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  • Lecture

Gracián between Oracolo Manuale and L'Huomo di corte

Roger Chartier, Department of History and Collège de France

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April 14, 2022, 5:30pm - 7:00pm
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Orrery Pavilion, Kislak Center, 6th Floor Van Pelt-Dietrich Library
Frontispiece to Baltasar Gracian, L'huomo di corte (Venice 1703)

In this presentation, Professor Roger Chartier will investigate the Italian early modern translations of a Renaissance bestseller: the Oraculo manuale y arte de prudencia by Baltasar Gracián. First printed in Huesca, Spain, in 1647, this enigmatic work was famously translated into French in 1684 by Amelot de la Houssaie. Retitled L'Homme de Cour, it became widely known in Europe as a courtier's handbook. The Italian translations of Gracián complicate the story of this work's dissemination and reception.

Materials from the rare book collections of the Kislak Center, including two Italian translations of Gracián's work, will be on display during the presentation.

Roger Chartier is Annenberg Visiting Professor in History at the University of Pennsylvania and Professor at the Collège de France.

Co-sponsored by the Center for Italian Studies and by the Italian Section, University of Pennsylvania.

Featured Image: Frontispiece to Baltasar Gracian, L'huomo di corte (Venice 1703)