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1882
Volume 52, Issue 1
  • ISSN: 0870-0133
  • E-ISSN: 2736-3082
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Abstract

Abstract

The present article focuses on Giorgio Vasari’s uses of in his (1550/1568), informed by his rhetorical education and progymnasmatic understanding of as it was passed down at the beginning of the sixteenth century. Although some authors have pointed out that the father of early art history followed ekphrastic patterns to describe works of art, no studies examine the progymnasmatic influence on Giorgio Vasari’s rhetorical education and art historical writing. Based on the manuals and model that were commonplace at that time, this article surveys the ancient concept of that Latin teachers presumably conveyed to their students. I argue that this notion was most likely influenced not only by Aphthonius’ but also by byzantine sources, indirect knowledge of Nicholas of Myra’s progymnasmatic explanations on of pictures and sculptures and by collections of model attributed to Libanius. An analysis of Vasarian descriptions provides evidence of progymnasmatic qualities in early modern art history and opens new perspectives for a critical comparison with former art historical texts.

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2024-01-01
2025-12-05

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/content/journals/10.1484/J.EUPHR.5.144624
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  • Article Type: Research Article
Keyword(s): Ekphrasis; Giorgio Vasari; Progymnasmata

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