diocletian. The volume includes a valuable appendix, which presents in transcription catalogues of the collections of Cardinal Jean du Bellay.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781472400406
Publisher:	Ashgate Publishing Ltd
Publication date:	10/28/2013
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
File size:	28 MB
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About the Author

Richard Cooper is Professor of French at Oxford University, where he is Chair of the Modern Languages Faculty Board, and a Fellow of Brasenose College.

Table of Contents

Contents: Introduction; Early antiquarian taste, 1500-1530; French diplomats in Italy, 1530-50;French diplomats in Italy, 1550-60; Collections at court; French artists in Italy, 1530-65; Antiquarian art; Triumphal entries, 1531-65; Fiction and the antique; The poetry of ruins; Conclusion; Appendix; Bibliography; Index.

Editorial Reviews

'Au terme de ce parcours érudit et solidement argumenté, le lecteur ne peut que rendre grâce á l’auteur d’avoir réussi le pari non seulement d’étudier la naissance et le développement de ce « goût antiquaire » dans la France du XVi siècle, mais aussi d’ouvrir la voie á d’autres recherches que son livre ne manquera pas de susciter. Rédigé avec soin et d’une lecture agréable, Roman Antiquities in Renaissance France est, en outre, d’une pédagogie exemplaire.' Acta Fabula '... there is a wealth of information regarding the growing collections that will serve as the foundation for the antiquarian fever characterizing the century. Even more valuable is the wide range of perspectives the volume offers on French reaction to the ruins and relics of ancient Rome.' French Studies 'Cooper's volume provides many new findings and hypotheses in regard to the vogue for antiquities in the post-Italian Wars period. His study will be helpful to specialists and students in early modern antiquarian explorations, as well as in the diplomacy of the period. The book provides a lively and focused description of interactions of certain royal, aristocratic, and ecclesiastical figures with French and Italian humanist scholars that will add richly to our discussion of the early part of the century.' 16th Century Journal 'Cet ouvrage clair et bien structuré puise sa force dans les différents champs de recherche mis en présence par Richard Cooper, romaniste de formation qui confronte toute une série de sources - littérature, poésie, histoire, histoire de l’art, réception de l’antiquité classique... - en transcendant les barrières parfois rigides établies entre les disciplines. La variété des approches permet d’offrir au lecteur un panorama somme toute assez complet sur le phénomène antiquisant en France durant une courte période du début de la Renaissance. ... devrait intéresser non seulement les spécialistes de la culture de la Renaissance m

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