The ars memorativa and ecfrasis: Technical and exhortative descriptions to construct the great theatre of memory

The highly suggestive but also emblematic relationship between the art of memory and rhetorical ecphrasis has often been noted and investigated since the earliest studies devoted to ars memorativa. Indeed, the so-called imagines agentes require strong psychic representations capable of strongly mob...

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Main Author: Koji Kuwakino
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Museo Galileo 2024-10-01
Series:Galilæana
Subjects:
Online Access:https://gal-studies.museogalileo.it/index.php/galilaeana/article/view/57
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author Koji Kuwakino
author_facet Koji Kuwakino
author_sort Koji Kuwakino
collection DOAJ
description The highly suggestive but also emblematic relationship between the art of memory and rhetorical ecphrasis has often been noted and investigated since the earliest studies devoted to ars memorativa. Indeed, the so-called imagines agentes require strong psychic representations capable of strongly mobilizing the passions of the memory artist, effects comparable to those that are provoked by ecphrastic descriptions (enargeia). However, there are few studies that deal in depth with loci memoriae from the perspective of ecphrasis. So this contribution aims to reconsider the relationship between the art of memory and ekphrasis through the rereading of a series of early modern mnemonic treatises focusing especially on their peculiar ways of illustrating the composition of architectural mental places, described in a clear, detailed and effective way so that readers can compose them by oneself. From such an approach I believe it is possible to thoroughly highlight the synergy of words, images and spaces. Main texts to be analyzed are chosen from mnemonic treatises that present compressed architectural mental places such as theaters, palaces, cities, gardens, including Utriusque Cosmi, Maioris scilicet et Minoris (…) by Robert Fludd, Thesaurus artificiosae memoriae by Cosma Rosselli, etc.
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spelling doaj-art-6b75e2ee146444978f965b268b13f6792025-08-20T03:44:03ZengMuseo GalileoGalilæana1825-39032024-10-0121210.57617/gal-57The ars memorativa and ecfrasis: Technical and exhortative descriptions to construct the great theatre of memoryKoji Kuwakino0Osaka University The highly suggestive but also emblematic relationship between the art of memory and rhetorical ecphrasis has often been noted and investigated since the earliest studies devoted to ars memorativa. Indeed, the so-called imagines agentes require strong psychic representations capable of strongly mobilizing the passions of the memory artist, effects comparable to those that are provoked by ecphrastic descriptions (enargeia). However, there are few studies that deal in depth with loci memoriae from the perspective of ecphrasis. So this contribution aims to reconsider the relationship between the art of memory and ekphrasis through the rereading of a series of early modern mnemonic treatises focusing especially on their peculiar ways of illustrating the composition of architectural mental places, described in a clear, detailed and effective way so that readers can compose them by oneself. From such an approach I believe it is possible to thoroughly highlight the synergy of words, images and spaces. Main texts to be analyzed are chosen from mnemonic treatises that present compressed architectural mental places such as theaters, palaces, cities, gardens, including Utriusque Cosmi, Maioris scilicet et Minoris (…) by Robert Fludd, Thesaurus artificiosae memoriae by Cosma Rosselli, etc. https://gal-studies.museogalileo.it/index.php/galilaeana/article/view/57Robert FluddCosmas Rosselliusekphrasisenargeiamemory theatre
spellingShingle Koji Kuwakino
The ars memorativa and ecfrasis: Technical and exhortative descriptions to construct the great theatre of memory
Galilæana
Robert Fludd
Cosmas Rossellius
ekphrasis
enargeia
memory theatre
title The ars memorativa and ecfrasis: Technical and exhortative descriptions to construct the great theatre of memory
title_full The ars memorativa and ecfrasis: Technical and exhortative descriptions to construct the great theatre of memory
title_fullStr The ars memorativa and ecfrasis: Technical and exhortative descriptions to construct the great theatre of memory
title_full_unstemmed The ars memorativa and ecfrasis: Technical and exhortative descriptions to construct the great theatre of memory
title_short The ars memorativa and ecfrasis: Technical and exhortative descriptions to construct the great theatre of memory
title_sort ars memorativa and ecfrasis technical and exhortative descriptions to construct the great theatre of memory
topic Robert Fludd
Cosmas Rossellius
ekphrasis
enargeia
memory theatre
url https://gal-studies.museogalileo.it/index.php/galilaeana/article/view/57
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