Atlas of Renaissance Antiquarianism

1 Erasmus 1528a, 638: “Id hodie quoque vulgo tristissimum est. Aiunt enim ad hunc modum: vestitus virum reddit, qui habet, induat [Walther 1963-69, 33268b]. Idem affirmat Quintilianus lib. Instit. 8. Et cultus, inquiens, concessus atque magnificus, addit hominibus, ut Graeco versu testatum est, auctoritatem [Quint. 8 Proem. 20]. Hunc autem versum, quem citat Fabius, opinor esse illum apud Homerum Odysseae Ζ. Ἐκ γάρ τοι τούτων φάτις ἀνθρώπους ἀναβαίνει | Ἐσθλή [Hom. Od. 6.29-30]. Id est Quippe homini ex istis surgit bona fama decus que. Paulo inferius in eodem libro, quantum momenti cultus vestium adferat, ad conciliandam homini formam dignitatem que, satis indicat, cum Nausicam puellam ita de Ulysse loquentem facit: Πρόσθεν μὲν γὰρ δή μοι ἀεικέλιος δόατ’ εἷναι, | Νῦν δὲ θεοῖσιν ἔοικε, τοὶ οὐρανὸν εὐρὺν ἔχουσιν [Hom. Od. 6.242-3], id est Ante videbatur specie foedissimus esse, | Nunc divis similis, magnus quos pascit olympus. Nam ante nudus, jam vestes nitidas induerat Ulysses, ac protinus alius esse visus est: Ἕζετ’ ἔπειτ’ ἀπάνευθε κιὼν ἐπὶ θῖνα θαλάσσης, | Κάλλει καὶ χάρισι στίλβων [Hom. Od. 6.236-7]. Id est Deinde procul, veniens ad littora pontica sedit | Fulgescens forma, atque leporibus”.

ments deriving from antiquity. However, this interest in ancient garments, which stemmed from the wider spectrum of antiquarian erudition, can be dated to a precise timeframe when some of the most important scholars and artists of the period produced significant treatises that gave rise to the rich genre de re vestiaria. Works focusing specifically on clothing began to appear in the mid-fifteenth century and blossomed during the decades that followed, reaching their zenith in the mid-seventeenth century. During this time, a gradual evolution in the construction of various contents occurred alongside advancements made in archaeological and philological investigative methods. The early modern scholars who studied ancient clothing approached the question from two different starting points: the first was a focus on literary sources, which involved identifying any written references to a specific garment from which its form or function could be understood; the second was a focus on material sources, which were composed mainly of ancient archaeological findings such as statues, bas-reliefs, gems, cameos, fresco paintings, and coins, all of which often featured clothed figures. By merging these two areas of research, they were able to assign names to the garments mentioned or represented and give them shape according to their written description or appearance on an artefact. As could be expected, the rapid change in customs caused the names or functions of many garments to also change over time. The often-unclear representations in ancient findings did not help in this regard. Initially, significant difficulties were encountered even when simply attempting to identify a toga, trabea or tunica or imagine what they looked like.
The purpose of this chapter is to retrace the history of the treatises on ancient clothing written during the Renaissance, to identify as many works as possible and describe their different approaches so as to include them in the broader context of the history of ideas. Two case studies will also be presented in order to demonstrate the influence this knowledge had on the cultural life of the time: the first illustrates its impact on ancient theatrical costumes, specifically in Rome and Vicenza at the beginning and end of the sixteenth century; the second focuses on the pictorial decorations of the Gallery of Francis I at Fontainebleau between 1534 and 1538. These investigations, which attempt to describe the vitality of the overall phenomenon, represent just two samples of a plurality of options from which new studies and analyses on the topic may emerge in the future.

Renaissance Works De Re Vestiaria
Towards the end of the fifteenth century, Angelo Poliziano attempted to embrace the sum of human thought conceived by the ancients.
In his Panepistemon, one of his most important academic lectures, he tried to classify clothing into a specific group referred to as ἀποχειροβίωτοι, that is to say, those who work with learned hands or, in other words, the artisans. Here, he listed a series of professions (35 in all) related either directly or indirectly to clothing, including those who worked the raw materials, those who tailored the garments, those who were responsible for dying the cloth, and many others. 3 Since clothing was gradually becoming an area worthy of research in its own right, with specific characteristics that required separate handling and the use of specialised methodological instruments, this sequence served as the basis for all subsequent works on the topic. Poliziano did not spark a real discussion on clothes in the ancient world, but instead introduced specific categories within which these aspects of cultural heritage could be classified for further investigation. This structure seems to appear ante litteram in the first discussion on this subject, the mid-fifteenth century treatise Roma triumphans composed by Flavio Biondo. Biondo dedicated just a few pages to ancient Roman clothing -book IX in a section titled De vestibus. 4 3 Poliziano 1491, 23: "In tertio quasi genere numerentur ἀποχειροβίωτοι illi quales fabri sunt omnes […] His adice lanarios, sericarios, linteones, bracarios, fullones, textores, infectores, lanificas, lanipendias, carminatores, pannicularios, sagarios, palliones, interpolatores, sarcinatores, patagarios, flamearios, violarios, manulearios, molochinarios, semisonarios, limbularios, plumarios, polymitarios, phrygiones, et qui netum aurum intextunt et netrices, et item funicularios, reticularios, caligarios, cerdones, sutoresque omnes. Celceolarios, crepidarios, solearios, veteramentarios, et item zonarios".
4 Here Biondo provides a first catalogue of clothes worn in antiquity based on literary sources, mostly founded in Nonius; see Biondo 1559, 194-5 His study began with the origin of clothing followed by a list of ancient names related to ancient garments. Then Biondo tried to reconstruct the fabrics used and moved on to the occasions for which the clothes were worn, and identified the different styles based on gender distinctions (virilia, muliebrilia), chromatic variations (vestium colores) and other characteristics. All these aspects, however, were dealt with very rapidly. A few decades later, in 1499, Polydor Vergil, an Italian scholar based in Britain, published his De rerum inventoribus in which he sought to reconstruct the real or mythical origins of ancient art and knowledge. Among the many aspects he discussed, he also included a section on clothes (III, VI). Polydor adopted a holistic approach similar to that of his predecessors. His investigation started with the raw materials and then went on to examine the art of weaving, the art of fabric dyeing, and the soap used to wash clothes. 5 Polidoro was the first to define the art of weaving as a cultural development that replaced the previous practise of wearing animal hides.
A similar point of view was adopted by Raffaele Maffei in his Commentariorum rerum urbanarum libri, published in 1506. Maffei discusses clothing in the third book of his work, which deals with philology and the basic principles of the arts. In particular, he includes a section about clothes, treated according to types and users. Here the names of the ancient garments are all listed mostly without an explanation and with only a literary source provided as a reference. Preceding this series of words there is a description of various fabrics that is in line with the usual scheme adopted in previous treatises. Maffei concludes with a list of footwear and costumes used for ancient tragedies, comedies, and satires. 6 Even the Antiquae Lectiones published by Celio Rodigino in 1516 and the Geniales dies published by Alessandro Alessandri in 1522 quod super omnia vestimenta sumitur [Non. 14.541]. Carbasus, pallium quod amiciuntur, aut sericeum, aut lino tenui [Non. 14.541]. Limbus muliebre vestimentum, quod purpuram in imo habet [Non. 14.541] dedicate some pages to ancient clothing. In chapter X of book IX, titled Vestimenta genera plura, Ricchieri lists a series of clothes mentioned by classical authors and proposes an etymology and explanation for their specific use. 7 Alessandri, instead, adopts a different approach: in chapter XVIII of book V, in which he discusses the social disparities in Ancient Rome, with particular focus on the distinctions between patricians and plebeians, there is a section titled Discrimen in vestibus apud diversas gentes which includes a detailed list of the various clothes worn by the Ancient Romans and those inhabiting their subjugated provinces, with a final discussion on hairstyle. 8 In spite of these scholars' writings, ancient clothing became widely known in Renaissance erudite studies only in 1526 when Lazare de Baïf, a French antiquary and ambassador to Venice and Germany, published his De re vestiaria. This work, 9 which represents the first mon- 8 Alessandri begins his digression on clothing and dress codes when he reported that in ancient Rome Patricians and Plebleians wore garments displaying their social conditions -the formers attached a metal pin on their dress (bulla) and a small moon on their shoes (lunula); see Alessandri 1522, 284 a -292 a : Patriciorum a plebeis distinctio, lunula. Arcades proselenis. Bulla  Atlas of Renaissance Antiquarianism, 251-296 ographic treatise on the matter, met with immediate favour and was quickly reprinted by the most prestigious editors in Europe (the first complete with images was issued by Froben in Basel in 1537) [figs [48][49]. This work eventually became the benchmark for all the treatises on the subject that followed. Even Erasmus of Rotterdam paid extensive attention to this work, 10 as is evident from some of his letters and the reference he made to the French scholar in his Adagia. 11 Baïf continued to adhere to the ordinary paradigms previously applied to this subject but was able to extend each topic and build a complex and more reliable argument from both a philological and an archaeological perspective. His considerations sprung from the explanation of book XXXVIII of the Pandects written by Ulpian, which discussed some restrictive provisions in Roman law regarding clothing. Baïf divides the subject into 21 untitled chapters that deal with the vocabulary of ancient clothing, fabrics, the different types of male and female clothing, and questions about their functions, headdresses, and footwear. The most significant improvement on all previous works was Baïf's cross-examination of various literary sources, both Latin and Greek and from different periods, which at times he matched with ancient findings. This broadening of references allowed him to construct a completely new treatise within the framework of the sixteenth-century editorial scene. The success of this work can also be measured by the many reprints, revisions and imitations published thereafter. A significant case is Junien Rabier's De generibus vestium libellus of 1534, which was openly inspired to Baïf's treatise. Rabier organised the matter differently, from the colours of the clothes to their types and uses, and added to each Latin lemma a French translation, in order to explain the lost meaning of each garment. 12 Similarly, the French botanist sionis vice cedunt, quae sunt insitae picturae clavique qui vestibus insuuntur. 2. Vestimenta omnia aut virilia sunt aut puerilia aut muliebria aut communia aut familiarica. Virilia sunt, quae ipsius patris familiae causa parata sunt, veluti togae tunicae palliola vestimenta stragula amfitapa et saga reliquaque similia. Puerilia sunt, quae ad nullum alium usum pertinent nisi puerilem, veluti togae praetextae aliculae chlamydes pallia quae filiis nostris comparamus. Muliebria sunt, quae matris familiae causa sunt comparata, quibus vir non facile uti potest sine vituperatione, veluti stolae pallia tunicae capitia zonae mitrae, quae magis capitis tegendi quam ornandi causa sunt comparata, plagulae penulae. Communia sunt, quibus promiscui utitur mulier cum viro, veluti si eiusmodi penula palliumve est et reliqua huiusmodi, quibus sine reprehensione vel vir vel uxor utatur. Familiarica sunt, quae ad familiam vestiendam parata sunt, sicuti saga tunicae penulae lintea vestimenta stragula et consimilia". 14 This concept was expressed already in the title with the addition of note addita vulgaris linguae interpretatione, in adulescentorum gratiam atque utilitatem, and later reestablished in the letter to the reader; see Estienne 1535a, lect.: "id certe cum diligentius perspiceremus, atque audiremus quotidie nonnullos conquerentes, quod Lazarus Bayfius, vir alioqui gravis, non aeque pueris atque eruditioribus consuluisse; ne quid posthac eorum utilitati detractum esse quisquam amplius iudicaret, visum est nobis operaeprecium, summam eorum quae in libello de re vestiaria continentur, brevibus perstringere, atque in ordinem disponere, ex ipsius authoris voluntate; praemissa interim vulgari vestium ac colorum interpretatione, ut vel etiam in hac parte adolescentoli bonarum literarum cupidiores sibi quoque satisfactum putent, nulla tamen authoris gravitate imminuta, sed tantum ex ispius opusulo selectis iis quae ad puerorum utilitatem facere videbantur". vided Roman clothing into the following categories: daily life; peace and war; religious functions; and social categories, which in turn were embraced, such as patricians and plebeians, or politicians, as senators and equites. A discussion on each specific garment then followed (toga, trabea, praetexta), thereby adhering more directly to Baïf's model. In his Discours sur la religion des Romains (1556) Guillaume du Choul limits his discussions to a monographic investigation of ancient religious clothing, drawing attention to the different types of priest and minister (flamines, augures, pontifices, vestales) and linking different sources and ancient objects to his discourse. 16 He also includes images taken from numismatic and archaeological findings, thereby offering a visual counterpart to the theory presented In the same year, Hieroglyphica was published, the most important collection of ancient symbols ever produced by Renaissance antiquarian erudition. Its author, Giovanni Pierio Valeriano, discussed the symbolic interpretation of clothing in two books, XL and XLI, dedicated respectively to garments and jewellery. 17 Almost overlapping Estienne's rewriting of Baïf's De re vestiaria, which described clothes from the top to the bottom of human body, Valeriano began his dissertation from the most famous headgear of antiquity, the pileus, and all its related sym-16 Du Choul 1556, 216-17: "L'entreée du temple de Vesta estoit defendue aux hommes, comme celle des monasteres de noz Religieuses, qui font reformees. Et pour le service de la Deesse furent au commencement ordonneées quatre vierges, depuis six, et dura ce nombre asses longuement, comme la figure des medaillons de Faustine [Johnson/ Martin 1729] et de Lucille [Gnecchi 13] le représentent, qui nous font congnoistre la manière de leurs sacrifices, pour estre representées vestutes de leurs robes blanches (nommées des Latins Suffibulae) longuettes, et quarrées. Et de telle longueur, quelles auoyent le moyen de les mettres sus la teste pour se voiler"; 273: "Le Flamine ou le prebstre qui faisoit le sacrifice, estoit vestu d'une robe de toile de lin pure et blanche, que les latins ont nommé Alba vestis, et le vulgaire une aulbe, pource que la couleur blanche est gratieuse a Dieu, et se disoit pure et religieuse la robe, celle qui estoit sans macule et sans figure, et de la quelle ceux qui debuoyent faire le divin service, usoyent aux iours des festes solennelles, pource que le lin sor de la terre, et toutes choses que la terre porte sont estimées pures et mundes. Encores auiourdhuy noz prebstres à la pompe de leurs sacrifices sont vestuz de ligne blanc. Telle coustume lon diroit avoir esté translatét des Aegyptiens sacerdotes, qui auoyent leurs habits de lin tresaggreables, et de l'espece du lin qui est appellé xylon, et de là fut nommée la robe xyline, comme Pline le monstre au dixneufuiéme livre de l'histoire naturelle. Et Cicero dit en ses loix, que la couleur blanche est principalement entre les autres agréable à Dieux, et que les teinctres ne debuoyent point estre recevues sinon aux accoustrements militaires, qui servuoyent pour le gens de guerre. Et tel habit estoit commun aux prebstres des autres temples, qui estoit si large et si long, que sans estre troussé il treinoit iusques à terre, si bien nois regardons l'antique sacrifice cy dessoubs mis". bolic meanings. 18 Then, he paused on garments in general, stressing particularly on the occasions in which and on the categories that wore e.g. the toga, the sagum, the tunica, the suffibulum, the stola, the alba or nigra vestis, the paludamentum, the zona, the cingulum, the praetexta. 19 From this, Valeriano could digress on the different symbolic meaning of each item. He acted analogously when discussing about jewels. 20 Also Alessandro Sardi from Ferrara in his De moribus et ritibus gentium of 1557 dealt with ancient clothing, though adopting a different approach compared to his predecessors: in chapter XIX of book I, he focused on the issue of clothing from a geographical perspective, describing the attire of various populations: Asian, European, African, Barbarian and,to conclude,Greek and Roman. 21 This was the first time this subject matter had been classified according to this criterion, pace Alessandro Alessandri whose study on the clothing of populations conquered by the Romans could be seen as a precursor. What emerges in Sardi's work is not only this author's originality and innovation, but also an increase in the amount of investigative material available after the mid-sixteenth century.
Another particularly relevant case is the treatise of Pirro Ligorio on clothing in the ancient world. His Di alcune varietà di vestimenti di re e di magistrati romani, di privati e dell'altre usanze di diversi popoli, is included in his antiquarian encyclopaedia, Libri di Antichità (BNN ms. XI-II B 3), which remained in manuscript form. The work is normally dated between 1550 and 1567, maybe before 1561. 22 In several chapters, Ligorio uses Italian vernacular to retrace a series of features of Roman clothing, taking literary sources and various archaeological findings into account within a project of a broader encyclopaedia of antiquity. 23 The 18 Valeriano 1556, 293-4: "Quemadmodum in unaquaque re nihil est capite prius, ita vestium aliquot significationes dicturi, a pileo, quod praecipuum est capitis integumentum, convenienter incipiemus", devoting specific chapters to its forms and meanings: Nobilitas; Libertas; Liberatores Patriae; Servilis improbitas; three chapters based on readings from the Codex Theodosianus; Triplex libertas; a description of the Flamines who wore the pileus; the iconography of Hippocrates wearing a pileus; and the Forma pilei.
25 Sigonio 1737, 6: 1023-4: "pregola a scrivermi l'opinion sua circa la forma, et portamento della toga romana, percioché m'è venuto un nuovo capriccio introno all'habito romano" (Carlo Sigonio to Onofrio Panvinio, Bologna 21 February 1567); 1024: "Mi è intrato capriccio di scriver a un certo proposito della maniera del vestito romano; né in ciò mi sodisfa punto il Baifio. So che voi mi potete aiutare molto, vi prego a farlo, è   On the other hand, in 1576, it was the turn of Aldo Manuzio the Younger, son of Paolo and nephew of Aldo the Elder, to contribute to the discussion on ancient clothing. In a miscellaneous collection, De quaesitis per espistolam libri III, he dedicated three lengthy chapters to Roman clothing, which together form a monograph within the macro-structure of his work. 27 There are reasons to believe that part of this material was taken from the unpublished papers of his father, Paolo Manuzio, who died in 1571. From this, it is possible to infer that Paolo, whose papers were used by his son Aldo to arrange his own work, spent several years preparing a treatise on ancient clothing that it had already been at an advanced stage. cosa da spedirmene presto, et perciò v'entro volentieri" (Carlo Sigonio to Onofrio Panvinio, Bologna Lent 1567); 1024: "Ho ricevuto l'immagine del vostro Romano, il quale se è console, non ha la toga pura in dosso, ma la pretesta, et questa sotto il braccio destro, et credo che detta pretesta non coprisse il braccio destro, et che le statue, che si veggono in questo modo infinite, siano de' magistrati. Però scrivetemi se n'havete viste alcune, le quali habbiano tutte due braccia coperte, come credo, che portassero tutti li privati" (Carlo Sigonio to Onofrio Panvinio, Bologna 7 March 1567); 1024-5: "Le pitture delle toghe mandatemi mi sono piacciute, benché più tosto mi inviluppano il cervello che altramente, vedendo tanta diversità di portatura. Non so che cosa sia quella fascia, se non è la porpora, di che era orlata la pretesta. Ma mi meraviglio che non si veffa quella fascia in tutti li magistrati, essendo tutti pretestati. Ogni cosa però che mi manderete in questo genere, mi farà casa, né io vi mancherò di contracambio dove possa et sappia" (Carlo Sigonio to Onofrio Panvinio, Bologna 9 June 1567). From these letters, it appears that Panvinio sent to Sigonio a number of drawings or paintings exampled on statues or other relics, which featured ancient Roman garments. One can assume that part of these images could be the same collected in BAV Vat. Lat. 3439, the socalled Codex Ursinianus, partly put together by Panvinio himself. For example, f. 151r fn. 4 shows the drawing of an ancient figure, which garments present a caption with each name noted beside (tunica, sagus). Panvinio also dedicated a few pages to the clothes worn by ecclesiastical prelates, in his Liber Ritualis housed in Munich, BSB Clm. A work on clothing that features a wide-ranging discussion on ancient clothing is Degli habiti antichi et moderni (1590), by the Italian painter Cesare Vecellio. 29 The purpose of this work was to gather an extensive compendium of all the clothes known in the history of civilisation. An anthropological consideration on the development of clothing throughout the centuries and according to the customs of various peoples opens this treatise, followed by the engravings and descriptions of each garment by geographical area (Europe, Asia, Africa) and by social level (noblemen, plebeians, artisans, priests). The work begins with a general overview of ancient clothing, where Vecellio discusses the various materials used, the Roman laws that limited the ownership of luxurious clothing, and the names of each garment. 30 As a result, his work went on to become the largest fig-  Muliebres vestes,et ornamenta,acus ornatrix,et textrix,calamistrum,crinium flexura,vittae,institae,fascia,aegis,monile,tunica,palla,mitra;mundi,sordidi,eos purgare,ut et ungues,excalceati antiqui,seu nudipedes,calcei sacerdotorum,principum,tzacae,senatorum,matronarum,meretricum,militum,servorum,variae deinde species,lignei,ferrei,herbidi,papiracei. fig. 52]. Fifty years would pass before another work on ancient clothing was written. A unique case of antiquarian dissertations on garments during the Renaissance is the one carried out by the French scholar Benoît Bauduyn, who published in 1615 the first monograph ever written on ancient footwear, entitled Calceus antiquus et mysticus. 31 The book is divided in 35 chapters, gathered in three macro-areas of interest: the first regarding origins, materials, and typologies of ancient shoes; 32 the second regarding the occasion in which each model was worn; 33 the third regarding the symbolic meaning of shoes in the Sa- 31 Bauduyn in fact focused on this specific aspect of clothing as a result of his early apprenticeship in the workshop of his father, who was an actual shoemaker; see Bauduyn 1615, 45: "memini me iamdudum, cum iunior in patris sutrina conficiendis calceis operam darem -et hinc mihi nata de calceis scribendi occasio". Against this opinion Moréri 1749, 2.185: "Il n'est pas sûr […] qu'il fût fils d'un cordonnier, encore moins qu'il ait été cordonnier lui-même, et qu'il ait fait honeur à son premier métier. Les prouves que l'on prétend tirer de cet ouvrage pour appuyer cette opinion, ne la prouvent nullement; et tout ce qu'on en peut conclure, c'est que Baudouin qui avoit fait beaucoup de collections qui étoient le fruit de ses lectures, en avoit tiré tout ce qui regardoit la matiere singulier de la chaussure des anciens, et qu'il se plaît à badiner sur le rapport éloigné qu'il avoit avec le métier exercé par les cordonniers". See Acciarino 2021, 175-95. Investigation on clothing crossed over also in the territories of ecclesiastical antiquarianism, especially in Antonio Bosio's Roma Sotterranea, published posthumously in 1632. In fact, from his exploration in Rome's underground cemeteries and catacombs, Bosio found rather extensive representations of clothed figures in the parietal paintings and in the statues. In this light he devoted four chapters to the issue, focusing on the clothes in general, starting from those wore on the head to reach the footwear, with a final digression on the various meanings of the letters stitched on the dresses. 36 Ottavio Ferrari, an academic at the University of Padua, published a treatise entitled De re vestiaria, in which all the previous positions on ancient garments are revised and corrected. The first edition of his work was printed in 1642 in the form of three books that described the toga, the praetexta and the tunica through a multiplicity of philological references. 37 The second edition, which comprised four additional books, each of which discussed De lacernis, De paenulis, De veste militari and De pallio, was published in 1654. 38 This work is accompanied by a figurative apparatus [ fig. 53], which, although meagre, was effective at synthesising general iconographic sources (especially coins and statues). Lastly, in 1665 Albert Rubens published his treatise De re vestia ria. This work is divided into two books, the first of which is dedicated to clothing and the second to accessories, from headdresses to footwear. 39 The genesis of this treatise is clearly rooted in the humanistic culture of his family. In fact, it was inspired both by the experience of Peter Paul Rubens, the famous painter and the father of the author, and by the studies of Philip Rubens, antiquarian scholar at the time who was also Paul's brother and Albert's uncle. 40 It is well known that the education of Peter Paul Rubens as a cultured painter also included an antiquarian apprenticeship that involved imitating ancient models of every type, including clothing. Among the drawings completed by this great Flemish artist, many feature figures wearing ancient garments, which in part reappeared in his pictorial works. Peter Paul Rubens arranged the iconographic tables for his brother's work [ fig. 55], a miscellany of antiquarian erudite works entitled Electorum libri duo, the purpose of which was to discuss a variety of controversial philological cases. Seven chapters were dedicated to clothing -especially the toga (I, 17), the flag at the circus (I, 30), clothes with images or inscriptions (II 1), military outfits (II, 2), women's footwear (II,14), the tunic (II, 20) and headdresses (II,25). 41 The most interesting aspect to note is that all the images in this collection refer exclusively to these chapters, which demonstrates a special convergence of the two brothers' interests on this topic. In this framework, it can be seen how Albert Rubens took inspiration from his family experiences -several drawings by his father were in fact included in his work, and some of the philological readings of his uncle are referred to and discussed in his treatise. 42 This demonstrates, almost in perfect synthesis, the spirit that guided this research and the pathways that had to be followed in order to make progress in the study of this matter. In light of the above, it would appear that the discourse for Renaissance works on ancient clothing may have passed through three different phases, according to the periods in which these texts were written. Atlas of Renaissance Antiquarianism, 251-296 The first phase includes the treatises written before the publication of De re vestiaria by Lazare de Baïf. These often deal with this topic in a superficial manner and always in general terms. This group includes the works of Flavio Biondo, Polydor Vergil, Raffaele Maffei, Celio Rodigino, Alessandro Alessandri and the general theory advanced by Poliziano. The guiding principle appears to be a need to define the subject properly before understanding the nature of specific objects, and to identify a general nomenclature. This may have been directly attributable to the fact that this discipline was new and required greater precision in order to better define the object of study and develop new categories for its investigation.
The second group concerns the works published between Baïf's treatise and Cesare Vecellio's illustrated collection. Here the subject acquires greater autonomy and breadth as research into the topic is conducted in detail and with greater awareness of related factors. Aside from Lazare de Baïf's De re vestiaria, this group includes the works by Charles Estienne, Wolfgang Lazius, Guillaume du Choul, Alessandro Sardi, Pirro Ligorio, Aldo Manuzio the Younger, Joannes Rosinus and Cesare Vecellio. These scholars sought to broaden and explain clothing nomenclature and to provide reliable descriptions based on ancient literary sources and findings, often employing an iconographic apparatus to provide accompanying images for the explanations.
The third and last group relates to the publication of two wideranging and complex treatises in the mid-seventeenth century, which brought the matter to its final peak, thereby concluding the Renaissance approach to the scholarly debate on the issue. Before describing and defining ancient garments, the works of Ottavio Ferrari and Albert Rubens rectify, correct, adjust, or reject the opinions expressed in previous writings, thereby applying a rear-guard approach of sorts. These texts are the richest in terms of sources and references but are tied to a tradition that had exhausted its momentum and required new methodological elements in order to preserve its relevance.
From this general overview, it is clear that the texts in the first group are based exclusively on literary sources, while material sources begin to be used starting only with Baïf. As will be seen from the case studies below, it is very likely that the evolution in the methodology used to develop studies on ancient clothing also fostered a change in the sensitivity of scholars and artists of the period on this subject in other areas.

Dressing the Ancients (i): Theatrical Costumes
The performance of classical plays in Renaissance theatres represented a cultural point in time when even studies on ancient clothing contributed significantly to the development of antiquarian imagery. Today, there is a lack of data on the construction of these mise-en-scène and costumes, the accuracy of erudite details and the relationship with the original models during the sixteenth century. 43 Even the spectator's ability to receive and understand the cultural weight of these choices is not sufficiently documented to allow for the formulation of a coherent theory. However, it is clear from the information currently available that the success of a play from ancient drama was not always dependent on its adherence to primary sources, especially when it involved clothing. Actually, excessive philological accuracy could sometime be disorienting for the public, so it was usually replaced by fictional solutions inspired by the international Gothic style. 44 Plays with ancient themes, such as those performed in the Academia Romana under the supervision of Pomponio Leto, were staged in Italy since the end of the fifteenth century. 45 Even though no specific account survives, some data on the costumes worn can be gleaned from a report published on the carnival of 1513 under Pope Julius II, in which a group of knights is described as being dressed in the ancient fashion: curiously enough, their connotation as ancients consisted merely in a label inscribed with the name of the Roman family to which they belonged and not of a specific dress code. 46 Nonetheless, in early modern times, there have been at least two cases that demonstrate the increase in awareness of ancient dress codes in theatrical performances, with solutions coming from a variety of erudite environments. These occurred quite far apart in terms of time, but this is what makes them even more significant: they both offer different perspectives on the same issue when considered as part of the same cultural dynamic. Hill 2010. However, one must mention a reference to ancient clothing in the prologue of a comedy by Ludovico Dolce, Fabritia, in which the author affirmed that to different periods in history corresponded different uses, also in relation to garments, see Dolce 1550, 4.3-4: "Gentilissimi riguardanti, chi sic rede che a diverse età non convengano diversi costume, di gran lunga s'inganna, percioché quell oche fu già prezzato in una, è tenuto a vile in un'altra. Et per incominciare dal vestire, i Romani antichi non usavano né calcie né berretta, et portavano alcuni panni lunghi, che toniche, toghe, preteste et laticlavi addimandavano". Atlas of Renaissance Antiquarianism, 251-296

Rome 1513
The first case occurred in Rome in 1513 during the pontificate of Pope Leo X and concerns the performance of Plautus's comedy Poenulus to celebrate the concession of Roman citizenship to Giuliano and Lorenzo de' Medici. 47 The organiser and director of the event was Tomaso Inghirami, a scholar from Volterra, disciple of Pomponio Leto. 48 Inghirami also completed some erudite and philological studies on Roman dramatists, such as Plautus and Terence, and was also a very close friend of Raffaele Maffei, the only scholar to write about ancient theatrical costumes during that period. 49 Under Leto's supervision,Inghirami also participated in some of the performances staged in the Academia Romana, where he was given the nickname 'Phedra' after having acted as this female character in Euripides's Hyppolitus. It is, therefore, reasonable to assume that not only did Inghirami possess vast knowledge of ancient clothing, but that he also had the ability to process it in an antiquarian rebirth of sorts.
Regarding the mise-en-scène of Poenulus, none of the information that came directly from Inghirami survived; nevertheless, the scenic design and costumes are described in a very detailed report written in Italian by Paolo Palliolo entitled La narratione delli spetacoli celebrati in Campidoglio da' Romani nel ricevere lo Magnifico Juliano et Laurentio di Medicii per suoi Patritii. An abridged version of this text was also translated into Latin by the author himself: Omnium actorum recitatorumque in Capitolio quum Magnificus Julianus Medices Romana civitate donatus fuit descriptio. 50 In the former, a specific chapter is devoted to costumes: here Palliolo gives an account of actors who wore flesh-coloured tights in order to imitate the ancients, who were bare legged. 51 The same paradigm can be deduced also from later documents describing the purchase of the costumes for the French version of the Sophonisba, staged in Blois during 1556. This implies it was quite a common expedient in theatre to express nudity by wearing flesh-coloured stockings or tight-fitting garments. 52 47 Cruciani 1968, XXIV.  Palliolo also reported that the performers tied their garments with a knot on their shoulder in keeping with ancient Roman fashion. 53 This specific assertion could imply that the costumes used in this play were in fact intended to be tunics because the word 'tunic' is the only occurrence of a technical term referring to antiquarian vocabulary on clothing in Palliolo's text. 54 He frequently refers to a vague ancient style, probably implying that it was generally to be considered Roman; in fact, when the actors dressed in a different way, this was always specified, for example, when they followed the Greek style, 55 even if no explanation was provided for the differences. On another occasion, a group of soldiers on a chariot are described as being dressed and equipped in ancient Roman style, but no other details are provided. 56 Palliolo also mentioned that the characters wore ancient footwear that were decorated with jewellery. 57 This specific aspect can add further details about the concept behind the entire play since it shows which elements were necessary and which were not in terms of reconstructing an antique fiction. In fact, the purpose of these shoes appears to have been to capture the attention of the public, demonstrating that the public and the scenographer himself conferred a particular meaning to this aspect beyond its mere antiquarian evocation. Therefore, in the eyes of a cultured spectator like Palliolo, only a few superficial dress code elements were sufficient to evoke and display a tangible but indistinct Ancient Roman atmosphere.

Vicenza 1585
The second case concerns the staging of Sophocles's tragedy Edipo Tiranno at the Olimpic Theatre of Vicenza in 1585. The cultural relevance of this event is well known: 58 the work for this mise-enscène began in 1579 and was promoted by the members of the Academia Olimpica; the project for the construction of the theatre was assigned to the renowned architect Andrea Palladio; the text of the tragedy was translated by the Venetian scholar Orsatto Giustiniani; the music for the chorus was composed by Andrea Gabrieli; the costumes were sketched by Giovanni Battista Maganza; 59 and responsibility for the direction and scenography were assumed by Angelo Ingegneri. The evolution of these works was thoroughly documented in various reports and printed works, some of which were written directly by the organisers themselves. There are two key sources for all the information available on the actors' costumes and dress codes: the treatise by Ingegneri published in 1598, Della poesia rappresentativa et del modo di rappresentare le favole sceniche, wherein he describes the work carried out in organising this performance; 60 and the manuscript at the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan (BAM ms. 123 sup. ff. 282-328), in which several autograph documents refer to the various organisational phases preceding the play (there is a lengthy text by Ingegneri himself, with significant attention devoted to costumes and clothes) and to the opinions of many prominent figures after the staging, including the philosopher Sperone Speroni (1500-1588), the scholar Antonio Riccoboni (1541-1599), the Spanish ambassador Filippo Pigafetta (1533-1604), and the antiquarian Gian Vincenzo Pinelli. 61 In order to make the scenes more believable [ fig. 56], Ingegneri decided to ascribe a specific connotation to the ancient garments according to their geographical origin. Since the drama was set in Greece, the actors were required to wear a pallium, a typical Hel- 58 Schrade 1960;Gallo 1973;Schiavo 1977, 1-45;Puppi 1987;Mazzoni 2010;2013. 59 Puppi 1987Mason Rinaldi 1981. 60 Ingegneri 1598, 70-4: "Dintorno a i vestimenti l'uso de gli antichi, secondo Giulio Polluce, era assai stretto, consiosia che essi havevano a ciscun personaggio non pur l'habito, ma il colore determinato, e davano all'innamorato il suo, il suo al trasone, et al parasito. Ma noi, usando in ciò maggior libertà, et pigliando le cose più in universale per meglio conformarci al moderno costume, ch'è ito molto avanzando di larghezza, et di pompa, saremo contenti di considerare che come le persone si distinguono fra di esse mediante il sesso, l'età, la conditione, et la professione, così anco i vestimenti in generale si fanno tra dilloro differente".

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Studi di Letteratura Greca e Latina | Lexis Studies in Greek and Latin Literature 3 Atlas of Renaissance Antiquarianism, 251-296 lenic garment, instead of a toga, typically Italic. 62 He believed it to be necessary to opt for the Ancient Greek dress code in the mise-enscène, avoiding the Roman dress code or any other dress code that could be ascribed to other cultures: Ingegneri was however aware that he could not accomplish a full reconstruction of the clothing worn at the time; therefore, he settled for features that would be easily understood, even if this meant reducing the precision of antiquarian references. 63 For example, the king's archers were dressed according to the Turkish style and the king's crown did not adhere to the ancient diadem form. 64 In spite of Ingegneri's directions, the accuracy of the antiquarian model for the mise-en-scène of Edipo Tyranno was lacking from the very first performance. This is clear when reading the proposals for the costumes suggested by Speroni, who pressed for higher philological accuracy: 65 for example, he discouraged the use of ex-62 Gallo 1973, 8: "Circa i vestimenti è da avvertire che come le persone si distinguono fra di esse per il sesso, l'età, la condizione e la professione, così anch'essi in generale si fanno fra di loro differenti, ma in particolare si variano secondo il costume d'una nazione o d'una provincia, come a dire la toga in Italia, il pallio in Grecia e simili"; Ingegneri 1598, 71: "Più particolarmente etiandio si variano gli habiti secondo 'l portamento della natione, o della provincia, come a dire, parlando all'antica, la toga s'usava in Italia, e 'l pallio in Grecia.
65 Gallo 1973, 54: "Edippo era nuovo re di Tebe. Il suo abito mi par che debba accommodarsi alla tragedia più che alla regal maestà. La tragedia è di favola mista, perché la peste era in Tebe e si trattava d'intender perché vi fusse, per liberarla; onde il re e tutto il popolo era in stato di supplicare e non di pompeggiare. Il segno regale nelli re barbari era la benda bianca avvolta alla testa; nelli greci non ho veduto che cosa fusse se non lo scettro, e ciò si vede in Omero [Hom. cessively luxurious costumes because the tragedy was set during a period of mourning. In another passage, Speroni suggested that missing details in the scenography be reconstructed through the juxtaposition of parallel occurrences: for example, the clothes of Giocasta, the mother (and wife) of Oedipus, could have been aligned with those worn by Penelope, the wife of Ulysses, as described in the Odyssey, who wore a long white dress and a sash on her forehead; or the fortune-teller Tiresias could have been made to conform to a biblical prophet. During the performance, the actors' clothes were very much admired not for their antiquarian accuracy, but for their splendour. Several of the reactions to the play bear testament to this general feeling, although some scholars still disapproved of the unfaithfulness to the original spirit. For example, Riccoboni criticised the character of Tiresias because it contradicted the ancient Greek source, Julius Pollux, who described him as being dressed in rags; 66 Riccoboni was echoed by Pinelli, who confirmed that this figure was wearing a silk dress, again contrary to the literary source. 67

A Comparison
By comparing these two cases, it is possible to see that theatrical requirements prevailed over antiquarian details, both in terms of the nature of the play and the audience itself. 68 However, a substantial difference seems to appear: in the Roman performance, it was possible to deviate from the historical truth to less annoyance from the spectators; in Vicenza, instead, any variation on a theme was perceived as a negative element, both by the scenographer and by the public.
This shift in perspective is likely to have derived from the evolution of the issue de re vestiaria in antiquarian scholarship. In the first decades of sixteenth century, when Inghirami was preparing the mise-en-scène of Poenulus, studies on ancient clothing were still consiglieri, dui. L'abito loro lungo e così del re; il capo coperto alla greca e forse senza chioma o con poca. Il re comato fino alle spalle. Giocasta madre e moglie di Edippo, donna attempata, vestita di bianco, la benda avvolta al capo, con due compagne. too limited to offer a full overview on the matter. By the time Ingegneri prepared his Edipo tyranno, not only from a philological perspective, but also from an iconographic point of view, this topic had been thoroughly investigated and a broader and more complex picture of ancient garments was available to the erudite public. For example, since Turkish archers were described and depicted in many contemporary publications, including the ones by Abraham Bruyn in 1581 and Cesare Vecellio in 1590, they could not be accepted as alternates for the ancients [ fig. 57]. 69 Conversely, the hypothesis could be advanced that the growth in early modern theatre also influenced the progress of studies on ancient clothing. In this light, each time an edition or a vernacular translation of theatrical texts was published it would have entailed considerations on its ideal performance and, consequently, on the costumes used. On the one hand, it would be interesting to note whether Lazare de Baïf, the father of Renaissance studies on ancient clothing and the translator of Euripides's Electra (1537) and Hecuba (1544) into French, 70 had imagined how they would be presented on stage, including the actors' costumes, given his experience in this area. On the other hand, it would be interesting to understand if the Peacham drawing (1594)   From this hypothesis, further assumptions can be made. The classical culture of Lazare de Baïf is generally recognised: not only did he study in Italy with Janus Lascaris, enter into correspondence with Pietro Bembo and Erasmus, and collect ancient artworks and findings while he was ambassador to Venice (sent directly by Francis I), but he also brought together a circle of artists and scholars, including the humanist Pietro Aretino, through which he encouraged the circulation and dissemination of ideas. 76 However, his cultural background cannot be isolated from his antiquarian studies and publications, for which he garnered great fame during the years in which the Fontainebleau frescoes were being completed. In addition to his De re vestiaria of 1526, of which there were at least twelve editions, Baïf published a work entitled De vasculis in 1531, which discussed the receptacles and vases of the ancient world, 77 and De re navali, published for the first time in 1536, which dealt with the naval principles known in the ancient world. 78 The edition of this last work was dedicated to King Francis I and contained the two previous books in the same volume, creating a practical manual that included all of his antiquarian studies, enriched by an iconographic apparatus perhaps arranged with the drawings of Sebastiano Serlio. 79 As it was the case with ancient clothing, even De vasculis and De re navali were immediately revised by Charles Estienne in 1535 and 1537 respectively. 80 Therefore, if we assume that Baïf participated in the iconographic programme of Fontainebleau, we should focus on finding any influences, coincidences, or real citations of his works in the complex weave of references in the Gallery. On an analysis, no evidence has yet been found to confirm his personal involvement, but his antiquarian knowledge may very well have inspired the development of the programme, even via the medium of Charles Estienne's revised versions, which would allow for some new general statements to be made, such as the following.
In the panel entitled The Unity of the State [ fig. 59a], some relevant links with both Baïf's and Estienne's De re vestiaria treatises can be identified through the central figure, King Francis I, whose clothing recalls antiquarian details, such as the cape over his shoulder (sagum), 81 his leather or linen chest armour (lorica or thorax), 82 his long-sleeved tunic (tunica manicata), 83  However, the last two features coincide only with Estienne's version: the fascia, in fact, was added in his section on belts, 85 and the caligae were described in a chapter devoted to footwear, which was completely ignored in Baïf's original, 86 even though this last feature appears in one of his illustrations in the 1536 edition that was printed under the supervision of Charles Estienne himself [ fig. 60]. 87 Of course, since this last detail features in many ancient statues, as also specified in the caption of the illustration, it could easily have been present in the imagery of the Renaissance artists of the time; however, within this cultural context the strong similarities between the text and the pictorial output cannot be deemed mere coincidence.
Another consideration must also be made. In their essay, the Panofskys identified an alternative image to that realised by Rosso Fiorentino in an engraving by Antonio Fantuzzi: 88 it was a prototype of the figure of a king with a crown and a pomegranate in his hand, just like the figure featured in the fresco, but in this case credibly recalling Vercingetorix, leader of the Gauls against the Romans. This identification was also supported by elements deriving from the clothes worn: in fact, the character wore trousers, a typical Gaulish garment, instead of the Roman tunica or toga. Panofsky attributed this iconography to the famous adage Gallia bracata, reported by Pliny and other ancient sources. There is no intention of questioning the trustworthiness of this identification, but the distinction between Gallia bracata and Gallia togata also appears in Badutus, intextas auro, ac manuleatas, et ad pedes usque demissas, cruraque tota convelans ab abunguibus ad femora, vestis similiter auro, purpuraque variis, capite coronam gestans preciosorum lapidibus coloribus florentem"; Estienne 1535a, 21-2: "Tunica manicata, ung saye a manches". clothes can be seen on the left side, including a soldier wearing metal chest armour (thorax plumbeus), 91 in contrast to the leather armour donned by the king, and a short-sleeved tunic. Such a type of tunic takes on greater significance if the presence of sleeveless tunics is observed, suggesting that this was ascribed meaning by the painters, as can be seen on the right part of the panel titled The Elephant [fig. 61].
On the left side of the same painting, there is also a figure descending the stairs, wearing clothes similar to those worn by the king in the aforementioned fresco (tunica manicata, sagus, thorax, fascia), but with some differences: for example, the caligae, which are made of intertwined lace, seem very similar to Estienne's description. 92 Furthermore, one should note that the tunic is always the garment worn 'closest to the body' by all male figures and serves almost as an equivalent to a modern vest. This peculiarity is also reported in the work of the two French antiquarians (tunica ima), 93 strengthening the link between the information provided in De re vestiaria and the arrangement of this artwork.   Another garment that reveals this type of erudition is the headdress of women. For example the two female characters in the Bath of Pallas [ fig. 62] have their hair gathered in a bonnet similar to a restis or reticulum; 94 moreover, the old mother in the panel Cleobis and Biton [ fig. 63] is perhaps wearing a rica because of the sacrificial setting of the scene, 95 just like the female figure with a white headdress is perhaps wearing a vitta, 96 in The loss of eternal Youth [ fig. 64].
In addition to these hypotheses on clothing, other elements stemming from the other treatises by Baïf and Estienne on ancient vases and vessels can be found. In the panel of the Sacrifice [ fig. 65] the vases brought towards the altar could be identified with the various sacrificial ornaments of different forms and materials used also for transporting water (aquaria), wine (vinaria), oil, and various ointments (unguentaria). 97 The poor state of conservation of the paintings and the heavy re-touching carried out in later periods do not aid this analysis to advance any further, however, it is possible to imagine from the few traces of colour left that the first was a crystal vase, the second a golden urceus 98 and the third a silver or lead amphora. The images here do not match perfectly those found in Baïf's  fig. 67]. In this fresco depicting an ancient naval battle, a series of vessels appear in a chaotic composition. Even in this case it is possible to find a general link with Baïf's and Estienne's De re navali, and some paradigmatic referrals to the nautical universe: 99 in fact, visual referrals to each part of the ancient ship can be identified in the final tables of these treatises, which could have been easily used in order to increase the philological reliability of the ancient naval imagery [ fig. 68]. 100 Given these assumptions, it could be argued that Lazare de Baïf exerted an influence on the development of the iconographic programme of the Gallery of Francis I at Fontainebleau and could even have been directly involved. If it is taken as a given that this French scholar was one of the court iconographers, then his antiquarian works must be considered to be intrinsically linked to the images depicted, which would include not only his most famous work De re vestiaria, but also his other works on ancient vessels and vases. It would be more difficult to explain the iconography of the palace if Baïf's role were excluded from consideration.
Some of the links that emerge from this antiquarian knowledge and these paintings lead to the formulation of a further proposal: the data recorded on ancient clothing, vases, and vessel could well have derived from the works of Charles Estienne rather than dir ectly from those of Baïf. And there are at least two reasons to believe this. First, in addition to all the other coincidences involved, the caligae (both with lions and laces) can be found only in Estienne's treatise, since Baïf never dealt with the subject of Roman footwear. Second, Estienne's works were handbooks and therefore easier to consult. They could have been used by the reader to a greater extent than those of Baïf, mainly because of the new structure.
Moreover, the presence of a French translation for each Latin term could have aided a more rapid comprehension of the object not only by the young students to whom these treatises were originally addressed, but also by painters and artists. The assumption could therefore be made that Baïf's knowledge may have contributed to the development of this iconographic programme, but through the revisions carried out by Estienne between 1535 and 1537 when the Gallery at Fontainebleau was being decorated. God's houses are buildings in which God alone should be glorified, invoked, and adored. As Christ says: My house is a house of prayer, and you make it a murderer's cave. Deceitful images bring death to those who worship them […] Therefore, our temples might be rightly called murderer's caves, because in them our spirit is stricken and slain. 4 Owing to the presence of deceitful images ("betrügliche bilder") that lead to the death of the spirit, churches can be compared to murderers' caves ("gruben der morder"). This concept is drawn from the gospel of Matthew, even if the biblical text does not directly refer to images but more generally to corruption in the episode of the Cleansing of the Temple. With the German word grube (cave), Karlstadt translated the Greek σπήλαιον (cave), from which the Latin term speluncam (cave) is derived. During the sixteenth century, grube and spēlaion had a strong semantic relationship with the Italian grotta (cave), from which the word grottesche was coined. 5 This lexical con-3 Scavizzi 1981, 51-63.
5 The etymology of the word grottesca was widely investigated during the Renaissance, at the point that it became a sort of hermeneutical device used by scholars to first understand, and later criticise, role and function of grotesques within art. Since the first attempts to identify its origins, scholars tended to link the signifier of the Italian word grottesca, which meant a specific type of paintings, with grotta, which was the environment in which these paintings were originally found. Albeit the first occurrence of the word, today dated back to year 1500 and found in the Antiquarie prospettiche romane, apparently demonstrates some kind of etymological awareness, alluding to a link between the paintings and the place in which they were rediscovered (v. 373: "Hor son spelonch'e ruinate grotte" and 380: "per essere più bizzarri alle grottesche"), its first explicit etymology is found in Philandrier 1544, 228 ("Picture genus Italis dictas grottescas, credo quod in terra obrutis veterum aedificiorum fornicibus, quas Grottas, quasi Cryptas appellant, primum invenerint"), where grotta and grottesca where connected to the Latin term crypta. This pattern was expanded in following years, for example by Pirro Ligorio, who connected these forms to the Greek κρυπτή (hidden) and γρώνη ( vergence creates a perfect (and unexpected) bond between the two movements developing simultaneously during the Renaissance: grotesques in ornamental art and iconoclasm in worship. Since its origins, Christianity has had a controversial and unstable relationship with imagery. 6 This is in part due to two contrasting tendencies in its ideology: one deriving from its Jewish roots that forbade any kind of representation of the divine; the other deriving from its Gentile legacy which instead made ample use of images of the gods for its cults. This inherited tension produced an extensive and abundant literature on the matter throughout the centuries. This often engendered reformations of style and iconography based on a changing ideal of appropriateness; at times it resulted in the destruction of statues and other types of figurative representation. Tertullian, Lactantius, and Bernard of Clairvaux are just some of the most eminent authorities involved in this long-lasting debate. They greatly influenced the nature of sacred art and inspired later religious reet per tempio, o per luogo e fondo di una nave, et fatto sotto delli alberghi per commodità". Ulisse Aldrovandi noticed affinity between the Italian noun grotta and the Dutch verb crupen (to creep), also drawing connections with Hebrew and Aramaic; see Acciarino 2018, 94-5: "la grotta è una caverna, o vero una volta sotto terra in qualche monte escavata detta dalli greci κρυπτή, dal verbo κρύπτειν che significa occultare, quasi che dicessi occulta o vero loco occulto. Dal qual verbo greco gli Barbanti dicono crupen, che vuol dire andare carponi, rampare per terra, imperoché quelli che cercono di occultarsi pare che vogliano andare in groppone, et spesse volte, quando voglino nascondersi nelle spelonche et caverne, sono sforzati andare con le mani et piedi per terra, et così andare (come si dice) in gattone, il che fa argumento che le grotte sono basse. Questo nome grotta è formato da κρυπτή cangiando il cappa nella sua media gamma et mutando l'ypsilon (che secondo i più dotti si deve pronunciare non come i, ma come la u appresso francesi) in o, il π in t, sì come in tutte le voci volgari si vede farsi, come da scriptum latino 'scritto', et βαπτισμὸς 'battesimo', et così formaremo da κρυπτὴ *γροττα 'grotta'. […] Da gli Hebrei è detta la grotta ‫ה‬ ַ ‫ׇר‬ ‫ְע‬ ‫מ‬ (meharah), il qual nome vogliono alcuni che deriva dal verbo infinito ‫ֺת‬ ‫ַרו‬ ‫ע‬ (haroth), che significa dinudare, perché la spelonca over grotta sia in luoco denudato et voto; il che mostra che sia inetta alla pittura essendo priva della luce, non potendo vedere gli colori se non per mezzo del lume del sole o del fuoco. 'Haroth' non solamente è verbo, come habbiamo detto, ma nome del numero del più de ‫ה‬ ַ ‫ׇר‬ ‫ע‬ (harah), che significa loco pieno di verdura et gramigne, da' latini chiamato graminetum, di modo che 'haroth' dinotarà gramineta, cioè luochi di gramigna et herbe verdeggianti adorni. Però alcuni per questo vocabulo vogliono che si intenda le rive de' fiumi, per causa della nudità et cavità che per l'onde sono di sotto escavate, ma di sopra con bellissime herbe vestite, sì come veggiamo alcune volte le fontane ave, che mostrano una bellissima verdura". Aldrovandi also proposed to rename grotesques with a different term coming from Greek language, τερατογραφία to focus on their monstrous essence, even if it was not compatible with their meaning, because monsters existed in nature, but grotesques did not; see Acciarino 2018, 93: "Aristofane chiama la pittura mostruosa τερατογραφία, dal verbo Greco τερατογραφέω, che significa dipingere mostri over cose mostruose. Questo vocabolo τερατογραφία converrebbe giustamente alle pitture stravaganti, che hoggi con usato cioè moderno nome sono chiamate grotesche, percioché sono pitture veramente mostruose, anzi più che mostruose non havendo correspondenza con le cose istesse, come di sopra habbiamo accennato, ma le mostruose hanno per correspondenza i mostri istessi, da' quali sono state ritratte".

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Studi di Letteratura Greca e Latina | Lexis Studies in Greek and Latin Literature 3 Atlas of Renaissance Antiquarianism, 297-330 formers such as John Wycliff, the Lollards, Jan Huss, Bernardino da Siena, and Girolamo Savonarola. 7 In the early modern period visual art became not only a fundamental tool to investigate and understand creation, but also an instrument to help idealise and imagine the spiritual universe. It was just a matter of time before this influenced the Reformation. Protestant ideas in this regard combined the traditional critique against figurative art (drawn by Sacred Scripture and patristic texts) with the abuses denounced in Luther's 95 theses. As a result, throughout the entire sixteenth century the removal of images and the issue of idolatry became battlefields where Catholics and Protestants engaged each other in an effort to promote and re-establish doctrine and a liturgy of the Primitive Church. 8 Grotesques were never explicitly mentioned by Protestants or Catholics in any of these polemics, at least until the end of the sixteenth century. As far as written sources are concerned, it appears that Protestants did not take this ornamental style into consideration at all in their attacks against imagery. However, grotesques ended up entering into Protestant polemics against images 'naturally'. This was because of their widespread presence in almost all decorated buildings of the time, including churches. It is thus reasonable to assume that, even if Protestants did not directly address their critique against decorations of this type, their rhetoric could also be construed by Catholics as an attack on grotesques, which were present and visible in Catholic imagery (especially in Italy). 9 7 Palmer Wandel 1995, 38; Boespflung, Fogliadini 2017.
9 Some convergences among the iconoclastic tendencies of the Reformation and the polemics against the grotesques, which contributed to anger the reaction against the Renaissance rebirth of Pagan art (Saxl 1939, 346-67;Wind 1957;Gombrich 1975, Monfasani 1992Warburg 1999;Godwin 2002;Bull 2005), could be found in several literary sources of the first half of the sixteenth century; see e.g. Catharinus 1542, 61-73 especially 64, or the letter of Olaus Magnus bishop of Uppsala dated 8 June 1552 on the decorations of cardinal Marcello Crescenzi's palace in Rome (Hipler-Zakrzewski 1886, 211: "Doleo super certis abusibus illius cardinalis, quos admisit fieri Romae. Vidi enim in palatio eius, dum floreret, super ianuas eius spectra, faunos, satyras et nudarum imagines mulierum […] sed forsan haec sunt gentilium antiquitatum, ut habetur in bella videre Belvedere, in quo nullus securior est quam caecus", also in Roggero 1969, 153 fn. 18), as well as the interesting analysis of the vocabulary related to images and their doctrinal meaning in Protestant contexts given by Flacius 1567, 543-4, where images and likenesses were deemed as unfaithful dreams and groundless projections of imagination ("Longe alia igitur significatio est, cum imago pro rebus imaginaries, aut evanidis crebro usurpantur, cuius significationis exempla adscribi non est opus. Ab hac vero significatione venit, quod saepe res existentes ob suam levitatem imago dicuntur, sicut Latini somnium hominis, pro nihil homine dicere solent"). Also interesting in this regard are the two dedicatory letters by Giovanni Francesco Pico della Mirandola for the two editions of his poem De Venere et Cupidine expellendis, addressed respectively to Lilio Gregorio Giraldi and to Konrad Peutinger. These letters In humanistic circles, grotesques stimulated a heated debate among those who sought to understand their nature and function within art, whether their figurations carried any symbolic, hidden, or arcane meanings, or whether they could be dismissed simply as deceitful images, as maintained by classical sources such as Vitruvius and Horace. In this regard, some of the positions advanced on the Reformation side of the debate on images aligned with those used in the debate on grotesques, creating unexpected reactions against this artistic category on the Catholic side. Curiously enough, this outburst of Protestant polemics against images coincided with the universal diffusion of grotesques in Renaissance art. In fact, just a few years before Karlstadt's book, Raphael completed the decorations of the Vatican Loggias (1516-19) with a series of grotesques. This would go on to become one of the most famous and renowned examples of this style during the Renaissance. 10 described the ancient statues placed in the Belvedere Garden as Pagan abnormalities not acceptable anymore in Christian times, the imagery of which evoked that of the grotesques (see Pico 1513a, vv. 187-96: "Linquite fallacem Babylona, relinquite molles | Illius illecebres permistaque mella veneno. | Huc etenim nimium nimiumque nocentia monstra | Migravere truces Scyllaeque et Gorgones, atque | Harpyiae in mediis posuere sedilia templis. | Nec non quae Atlantem olim, et quae Titana parentem | Agnorunt, arteis nec dedidicere vetustas, | Semiferaeque etiam caprearum rupe recentis | Mutavere domos Bab ylonis, et aurea tecta | atque super sacra sidunt Acheloides aede"). According to recent studies (Piana 2020), the letter to Giraldi pointed out that this imagery had a negative influence on the spectators, who were deceived by their imagination and transformed into animals (Pico 1513a, Ep.: "Nam bruta esse iis in locis non parum multa dicuntur ac bellvas cum notas tum ignotas per hosce colles expatiantur, Ianiculum aliquas, aliquanto plures colles, caeteros: at Vaticanum et plurimas alere et in genteis, | quarum id insitutum, | ut nisi flante Zephyro mansuescant. Cunque habentur veluti cicures ipsis esse omnino ferociores. Quod genus bruti nec Aristoteli nec Aeliano nec Cnidio Ctesiae copertum: Novisse id aliqua ex parte Magnum Albertum: sed non prodidisse nondum eius satis explorata natura: Nec enim ferae illius tempestatis tam noxi[e] tamque efferate degebant vitam"), establishing a parallel with the enchantress Circe and her cave in which Ulysses' crew was transformed into pigs (Pico 1513a, Ep.: "Nec te admiratio nedum stupor teneat tot in bellvas homines trasformatos: quando iis in oris non unica solum est Circe ternaque Siren sed sirenum solisque filiarum Myriaden numerares bene plane integram"); in the letter to Peutinger, he underlined the fragmentary aspect of these artworks, which signified the victory of the light emanated by true religion against the darkness of the false gods (Pico 1513b, Ep.: "Sed sane eo in simulacro simul et artificiis ingenium licebat suspicere: et simul admirari vanae super stitionis tenebras verae luce religionis ita fugatas, ut nec ipsorum Deorum imagines nisi truncae, fractae et pene prorsus evanidae spectarentur").

Reformation and Images
The entire debate on the use of images in religious contexts during the Renaissance and the Reformation began with Karlstadt's treatise. 11 His polemic tract was based on the Mosaic precepts against images Lv. 26:1;Nm. 33:52;) and especially on the commandment of "non facies tibi sculptile, neque omnem similitudinem quae est in caelo desuper, et quae in terra deorsum, nec eorum quae sunt in aquis sub terra", which essentially excluded all creatures of the world from sacred figurations. 12 Karlstadt's intention was to remove any potential medium between God and man (i.e. nature) because this could become an obstacle in the relationship with divinity and misdirect veneration, eventually deceiving the believer. ָ ‫ּמּונ‬ ְ ‫ת‬ i. similitudinem (imaginem) quae in coelo superne etc". Renaissance reception of Ex. 20:4 varied according to the confessional belonging of those who cited it in controversies. Protestants focused on the banishment of all images drawn from the natural world (e.g. Pellikan 1532, 215: "Cave tibi a periculosa perniciosaque humano generi imaginum sculptura rerum omnium. Ne quid aliud unquam admireris, praeter me authorem omnium naturarum ac atrium, de quibus alias multa passim solicite Moses admonet, quasi exosissum Deo sculptilium opus et execrabile"), while Catholics concentrated more on the second part of the commandment ([Ex. 20:5] "non adorabis ea neque coles ego sum Dominus Deus tuus fortis zelotes visitans iniquitatem patrum in filiis in tertiam et quartam generationem eorum qui oderunt me"), which instead was interpreted as an explicit warning not regarding images in general, but only those treated as idols (e.g. Broickwy 1537, 112 a -113 b , Lippomanno 1550, 169 b  This Old Testament injunction was corroborated by several examples in the New Testament, where passages from Paul's letters were used to demonstrate the absolute convergence between the Old and the New Law on the use of images in liturgy. This was especially evident in 2 Cor. 5:16, which specified: "itaque nos ex hoc neminem novimus secundum carnem et si cognovimus secundum carnem Christum sed nunc iam non novimus". In this light, if the understanding of Christ was impossible through the human senses -tied irreparably to a material dimension (that is, the flesh) -images in religious contexts lost any actual function, becoming only a deceitful device fostering idolatry. 13 This led to a more significant and impactful conclusion: that images were no longer considered suitable for teaching religion: Dieweil nun dye bilder stum | vnd taub seind | konden weder sehen noch horen. weder lernen oder leren. vnd deuten | auff nichs anders dan vff lauter vnd blos fleisch | das nicht nutz ist. Volget vestiglich. das sie nicht nutz seind. Aber das wortt gottis ist geystlich | vnd allein den glaubigen nutze.
By affirming that "images are deaf and dumb, can neither see nor hear, neither learn nor teach and point to nothing other than pure and simple flesh which is of no use", and that "the Word of God is spiritual and alone is of use to the faithful", 14 Karlstadt targeted one of the strongest criteria for the admissibility of images in churches and cults ever developed on the Catholic side: the Biblia pauperum or Bible for the poor or illiterate. 15 Its acknowledged creator was Pope Gregory I (r. 590-604), who formulated this theory in a pastoral letter of ca. 599 to Bishop Serenus of Marseille (PL 77, 1128 C), stating that it is one thing to worship a painting, another thing to teach through paintings what should be worshipped. In fact, a painting presents to an illiterate person what a text transmits to a reader, since people who do not know how to read could understand and actually 'read' what should be followed. 16 13 Mangrum, Scavizzi 1991, 6-11. 14 Karlstadt 1522Mangrum, Scavizzi 1991, 27. 15 Nellhouse 1991Corsi 1995. 16 Gregory's letter to Serenus was included in the Decretum Gratiani and circulated in its many editions with glosses published along the Renaissance. To undermine this deeply rooted justification, Karlstadt focused on two main aspects of Christian doctrine extrapolated from the Scriptures. 17 On the one hand, he wanted to re-establish the superiority of the word (logos) over the image (eikona), because transposing scriptura, hoc idiotis praestat pictura cernentibus, quia in ipsa etiam ignorantes vident quid sequi debeant, in ipsa legunt qui litteras nesciunt. Unde et praecipue gentibus pro lectione pictura est". However, according to its glosses, the passage could bare a two-fold meaning. At the beginning, Gregory seems to praise the prohibition of adoration of sacred images, but at the same time he blames their destruction; see e.g., Decret. Gratian. 1612Gratian. , 2147 God's message in images would have meant converting it into a different semiotic vehicle, thereby distorting the original sense of the message. On the other hand, the use of images to teach Scripture meant that the clergy and laity were not equally placed; the former had some sort of pre-eminence over the latter, and this would break the unity of Christianity itself, creating two categories of the faithful: one that could directly access the message of salvation and another that instead was subjected to false rituals: Bildnis seind der Leyhen bucher | alß hette er gesprochen. Die Leihen sollen kein Junger Christi sein | sollen auch nymer frey werden vons teuffels panden | sollen auch nit in gotlich vnd Christlich weßen kumen. 18 Karlstadt's positions were clear: "saying that likenesses are the books of the laity is precisely the same as saying that the laity ought not to be disciples of Christ, should never be free from the bonds of the Devil and should also not enter into godly and Christian life". The influence of his words can be found mostly in reformed environments, where he had a powerful impact on the ensuing debate on images and idolatry. It gave birth to a tradition of works by both Catholics and Protestants that either aligned with or contradicted his ideas. 19 The first response is perhaps one of the most meaningful. It was written in German in 1522 by the Catholic apologist Hieronymus Emser who, in his Das man der heyligen Bilder yn den Kirken nit abthon, noch unheren soll. Und das sie in der Schriff nyndert verboten seyn, literally explained the reasons why images should not be removed from churches and other religious buildings, should not be dishonoured, and were not forbidden in Scripture. 20 In Emser's view, images were allowed for three main reasons: first, because served as a reminder 18 Karlstadt 1522, 9;Mangrum, Scavizzi 1991, 27-8. 19 After Von Abtuhung der Bylder, the works published in sequence are the following: a short Latin treatise by Johannes Eck on the same topic (1522) and kept track of events; second, because they could teach illiterate people, according to the scheme of the Biblia pauperum; and, third, because they inspired faith in the observer. 21 Of course, Emser had to admit that images were occasionally misused, specifically in the iconography of the Virgin Mary and the saints. 22 He attributed the origin of this misapplication to the Devil, who created a series of deceitful idols with the intent of being worshipped in place of the real God ("Den missbrauch dises obgenanten und and heydischen bilder | hat der teuffel im selber gotliche Her zu zuzihen | angericht"). 23 In addition, Emser stated that "these pagan images and idols through which the Devil is invoked, and God is robbed of his divine honour, are an abomination before God and have been condemned not only by the canonical Scripture but also by wise and intelligent pagans themselves": 24 Dise heidische bild und abgoet | darinnen der tauffel angeruffen | und Got seyn Goetliche her entfromdet wirt | sint ein grewel vor Got | unnd nit alleyen von der Canonischen schrifft | sonder | ouch von den clugen und weysen Heyden selber vornicht worden.
Karlstad, Emser and all their followers had precise targets in mind when they formulated their respective attacks or attempted defences of the status quo. They referred mostly to statues and licentious paintings, but also in more general terms to artworks and furnishings that distracted people's attention from the Word of God or endangered the administration and reception of the liturgy. 25 If all these debates are considered retrospectively, they are perfectly compatible with the critique on grotesques advanced in the second half of the sixteenth century in Catholic environments: the deceitful nature of images, the impossibility of teaching or transmitting a message through them, and the veneration of infernal divinities. Given the above, one can further extrapolate that the attacks against grotesques developed during the Counter-Reformation came about as a direct consequence of the Protestant polemics against images. 21 Mangrum, Scavizzi 1991, 12-14. 22 Mangrum, Scavizzi 1991, 14. 23 Mangrum, Scavizzi 1991 24 Mangrum, Scavizzi 1991, 51.

Counter-Reformation and Images
Even if sporadic attempts to oppose the growing iconoclastic impulses developing in Protestant regions can be seen during this time, no official Catholic response emerged prior to the decrees on invocation, veneration of the relics of Saints, and the sacred images (de invocatione, veneratione et reliquiis sanctorum et sacris imaginibus) promulgated by the Council of Trent in 1563. 26 The Tridentine pronouncements sought to restore the honour of figurative art in Christian cults and worship, adopting the traditional arguments that sacred art promoted memory, learning, and faith. These decrees also encouraged an improvement to the iconography to help increase the effectiveness of the images and reinforce the reasons for their use -"in such wise that no images, (suggestive) of false doctrine, and furnishing occasion of dangerous error to the uneducated, be set up". 27 The Tridentine decrees set the ground rules for the bishops to re-interpret images; they did not, however, discuss specific cases, thereby leaving bishops free to apply the regulations as they saw fit for their dioceses. Guidelines, however, soon followed. The first work that gave a series of concrete examples for what should and should not be depicted in sacred art was composed by the Flemish scholar and theologian Jan Vermeulen (1533-85), also known as Johannes Molanus. In 1570 he published De Picturis et Imaginibus Sacris, a treatise on the correct use of images that sought to give shape to the Council's more general procla-26 In the first half of the sixteenth century, Catholic polemists did not give a systematic response on the issue of veneration of images. Among the most eminent figures of the catholic side, worthy of mention are Erasmus and Alberto Pio da Carpi, Ambrosius Catharinus and Konrad Braun, and of course the discussions carried out at the Colloquy of Poissy, which were capable to deeply influence the outcome at the Council of Trent. In this regard, see Jedin 1935;Alberigo 1958, 239-98;Roggero 1969;Firpo 2010;Noyes 2013;Prodi, 2014;Pigozzi 2015;Firpo, Biferali 2016;Hecht 2016, 30-70. mations. It also referred to the former tradition of treatises on art and iconography stemming from humanistic circles and to the strong iconoclastic tensions that had erupted in previous decades in Protestant areas. Molanus never mentioned grotesques openly in his work, despite occasionally alluding to their ornamental figurations. He referred, for example, to those mysterious hieroglyphs of the ancient Egyptians ("aenigmata pingebant Aegyptij") that were often associated with the enigmatic print of grotesques after the fifteenth century discovery of Horapollo and Hermes Trismegistus. 28 Molanus stated that these depictions had never been admitted in ecclesiastical contexts ("Numquam item Ecclesia approbabit Aegyptiorum morem") because they could serve as idols of the pagan gods ("inter Aegyptios, quosdam aenigmatum artifices qui idolis serviebant"). In fact, if hieroglyphs were considered to be profane idols bearing some kind of obscure meaning, then they should be excluded from Christian temples.
Bernard asked himself: why is this ridiculous monstrosity represented [in cloisters], this marvellous deformed beauty or beautiful deformity? Why are foul monkeys found here? Why fierce lions? Why horrific centaurs? Why half-men? Why speckled tigers? Why soldiers in battle? Why hunters sounding their horns? You see many bodies under one head and again one body with many heads. You can see on one side a four-legged-animal with a snake as a tail, on the other side the head of a four-legged-animal on a fish. Here, a beast is half horse in the front and half goat in back; there, a horned animal gives birth to a horse. This surprising and rich variety of heterogeneous forms appears everywhere, so much so that people prefer to 'read' statues rather than books: they prefer to waste their time staring at these images rather than contemplate the Law of God's words helped Molanus give a precise shape to those 'mixed' figurations present in churches. His detailed description reflected imagery comprised of dynamic figures. These combined vegetal, animal, and human features that, in the 1570s, inevitably evoked the usual iconographies of grotesques. However, beyond this significant coincidence, greater attention should be paid to his final statement, which suggested that these images distracted the faithful from Christian truth. Bernard's remark, though originally written in the twelfth century, echoed Karlstadt's polemic against the Biblia pauperum and Gregory the Great. It identified for the first time the deceitful images that were to be excluded from the canon so as to avoid confusing and ambiguous messaging.
Carlo Borromeo followed up this position by adding further details in his Instructionum fabricae et suppellectilis ecclesiasticae libri duo, a Counter-reformation work on images published in 1577. In chapter 17, De sacris imaginibus picturisve, Borromeo devoted several passages to the appropriateness of the imagery within religious environments. 31 In the first section on what kind sacred images should be avoided and saved (Quae in imaginibus sacris cavenda, quae rursus servanda sunt), he set a first parameter in order to reject figurations from the iconographic system still in use during his time. Borromeo reported that in painting and sculpting sacred images, nothing false, uncertain, apocryphal or superstitious must be displayed; and that everything profane, depraved or obscene, shameless or impudent must be avoided; similarly, everything unusual, which does not educate the people at devotion or can offend the minds of faithful, again, must be forbidden. Borromeo then specifically explained what should be excluded from the canon of sacred images. In the section on side-works and marginal apparatus for ornament (De parergis et additamentis ornatus causa), he issues his famous sentence on marginal decorations, thereby condemning the imagery that was typical of grotesques, though he does so without mentioning them explicitly: 33 Parerga, utpote quae ornatus causa imaginibus pictores sculptoresve addere solent, ne prophane sint, ne voluptaria, ne deliciose ne denique a sacra pictura abhorrentia, ut deformiter efficta capita humana quae mascaroni vulgo nominant, non aviculae, non mare, non prata virentia, non alia id generis, quae ad oblectationem deliciosumque prospectum atque ornatum effinguntur.

34
The definition 'accessory' is drawn from Passignat 2017, 428. Borromeo cites the term parerga (from the Greek πάρεργον), attributing to it the meaning of 'marginal decoration', and adds a rather broad number of iconographies that should be excluded from its imagery. The word πάρεργον is extensively attested in Greek literature, in Latin literature instead parergum is extremely rare. In order to understand Borromeo's use of the term, one must consider its etymology, i.e., παρα-, implying an addition, and ἔργον meaning 'work' (also of art). Hesychius attributed to it a negative connotation, by defining it as something spurious or unnecessary (Hesyc. Lex. π 847: πάρεργον· νόθον, ὡς μικρόν τι τῶν ἀναγκαίων). In Latin, parergum is utilised as a technical term in the field of art in just one occasion, i.e., when Pliny reports that the painter Protogenes represented some ships in margin of a picture of Nausicaa (Plin. nat. 35.10.36: "adiecerit parvolas naves longas in iis, quae pictores parergia appellant"). Renaissance scholars were fully aware of this shift, as e.g., Vincenzio Borghini's definition of parerga, attested in the so called Selva di notizie [Kunst. ms. K 783.16] dated approximately 1564; see Carrara 2000, 266: "Quae pictores parergha appellant etc. chiaman così quelle cose che sono per ornamento, ma fuora della historia, come città, fiumi, campagne, monti etc". The Greek word was known during the Renaissance thanks to Guarinus Favorinus's Greek Thesaurus, who cited Hesychius's exact definition (Favorinus 1523, 413 b ), and to Guillaume Budé's Commentaria on Greek language, which connected it to Pliny, hence postulating the existence of painters specialised in the realisation of these decorations (Budé 1529, 710: "παρεργογραφεῖν est πάρεργα γράφειν καί ζωγραφεῖν. Sunt autem πάρεργα, quae praeter praecipuam et destinatam imaginem ornatus gratia adduntur, ut flores, ut arbores et similia, ut apud Pli nium libro XXXV").

Lexis Supplementi | Supplements 6 311
Studi di Letteratura Greca e Latina | Lexis Studies in Greek and Latin Literature 3 Atlas of Renaissance Antiquarianism, 297-330 thing related to nature (he mentions: birds, seas, green prairies, and in general anything that might seek to produce a pleasant landscape or delightful ornament) in order to be neither profane, nor voluptuous, neither luxurious nor abhorrent of sacred art, such as those human heads usually depicted that the people call mascaroni [big masks]. 35 Budé created a first list of iconographies which recurred in the parerga, such as flowers, trees etc., and again, by relying on Pliny, he added also ships. This input was received by Robert Estienne's Thesaurus of Latin language, which appears to improve Budé's definition (Estienne 1531, 611 b : "PARERGVM, parergi, n.g. Quod alicui rei praeter propositum additur, ut si Pictor Iunonem pingens, ornandae tabellae gratiae, arbusculas et aviculas, sive naves mariaque, aut aliquid aliud huiusmodi addiderit"). Borromeo clearly drew his statement on parerga from this latter author ("non aviculae, non mare, non prata virentia"), also combining it with the monstrosities and deformities typical of grotesques. The fact that parerga and grottesche were strongly linked in Re 35 The word mascaroni (or more commonly mascheroni) mentioned by Borromeo in this passage refers to the technical term meaning 'a sculpture or any other artwork representing a human or animal face as an ornament'. With this sense, it was used e.g. by Benvenuto Cellini (Vita XIX: "Era questo vaso ornato con dua bei manichi, con molte maschere picole e grande, con molti bellissimi fogliami, di tanta bella grazia e disegno, quanto inmaginar si possa" [GDLI,9: 865]) or by Giorgio Vasari (Vite [1550], Intr. I: "e fontane con teste di varie maschere intagliate con grandissima diligenzia" 9: 865]). However, Borromeo confers to the word a negative connotation, implying that these ornamental masks were actual grotesques. This position is probably rooted in the idea that the mask as a decorative feature was an allegory of deception and falsity, e.g., the idiom 'dipingere le maschere' current in ancient Italian meant 'to lie' (see Luca Pulci's Ciriffo Calvaneo VII. 81.6: "Non vo' che più le maschere dipinga" [GDLI,9: 868] In Borromeo's view, parerga should feature only that which pertains appropriately to the sacred history represented. If Borromeo's passages are read alongside those of Molanus, it becomes clear that Catholic apologists sought to weaken Protestant positions on imagery after the decrees of the Council of Trent. Attempting to break the Protestants' unity, they argued that not all images were deceptive or distracting -as Karlstadt and most of his followers suggested -but only those that did not conform to precise iconological patterns. In this light, images could still be included in Christian liturgy; however, Catholics needed to remove those that had been improperly used and preserve those that served their purposes (memory, education, inspiration) and safeguard them from future attacks.

9.4
The Counter-Reformation and Grotesques It was here that grotesques (grottesche) appeared to embody all the negative aspects of art that should be excluded from the canon, both in sacred and profane contexts. 37 Paleotti devoted six chapters of the second book to this ornamental style (XXXVII-XLII) -the most extensive section of his treatise. This part is preceded by twelve chapters (XXV-XXXVI) in which he discussed single negative aspects of art. Here, he gradually deleted any features that required condemnation and a thorough reformation of others to not be censured. He indicated precise categories that were to be rejected and others that could be acceptable if aligned with certain fixed parameters.  1959, 121-92 and 1967, 527-36 where the genesis of his Discorso is dated back to 1578); this means that he could access directly the discussion on images (1563) and bear in mind the guidelines established during these sessions, from which he then developed his Discourse in line with the spiritual and political needs that emerged during the Council.  ;[196][197][198][199][200][201][202]: "A queste pitture donque, che peccano nei principii e fondamento dell'arte, talche non solo sono sconvenevoli, ma ancora causano deriso"; 202-9 [XXXII. Delle pitture che apportano novità e sono insolite]: "onde, quando si pecca in simili pitture, se bene il difetto e proprio della invenzione, che non figura la imagine come deve, si dimanda nondimeno errore dal tempo che si publica al popolo, perché inanzi non era conosciuto, e però si chiama peccato di novità rispetto agli occhi del popolo"; 209-13 [XXXIII. Delle pitture oscure e difficili da intendersi]: "Cosi nella pittura, chi possederà bene e fondatamente quello che e per ritrarre, e saperà il fine a che e ordinato quel misterio, o a che mira quella figura, non e dubbio che lo porgerà molto più chiaramente, e con maggiore espressione per le particolarità che vi inserirà, che non farà un altro poco intendente"; 213-15 [XXXIV. Delle pittu- His intent was to mitigate the restrictions that could be drawn by the Scripture in terms of images and idolatry by enlarging its interpretation. This entire passage is founded on Origenes's homilies  and annotations on Exodus , in which it was stated that not all images had the same value, establishing a duality between εἴδωλον (idol) and ὁμοίωμα ( Quid est autem quod non est? Species quam non vidit oculis, sed ipse sibi animus fingit. Verbi gratia, ut si quis humanis membris caput canis, aut arietis formet, vel rursum in uno hominis habitu duas facies fingat, aut humano pectori postremas partes equi, aut piscis adiungat: haec et iis similia qui facit, non similitudinem, sed idolum facit. Facit enim quod non est, nec habet aliquem similem sui, et idcirco haec sciens Apostolus dicit: quia idolum nihil est in mundo [1 Cor. 8:4]. Non enim aliqua ex rebus extantibus adsumitur aspecies, sed quod ipsa sibi ociosa mens et curiosa repererit. Similitudo vero est, cum aliquid ex his quae sunt vel in coelo, vel in terra, vel in aquis formatur, sicut supius diximus. Veruntamen non sicut de iis, qui in terra sunt, vel mari similitudinibus in promptu est pronuntiare, ita etiam de coelestibus, nisi siquis dicat de Sole et Luna et stellis hoc posse sentiri. Et horum namque formas exprimere gentilitas solet. Sed quia Moyses eruditus erat in omni sapientia Aegyptorum, etiam ea quae apud illos erant in occultis et reconditis prohibere cupiebat, […] vel etiam ad vitanda mala, quae nunc sermo Dei universa complectens simul abiurat et abiicit, et non solum idolum fieri vetat, sed et similitudinem omnium, quae in terra sunt, et in aquis, et in coelo". The clue aspect of Origines's thought lay in the fact that, while ὁμοίωμα (similitudo) found a model in the natural world, εἴδωλον (idolum) instead was completely detached from reality. Despite Origenes affirmed that Moses condemned both idols and likenesses -also because the latter could recall hieroglyphics -this duality allowed Paleotti to differentiate images that were idols and images that were not. The features of idols in fact, consisting of hybrid figurations, could easily overlap grotesque imagery, and could be condemned in consideration of their nature and their aim (veneration of false gods); the latter instead were condemned in a Jewish context, but could be vice versa accepted in a Christian one, given the renovated perception of the Word -in fact, these images were admitted as long as they were not venerated; see Paleotti 1582, 43 b -44 a : "Ma il nome di idolo et simulacro et sculptile et conflatile ordinariamente si piglia in cattiva parte, come di cosa reprovata dalle leggi; et questo in due modi: overo perché rappresenta cosa che non è né mai è stata, overo perché la rappresenta con altra ragione da quello che è stata. Nel primo modo si figura una sfinge o tritone, o uomini con la faccia di cane, o altre cose che mai non si sono vedute. Onde s. Paolo disse, quod idolum nihil est in mundo [1 Cor. 8:4] to this interpretation, the function of images prevailed over the images themselves. It is not by chance that Paleotti accompanies these words with an attack on grotesques, affirming "how could it possibly benefit anyone to look at a façade full of grotesques? […] Where is the utility […] in all those masks [mascheroni] and counterfeit animals?". By linking a typically profane art (grotesques) with the reception of sacred art during the Reformation (idolatry), Paleotti brought the profane dimension of grotesques directly into the debate on idolatry. In so doing, he succeeded in mitigating the inflexibility of the Mosaic precepts by orienting his focus toward the Protestant interpretation of the Old Testament, while at the same time identifying a category of profane painting on which to centre the iconoclastic fears that had emerged in the previous decades. Thus, not all sacred art was to be excluded from the liturgy, but only art that appeared deceitful -that is to say, the grotesques.
Then Paleotti went even further and addressed a question that implicitly pervaded his entire treatise; if images could be realised according to incorrect parameters that ended up deceiving the observer, which were the correct ones to follow? The answer was straightforward: those imitating nature as accurately as possible. 44 His position, rooted both in Aristotelian precepts and scriptural passages, emerged after a long epistolary exchange with Ulisse Aldrovandi. 45 a letter to Paleotti dated 20 January 1581, explained that 'painting after nature' was opposed to the hybrid and dreamlike imaginations typical of grotesques, which had no model in nature; see Acciarino 2018, 92-3: "Laonde la pittura si chiama γραφή, (che ancor significa scrittura); et non solamente con questo nome vien detta la pittura ζωγραφία, dal verbo Greco ζῶ, che vuol dire vivere, et da γραφέω over γράφω, che significa dipingere, come dicessimo pittura fatta al vivo. Da qui si chiama ζωγράφος il pittore, et quivi si vede che le grotesche immeritamente sono chiamate pitture, percioché non sono fatte dal vivo, ma secondo il vario capriccio del pittore, né hanno alcuna correspondenza con le cose naturali, né furono né sono né saranno mai in natura, come ben disse il prencipe de gli architettori Vitruvio. Platone chiama la pittura, cioè quello che è dipinto al vivo et secondo il naturale, ζωγράφημα". Paleotti, by quoting Philo of Alexandria's Latin translation, which had pictura, argued that Moses banished from society all those artists that depicted and portrayed unnatural or antinaturalistic figurations, while Philo, by using the term ζωγραφία in the original, intended that Moses banished from society all the artists, including those who imitated nature, for covering the truth (ψευδόμεναι) and illuding (ἀπάτας) the spectators. In this light, it is clear that Paleotti filtered Philo's words through Aldrovandi's reading of the term ζωγραφία, which was opposed to grotesques also in reason of Plato's Cratylus, where the term ζωγράφημα signified a painting having a concrete object (πραγμάτων τινῶν) as a model [Plat. Cratyl. 430b.3: Οὐκοῦν καὶ τὰ ζωγραφήματα τρόπον τινὰ ἄλλον λέγεις μιμήματα εἶναι πραγμάτων τινῶν;]. Paleotti's interpretation was possible only because the source was cited in its Latin translation, in that picturam offered a more generic connotation compared to ζωγραφίαν, which allowed Paleotti to overturn the sense of the former in order to adjust the latter to its needs. The point of his argument gravitated around a statement found in Paul's letter to the Romans [1.20] that proclaimed that through the visible world it was possible to see and understand the idea of the invisible ("invisibilia Dei, per ea quae visibilia sunt, conspiciuntur"). 46 In this light, Paleotti could easily affirm: "if art imitates nature, then grotesques fall outside the bounds of art". 47 This was directly related to the real function of art itself. Thanks to this position, Paleotti could present the argument in favour of the Biblia pauperum in a new light. 48 The imitation of nature created an alphabet that the public could understand perfectly and it developed a language that could not transmit fraudulent or dishonest messages. In this regard, Paleotti's exchange with Aldrovandi is essential for our understanding of the development of Paleotti's positions. This is because it points to Aldrovandi as the person who provided the scientific knowledge that was to be applied to a visual art. Aldrovandi assembled a multiplicity of biological categories that could be drawn directly from nature and a source for iconographies, thereby showing how the immense variety of natural phenomena could offer orig-46 The passage of the Letter to the Romans cited by Aldrovandi is not literal, both Jerome's and the Sixtine and Clementine Vulgate read: "Invisibilia enim ipsius a creatura mundi per ea quae facta sunt intellecta conspiciuntur". Other patristic sources attest closer versions to the one mentioned by Aldrovandi, such as Gregory the Great's Commentarii in librum I Regum (III. iv. 20 [PL 34 0020]: "In ista etenim vita, cum ad contemplanda aeterna sustollimur, supernarum rerum similitudines capere de rebus istis infimis et visibilibus nitimur: ut iuxta egregii doctoris vocem, Invisibilia a creatura mundi, per ea quae visibilia facta sunt, cognoscamus"), in his Epistulae (IX. 52 ad Secundinum [PL 77 0991A-B]: "Imagines quas tibi dirigendas per Dulcidum diaconum rogasti misimus. Unde valde nobis tua postulatio placuit, quia illum toto corde, tota intentione quaeris, cuius imaginem prae oculis habere desideras, ut te visio corporalis quotidiana reddat exercitatum, ut dum picturam illius vides, ad illum animo inardescas, cuius imaginem videre desideras. Ab re non facimus, si per visibilia invisibilia demonstramus"), and in Augustine of Hippo's De docrina Christiana (I. iv. 33 [PL 79 0194C]: "ut invisibilia Dei, per ea quae facta sunt, intellecta conspiciantur, hoc est, ut de corporalibus temporalibusque rebus aeterna et spiritualia capiamus"). The references to Gregory's and Augustine's works were clear to Paleotti, which he cited in his Discorso (respectively Paleotti 1582, 75 a and 128 a ). This verse of Paul's letter to the Romans was thoroughly discussed in all the commentaries of the New Testament (e.g., Gloss. Ord. 1617, 24-6;Erasmus 1516, 420;Martin Luther in Buzzi 1991, 209-12;Beza 1559, 434;1565, 137;1589, 137-8).
47 McCuaig 2012, 274; Paleotti 1582, 235 a : "Se l'arte imita la natura, dunque le grottesche non sono secondo l'arte; se le pitture hanno da servire per libri agl'idioti, ch'altro potranno essi imparare da queste, che bugie, menzogne, inganni e cose che non sono? L'anima della pittura è il giovare, e dove non è questo fine è come un corpo morto, che diremo di queste, che non solo non giovano, ma possono intricare le menti de' semplici in mille errori?". To support this position, Paleotti was forced to assume that drawing, and hence painting, preceded writing in human history. 50 This assumption was necessary to break down the hierarchy of the written word over the image. The written word was indeed considered a more complex system of communication than imagery, and hence more proper to God. However, Paleotti attempted to prove that writing had been developed by man from drawing in a subsequent phase of civilisation, even if this did not exclude the existence of the written word in some early cultures. This hypothesis entailed the idea that God's message could be conveyed beyond its vehicle, such as when God himself spoke directly to his people at a time when writing (and books) were not yet available to mankind. 51 To sustain this 50 This in book II chapter V [Se la introduzzione delle imagini sia stata anteriore ai libri, e che convenienza abbia con essi]; see Paleotti 1582, 17 b -18 a : "E però da questo si verria a concludere che le imagini fossero anteriori alle lettere, perché di due cose significanti un'altra cosa, quella che immediatamente significa è prima di quella che mediatamente la mostra, come sanno i dotti". Aldrovandi did not agree with Paleotti on this point. In a letter dated 20 January 1581, he argued that writing preceded painting since the origins of communication (Acciarino 2018, 92: "le lettere siano antichissime et molto più antiche che non è la pittura"). In order to support this statement, . However, both Aldrovandi and Paleotti were aware of the semantic interchangeability between writing and painting, which was proven by the words signifying these concepts in ancient languages such as Greek and Hebrew; see Acciarino 2018, 42-3 and 92-5, and Paleotti 1582, 16 a . 51 Paleotti 1582, 18 a : "Ma sopra tutto stimiamo d'importanza quello che si cava dalle Lettere Sacre, vero fondamento delle cose, perché, essendo commune consenso de' dottori santi, che il primo autore de' libri ch'oggi si trovano al mondo sia stato il profeta Moisè, superiore a tutti gli altri scrittori gentili di gran spazio di tempo, chiaro è che molto inanzi a lui si trova essere stato l'uso delle imagini, sì come di sotto a' suoi luoghi si mostrerà […] Al che serve molto a proposito quel che scrisse S. Giovanni Crisostomo , ricercando la cagione perché la sacra Scrittura fosse publicata così tardi, come fu doppo la creazione del mondo almeno 2370 anni; ove egli risponde che ne' primi tempi volse Iddio ammaestrare gli uomini per l'istesse opere sue e cose create, che potessero essere universalmente apprese da tutti, allegando il detto del salmo [Psal. 18:2]: Caeli enarrant gloriam Dei et opera manuum eius annunciat firmamentum.
Furthermore, the fact that grotesques represented a sort of 'language' allowed Ligorio to establish a meaningful parallel between their iconographic apparatus and libraries, as if they were a type of book to be read by the spectator: 56 ma furono fatte et ornate de tale pittura per cosa morale da edificare gli ingegni et l'animi di tutti coloro che vi dimoravano, percioché nelle ville non mancavano le librarie et le cose necessarie alle bisogne delle eruditione che edificano questa vita de' mortali.
53 Acciarino 2018, 108-28. Ligorio sent three letters at the beginning of year 1581 to Giulio Masetti and Alessandro Manzoli to discuss the issue of grotesques: the first one to Masetti, dated 9 January 1581; the terminus ante quem for the second and the third, addressed to Manzoli, is 22 February 1581. The first and the second letter are actually taken from the extensive section on grotesques Ligorio already composed for his Libri di Antichità, in the book on ancient painting entitled Trattato di alcune cose appartenente alla nobiltà dell'antiche arti, e massimamente de la pittura, de la scoltura e dell'architettura (ASTo ms. a, II,16 [vol. 29]), which was published in Barocchi 1977Barocchi , 3: 2666. The third letter instead features many original elements. This because it was written in response to another letter written to Alessandro Manzoli by the scholar Giovanni Battista Bombelli, who attacked Ligorio's positions on grotesque painting in general and especially on his beliefs on the cryptoporticus; see Acciarino 2018, 129-34. who very cleverly connects grotesques with the philosophical notion of "nature as a creator of images and the artist as a person who accomplishes nature's latent imagery" (222). In this light, grotesques represent the link between "nature and culture", where forms combined themselves in a "semiabstract" (226) dimension in an interplay between the idea and its final realisation. This passage gave strength to concerns that grotesques were a potential target for Protestant polemists, especially since they incorporated a parallel medium for reading creation, one which required knowledge of a mystic and oneiric language from which it was impossible to deduce a clear message. Paleotti strongly rejected these positions by stating that ancient authors themselves did not recognises allegorical meaning in these extravagant paintings. However, he also conceded that, even if they had, it would have been so impenetrable that they would have been deceptive rather than didactic: 57 Ma noi, lasciando per ora scrittori grandi, che simili favole hanno giudicato non dovere essere tolerate sotto pretesto d'alcuna allegoria, et altri c'hanno scritto chiaramente che questo è stato un modo di colore o di velame imaginato da alcuni per coprire in qualche modo la bruttezza o sciochezza di quelle favole, e che i Romani non volsero mai admettere simili allegorie; noi, quanto al 57 Paleotti 1582, 241 a ; here Paleotti makes reference to Plato and to Theodoret of Cyrus. For the former, Paleotti alludes to the second book of the Republic, in which it was stated that Greek mythology had to be censured in order to represent a useful tool for schooling the youth with wisdom; this because the youth was not able to clearly distinguish reality from allegory (ὑπόνοια) -argument that fitted very well within the critique against grotesques [Plat. Resp. II. 378 d: Ἥρας δὲ δεσμοὺς ὑπὸ ὑέος καὶ Ἡφαίστου ῾ ρίψ ε ι ς ὑπὸ πατρός, μέλλοντος τῇ μητρὶ τυπτομένῃ ἀμυνεῖν, καὶ θεομαχίας ὅσας Ὅμηρος πεποίηκεν οὐ παραδεκτέον εἰς τὴν πόλιν, οὔτ' ἐν ὑπονοίαις πεποιημένας οὔτε ἄνευ ὑπονοιῶν. ὁ γὰρ νέος οὐχ οἷός τε κρίνειν ὅτι τε ὑπόνοια καὶ ὃ μή, ἀλλ' ἃ ἂν τηλικοῦτος ὢν λάβῃ ἐν ταῖς δόξαις δυσέκνιπτά τε καὶ ἀμετάστατα φιλεῖ γίγνεσθαι]. For the latter, he refers to Zenobi Acciaiuoli's Latin translation of Theodoret's De graecarum affectionum curatione, in which Theodoret compared two different positions held by Plato on the use of ancient myths to educate people, [Tim. 40 d-e, here myths were considered as a fundamental aspect of the imagery of a community, and Resp. II. 378 d]. Theodoret noted that Plato contradicted himself; see Acciaiuoli 1519, 28 b -29 b : "Puto autem ego haec quae modo attuli, Platonis verba, vel ab iis etiam qui literarum prorsus ignari sunt, manifeste cognosci quam sint penitus illis contraria quae idem Plato in Timaeo conscripsit. Ibi enim pracepit sine ulla disceptatione et controversia Poetis credendum esse, quamquam nec signis nec demonstrationibus necessariis ad faciendam fidem uterentur. Hoc autem loco impudenter eos accusat, ut qui falsa figmenta et probrosa quaedam commenti sint". Theodoret carried out this digression while talking about Paul the Apostle's Rom. 20: after having commented upon the statement for which the creation (i.e., the natural world) reflected its creator (i.e., God) [Acciaiuoli 1519, 27 b : "Sapienter igitur quidam nostrorum atque argute inquit, e creaturarum magnitudine ac specie, proportione quadam, generationis authorem spectari. Neque enim qualia sunt opera, talis continuo ipse est opifex, nec quanta haec sunt, tantus et ille est […] Per ea enim quae videntur, factorem insivibilem cogitamus"], Theoderet warned the readers to avoid the risk of making idols from those elements of the natural world, through which the faithful intended representing God [Acciaiuoli 1519, 28 a : "Quique devm incorruptibilem nominabant, imaginem sibi corruptibilium corporum extruxerunt. Neque vero cum immortalis animae ideam scirent, divinos honores animae tribuerunt, suam've ad impietatem satis haec illis fuit insania, quod humana corpora, non animas, adorabant, sed ut idem inquit Apostolus, et volucrum et quadrupedum et serpentium simulachra sibi components, haec etiam deos esse dixerunt"]. On the cultural background in which Zenobi Acciaiuoli's translation of Theodoret took place, deeply penetrated by Girolamo Savonarola's thought, see Assonitis 2006, 55. proposito delle grottesche, diciamo che esse ordinariamente, come ognuno sa, non hanno ascoso alcuno senso giovevole, ma sono fatte a salti et a capriccij; e quando pure ve ne fosse alcuno, viene ad essere tanto recondito et abstruso, che serve per pochissimi et inganna moltissimi, e però si ha da tralasciare.
As a result, Paleotti admitted that, even if the pagans sometimes needed these paintings as a means to approach wisdom, Christians should follow a completely different path, because for them truth was manifested through Revelation. 58

Symbols and Grotesques
With these words, constituting an actual pars destruens, Paleotti provided the elements to replace grotesque imagery, with all its cryptic suggestions, and establish a pars construens. In the following section of his Discourse, he devoted a chapter entitled On pictures of symbols to describing the correct method for portraying enigmatic imagery.
59 Paleotti 1582, 249 a -252 a [XXXXV. Delle pitture dei simboli]: "col rappresentare alcune cose naturali et artificiali come arbori, piante, fiumi, metalli, stelle, uomini, animali edificii, torri, machine et altre simili cose, nelle quali riluce qualche vestigio del sommo creatore e sianovi riposti non piccioli semi per essercizio della virtu" (249). The reformation of symbols fostered by Paleotti is particularly meaningful also because it was formulated in Bologna. Bologna was the city of Achille Bocchi (1488-1562), founder of the Academia Hermathena and author of the Symbolicae Quaestiones (1555), one of the most influent scholars in theory of symbolism. Bocchi postulated that symbols represented an alphabet, constituted by a varied imagery including at once naturalistic and non-naturalistic figurations capable of interpreting the physical and the metaphysical world, and expressing both sacred and prophane mysteries. Members of this circle included many scholars and artists of the city, among the others Ulisse Aldrovandi, Prospero Fontana, Alessandro Manzoli, and Gabriele Paleotti himself. One could indeed assume that, twenty years after Bocchi's death, Paleotti tried to rethink and overturn the ideas of symbolism developed in the Academia Hermathena by preserving those symbols created according to the natural world and by removing those that drifted away from this purpose. See Bocchi 1555, ad. lect. [Symbolum Symbolorum] and Angelini 2003, 27-37. of figures, whether they be humans or animals or plants, […] which represent some acts, true or verisimilar as it may be, or even feigned, from which there inwardly results another good and moral sense". 60 If one compares the elements normally used to arrange symbols, it becomes clear that they could be easily overlapped with those constituting grotesques. 61 The substantial difference lay in the way these figures were formed. In other words, whether they carried some kind of 'reality' or 'verisimilitude', and accurately reproduced nature by avoiding any kind of supernatural hybridity. Paleotti, in fact, postulated that a symbol should not, however, be so obscure and difficult that it always requires a subtle interpreter, […] so, for the greater ease of whoever wishes to make use of them, we see fit to warn the reader that, as well as avoiding a few well-known abuses like depicting lasciviousness or monstrosity or false gods or anything else we have mentioned above. 62 The aim of this decision was to equate the symbolic dimension of art with the symbolic discourse used by Jesus Christ in the Gospels: the parable, which always conveyed a moral message. In fact, this was the sole rhetorical expedient that avoided sophistry and obscure language in forming symbols. In Paleotti's view, this must be the model to follow when adopting allegorical patterns, in that "the symbol should convey instruction and utility for living well": 63 60 McCuaig 2012, 287; Paleotti 1582, 250 a : "questo ch'oggi chiamiamo simbolo consiste ordinariamente di piu e varie imagini unite insieme, che fanno un certo corpo di figure, siano d'uomini o d'animali, di piante o d'altre cose dette di sopra, le quali rappresentano alcun atto vero, o verisimile che sia stato, o altro che sia finto, dal quale ne risulta interiormente un altro senso buono e morale". 61 Paleotti 1582, 222 a-b : "per levare ogni equivocazione che potesse nascere, diciamo che sotto questo nome di grottesche non intendiamo quei lavori de fogliami, tronchi, festoni o altre varietà di cose che talora si pingono e possono essere secondo la natura; ne quelle invenzioni degli artefici, che nei fregi, nei tavolati, nelle opere dette arabesche, nei recami et altri ornamenti proporzionati alla ragione sogliono con vaghezza rappresentarsi; né manco intendiamo di quei mostri, o marini, o terrestri, o altri che siano, che dalla natura talora, se bene fuori dell'ordine suo, sono stati prodotti. Ma solo comprendiamo sotto questa voce quelle forme d'uomini o d'animali o d'altre cose, che mai non sono state, né possono essere in quella maniera che vengono rappresentate, et sono capricci puri de' pittori et fantasmi vani et loro irragionevoli imaginationi".