Synopses & Reviews
One of the most famous books in the world, the
Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, read by every Renaissance intellectual and referred to in studies of art and culture ever since, was first published in English by Thames & Hudson in 1999 in a large format that exactly matched the original in size, design, and typography. Now this classic study is made available to a wider public in a reduced-format volume that retains all the text and illustrations.
It is a strange, pagan, pedantic, erotic, allegorical, mythological romance relating in highly stylized Italian the quest of Poliphilo for his beloved Polia. The author (presumed to be Francesco Colonna, a friar of dubious reputation) was obsessed by architecture, landscape, and costume it is not going too far to say sexually obsessed and its 174 woodcuts are a primary source for Renaissance ideas on both buildings and gardens.
In 1592 a beginning was made to produce an English version but the translator gave up partway. The task has been triumphantly accomplished by Joscelyn Godwin, who succeeds in reproducing all its wayward charm and arcane learning in language accessible to the modern reader. 174 b/w illustrations.
Review
"It is hard to think of any book quite so sensuous....No translation...could reproduce the effect of the original, but Godwin gives a hint, rendering a small passage literally and hilariously." D.J.R. Bruckner, The New York Times Book Review
Synopsis
This is the first complete English translation of this curious Venetian novel'. Written 500 years ago, it is fundamentally an erotic dream written by a friar of dubious reputation... obsessed by architecture, landscape and costume - it is not going too far to say sexually obsessed.' In his dream Poliphili visits a wonderfully realised pagan world, characterised by its extravagant Renaissance architecture, in which there is no sin. The translation preserves the difficulty of the original text which, no doubt, was intended to puzzle its 16th-century readers.
Synopsis
It is a strange, pagan, pedantic, erotic, allegorical, mythological romance relating in highly stylized Italian the quest of Poliphilo for his beloved Polia. The author (presumed to be Francesco Colonna, a friar of dubious reputation) was obsessed by architecture, landscape, and costume--it is not going too far to say sexually obsessed--and its 174 woodcuts are a primary source for Renaissance ideas on both buildings and gardens In 1592 an attempt was made to produce an English version but the translator gave up. The task has been triumphantly accomplished by Joscelyn Godwin, who succeeds in reproducing all its wayward charm and arcane learning in language accessible to the modern reader.
Synopsis
The book that inspired Ian Caldwell's bestselling --discover the secret codes of the best-selling novel!
Synopsis
One of the most famous books in the world, the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili, read by every Renaissance intellectual and referred to in studies of art and culture ever since, was first published in English by Thames & Hudson in 1999.
It is a strange, pagan, pedantic, erotic, allegorical, mythological romance relating in highly stylized Italian the quest of Poliphilo for his beloved Polia. The author (presumed to be Francesco Colonna, a friar of dubious reputation) was obsessed by architecture, landscape, and costume--it is not going too far to say sexually obsessed--and its 174 woodcuts are a primary source for Renaissance ideas on both buildings and gardens.
In 1592 an attempt was made to produce an English version but the translator gave up. The task has been triumphantly accomplished by Joscelyn Godwin, who succeeds in reproducing all its wayward charm and arcane learning in language accessible to the modern reader.
About the Author
Joscelyn Godwin is Professor of Music at Colgate University. He has written books on the seventeenth-century occult philosophers Robert Fludd and Athanasius Kircher, as well as on the history of theosophy and on the spiritual dimension of music.