Imagines virorum illustrium
Imagines et elogia virorum illustrium et eruditorum ex antiquis lapidibus et nomismatibus expressa cum annotationibus , Imagines virorum illustrium for short , is a work by Fulvio Orsini published in 1570 . The iconographic book brings together portraits of ancient people and has long been fundamental to its field.
Fulvio Orsini was able to draw on the preparatory work of Achilles Statius , Pirro Ligorio and Onofrio Panvinio in his studies , in whose antiquarian tradition he stood, but whose work he led to a completely new and unique height. For Imagines et elogia he put together portraits of ancient Romans from various ancient models, above all of busts, sculptures, gems and coins, but also hermes . He also included the inscriptions when he found them, which was often the case, especially with the herm shafts. Similar to Titus Pomponius Atticus and Marcus Terentius Varro in antiquity, he also collected information about the appearance of people from ancient sources. Thanks to his autopsy ability, he was able to get many first portraits, most of which still exist today. When compiling the material, he used antique gems from his own property, but above all pieces from the collection of the Farnese family , with whom he was associated all his life. Whenever he included items from other Roman collections, it was mostly in illustrations by Pirro Ligorio. Errors and forgeries in his work mostly stem from Ligorio's material. Attributions were made on the basis of inscriptions and comparisons with works with inscriptions. In addition to the attributions, he also described other details from the life of the people depicted, but also the state of preservation of the artefacts depicted. Orisini published his work in 1570.
Theodor Galle created new drawings for a revision . The planned publication did not come about in the originally planned form, however, in 1598 Galle published his work under the title Illustrium imagines ex antiquis marmoribus nomismatibus et gemmis expressae quae extant Romae, maior pars apud Fulvium Ursinum, editio altera , or Illustrium imagines for short , as a book without Orsini's comments. It was not until 1606, six years after Orisini's death, that a new edition with commentary appeared, which Johannes Faber obtained on the basis of Orsini's notes. The original work has thus been expanded again and brought up to date with the latest research.
Orsini brought iconographic studies to a new, scientific level, which gave the pure antiquarian research of the early Renaissance a massive expansion. Orsini's examination of ancient evidence differed fundamentally from the studies of his predecessors; his portraits were the basis for the scientific development of this evidence group. The work remained the most important reference work in its field for almost 200 years; it was only the works of Ennio Quirino Visconti that made it dispensable. Imagines et elogia was also influential on the work of Giovanni Pietro Bellori and Jacobus Gronovius . Many of the attributions that are valid today go back to Orisini's work and are still valid today.
expenditure
- Imagines et elogia virorum illustrium et eruditorum ex antiquis lapidibus et nomismatibus expressa cum annotationibus. In aedibus Petri Dehuchino, Venice 1570 ( digitized version ).
- Illustrium imagines ex antiquis marmoribus nomismatibus et gemmis expressae quae extant Romae, maior pars apud Fulvium Ursinum, editio altera… Theodorus Gallaeus delineabat. Antwerp 1606 ( digitized ).
literature
- Manfred Kätzlmeier-Frank: Theodor Galles drawings to Fulvio Orsinis Imagines. The Codex Capponianus 228. Lit-Verlag, Münster 1993, ISBN 3-89473-510-4 .
- Federica Matteini: Teste d'uomini che parevano vivi, le Imagines di Fulvio Orsini all'interno del programma Monumenta rariora. In: Quaderni Centro di Ricerche Informatiche per i Beni Culturali, Scuola Normale Superiore Pisa. Volume 11, 2001, pp. 177-204.
- Carlo Gasparri: Imagines virorum illustrium e gemme Orsini. In: Carlo Gasparri (ed.): Gemme Farnese. 2nd Edition. Electa, Naples 2006, ISBN 88-510-0344-0 , pp. 85-99.
- Jörn Lang: Orsini, Fulvio. In: Peter Kuhlmann , Helmuth Schneider (Hrsg.): History of the ancient sciences. Biographical Lexicon (= The New Pauly . Supplements. Volume 6). Metzler, Stuttgart / Weimar 2012, ISBN 978-3-476-02033-8 , Sp. 909-912.