LUCIANO EMBLEMATICO: ALCUNI ASPETTI DELLA FORTUNA DI LUCIANO TRA CINQUE E SEICENTO

Abstract

This essay focuses on the reception of the Greek author, Lucian of Samosata, in the field of emblematics, analyzing the title page of Jean Baudoin’s 1613 French edition of Lucian’s works, which was drawn by the Polish artist Jan Ziarnko. The engraving displays images taken from some of Lucian’s most famous ekphraseis, combining each image with a small description and a motto, thus creating an ‘emblem’. This work belongs to a tradition that treated Lucian as a source of emblems and symbols, as is attested by the works of many 16th-century writers, such as Andrea Alciato, Gilles Corrozet, Pierre Coustau.