Raphael’s Ostrich begins with a little-studied aspect of
Raphael’s painting—the ostrich, which appears as an attribute
of Justice, painted in the Sala di Costantino in the Vatican. Una
Roman D’Elia traces the cultural and artistic history of the
ostrich from its appearances in ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs to the
menageries and grotesque ornaments of sixteenth-century Italy.
Following the complex history of shifting interpretations given to
the ostrich in scientific, literary, religious, poetic, and
satirical texts and images, D’Elia demonstrates the rich variety
of ways in which people made sense of this living “monster,”
which was depicted as the embodiment of heresy, stupidity,
perseverance, justice, fortune, gluttony, and other virtues and
vices. Because Raphael was revered as a god of art, artists
imitated and competed with his ostrich, while religious and
cultural critics complained about the potential for misinterpreting
such obscure imagery. This book not only considers the history of
the ostrich but also explores how Raphael’s painting forced
viewers to question how meaning is attributed to the natural world,
a debate of central importance in early modern Europe at a time
when the disciplines of modern art history and natural history were
developing. The strangeness of Raphael’s ostrich, situated at the
crossroads of art, religion, myth, and natural history, both
reveals lesser-known sides of Raphael’s painting and illuminates
major cultural shifts in attitudes toward nature and images in the
Renaissance. More than simply an examination of a single artist or
a single subject, Raphael’s Ostrich offers an accessible,
erudite, and charming alternative to Vasari’s pervasive model of
the history of sixteenth-century Italian art.
General
Is the information for this product incomplete, wrong or inappropriate?
Let us know about it.
Does this product have an incorrect or missing image?
Send us a new image.
Is this product missing categories?
Add more categories.
Review This Product
No reviews yet - be the first to create one!
Welcome to Loot.co.za!
Sign in / Register |Wishlists & Gift Vouchers |Help | Advanced search
