The Italian Renaissance Imagery Of Inspiration: Metaphors Of Sex, Sleep, And Dream

The Italian Renaissance Imagery of Inspiration: Metaphors of Sex, Sleep, and Dream

Maria Ruvoldt traces the development of the pictorial vocabulary of divine inspiration, examining how themes of spiritual, intellectual, and artistic transcendence were given visual form. Ruvoldt argues that the imagery of sleep, a passive experience equated with the loss of reason, offered a powerful visual sign for a Platonic model of divine inspiration. Drawing on primary sources, including handbooks of dream interpretation, the recorded dreams of artists and poets, and philosophical texts, she also considers a range of objects where sleep is visualized.Review"...impeccably researched and well-written, with valuable notes and an exemplary bibliography, scattered with interesting premises and observations..." Renaissance Quarterly"Ruvoldt's book (preceded by her dissertation at Columbia University in 1999) impresses by her knowledge of Renaissance literary sources that she uses skillfully as foundations for her arguments, while shuttling deftly from verbal to pictorial evidence." Sixteenth Century Journal Edith Wyss, University of Maryland"Ruvoldt's refreshing approach neatly inserts a traditional iconographic study into the discourses of semiotics and gender. She writes with a lucid and concise style and adeptly handles heavily debated material without becoming detoured on potentially extensive minutiae and lengthy disputes. Ruvoldt explores the varied interpretations and associations of inspiration and dreams with an absorbing thoroughness reminiscent of David Summers. However, despite a heavy concentration of textual evidence, the book's focus remains centered on the evolving visuals." - Lisa Tom, Art History, UCLABook DescriptionThis book traces the development of the pictorial vocabulary of divine inspiration.