Description
Book SynopsisExplores the role of Tuscan culture in the poetic construction of a commonwealth. This book focuses on four works: Brunetto Latini's didactic poem, the "Tesoretto"; an illustrated manuscript of the same; and Simone Martini's "Maesta" and Ambrogio Lorenzetti's "Allegory of Good and Bad Government", both painted for the Palazzo Pubblico in Siena.
Trade Review“C. Jean Campbell’s The Commonwealth of Nature: Art and Poetic Community in the Age of Dante is an important and intriguing treatment of Tuscan artistic culture in light of contemporary poetic theory, demonstrating the author’s deep understanding not only of Dante and Brunetto Latini, but of writers such as Boccaccio, Guido Cavalcanti, Guido Guinizelli, Guittone d’Arezzo, and Folgore di San Gimignano.”
—Catherine Harding Renaissance Quarterly
“The Commonwealth of Nature reasserts the creative and poetic energy of the Palazzo Pubblico frescos, too often overlooked in a scholarship focused on patronage and the political meaning of images.”
—Fabrizio Nevola Burlington Magazine
Table of ContentsContents
List of Illustrations
Preface and Acknowledgments
Introduction: The Poetry of
1. Brunetto’s Treasure and Its Revelation in Script and Pictures
The Invention of Secrets
The Sharing of Secrets in Strozzi
2. Municipal Verse, Vernacular Poetry, and Simone Martini’s Maestà
Brunetto’s Failure and Dante’s Goal
Simone’s Maestà and the Advent of Nature’s Commonwealth
3. Ambrogio Lorenzetti and the Poetry of Peace
Conclusion: New Clothes and the Rebirth of the Commonwealth
Notes
Bibliography
Index
