Vespasiano da Bisticci

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Miniature 'E', ink drawing, shown in profile to the right, approx. 1506.

Vespasiano da Bisticci (* around 1421 in Bisticci, a district of Rignano sull'Arno ; † 1498 in Antella, a district of Bagno a Ripoli ) was a Florentine bookseller and publisher.

life and work

Bisticci was the owner of a workshop for the production of often lavishly decorated manuscripts and the author of an extensive collection of biographies from contemporaries ( Vite di uomini illustri del secolo XV ). This represents an important source for the Italian early Renaissance, as his clients belonged to the ecclesiastical, political and intellectual elite of his time. This collection of biographies from his contemporaries u. a. that of Cosimo de 'Medici , Lorenzo de' Medici and Federico da Montefeltro , one of Lorenzo's most important political opponents, like that of the popes and cardinals.

His famous “life descriptions” form his main literary work, which he began around 1485.

Furthermore, he delivers u. a. Biographies on the Hungarian King Matthias Corvinus and on John Tiptoft, 1st Earl of Worcester . This particularly affects people from Florence or Rome . Women also appear in his descriptions. However, his work does not come close to the rank of historical works of his contemporaries such as Pope Pius II , Francesco Guicciardini or later Macchiavelli . Nevertheless, it gives an impression of its time, of the characters of its contemporaries. There is certainly some criticism of the social conditions. For example, he criticizes the rampant usury in Florence. He also wrote a pamphlet against growing ingratitude. He informed young women about moral behavior in a 'virtue mirror'.

effect

The bookseller Bisticci also made an outstanding contribution to the study of antiquities. For example, collections of antiquities and studies by leading humanists such as B. Niccolò Niccoli bought or supported the distribution by copying the copies. He also had relationships with Giannozzo Manetti . Last but not least, this is expressed in a biography of Manetti, which is represented in his collection. His trading in sales with the copying of ancient texts, most of which were based on medieval copies, was not limited to Florence, but also formed the basis for building libraries such as others. a. in Urbino , which Bisticci put together for Federico da Montefeltro . The popes' collections were also served in this way. Bisticci may have received special support from Lorenzo de 'Medici's patronage . He is likely to have contributed to the foundation of the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana in Florence, which actually emerged from the home library of Cosimo de 'Medici . He is generally considered to be the first to pursue the economic purpose of copying. He employed a number of copyists to copy the texts before he began to print them after Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press . Others like u. a. Federico da Montefeltro, who employed a veritable staff of copyists. Bisticci's bookstore in Florence was at the same time a meeting place for the humanistically educated circles in general. However, he sold them in 1478/79, presumably as a result of the turmoil surrounding the Pazzi conspiracy, and then retired to a nearby country estate.

Editions and translations

  • Paul Schubring (translator): Vespasiano da Bisticci: Life descriptions of famous men of the Quattrocento. Diederichs, Jena 1914
  • Bernd Roeck (translator): Vespasiano da Bisticci: Great men and women of the Renaissance. Thirty-eight biographical portraits. CH Beck, Munich 1995, ISBN 3-406-39683-6 ( review by Klaus Schreiber)
  • Giuseppe M. Cagni: Vespasiano da Bisticci e il suo epistolario. Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura, Rome 1969 (contains edition of letters from and to Vespasiano)

literature

  • Heinz-Willi Wittschier: Vespasiano da Bisticci and Gianozzo Manetti. In: Romanische Forschungen 79, 1967, pp. 271–287

Web links

personal data
SURNAME Bisticci, Vespasiano there
BRIEF DESCRIPTION Florentine bookseller and publisher
DATE OF BIRTH 1421
PLACE OF BIRTH Rignano sull'Arno
DATE OF DEATH 1498
Place of death Bagno a Ripoli