Portraits of Learned Men

Portraits of Learned Men is a collection of brief biographies of 146 men of learning from Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio to Erasmus, Thomas More, and Juan Luis Vives, written by Paolo Giovio and intended to accompany portrait paintings in a purpose-built villa on Lake Como. It provides a comprehensive overview of the Republic of Letters during the Renaissance.

Format: Hardback
Length: 688 pages
Publication date: 01 March 2023
Publisher: Harvard University Press

Portraits of Learned Men is a captivating compilation of concise biographies of renowned European figures, penned by one of the foremost historians of the sixteenth century, Paolo Giovio (1483–1552). These biographies, encompassing 146 men of scholarly distinction, ranging from Dante, Petrarch, and Boccaccio in the fourteenth century to Erasmus, Thomas More, and Juan Luis Vives in the sixteenth, were intended to accompany precise portrait paintings commemorating significant figures in modern history. Presented alongside the literary portraits in this collection, these paintings would be housed in a purpose-built villa on Lake Como, accessible to the public. Giovio referred to this as his musaeum, or home of the Muses, one of the earliest such institutions in European history. His musaeum would not only fulfill the traditional role of inspiring virtuous emulation but also offer a comprehensive, candid, and personal perspective on the Republic of Letters as it had emerged and thrived in Italy and Europe during the Renaissance.

This volume presents a revised Latin text and a new, more comprehensive translation in English, surpassing any existing versions.

Dimension: 203 x 133 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9780674290150