Sprezzatura

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Sprezzatura, is a term that originates from Castiglione's The Book of the Courtier. It is defined as “a certain nonchalance, so as to conceal all art and make whatever one does or says appear to be without effort and almost without any thought about it”.^[1]That is to say, it is the ability of the courtier to display “an easy facility in accomplishing difficult actions which hides the conscious effort that went into them”.^[2]Sprezzatura has also been described “as a form of defensive irony: the ability to disguise what one really desires, feels, thinks, and means or intends behind a mask of apparent reticence and nonchalance”.^[3]

1 History
2 The Positive and Negative Attributes of Sprezzatura
3 Examples
4 References
5 See also
6 For Further Reading
7 External Links

[edit] History

As previously mentioned, sprezzatura is a term that derives from Castiglione's The Book of the Courtier. Castiglione wrote this book as an instruction manual for aspiring courtiers. The Book of the Courtier taught these people how to act, what to say, what talents to master, and how to dress to gain favour from their rulers and the nobility. The ideal courtier was supposed to be skilled in arms and in athletic events, and know the art of rhetoric, as well as the arts of music and dancing.^[4] Since the ideal courtier was supposed to be able to do all of the above, the standard for the ideal courtier was set so high that it was practically unattainable. However, the courtier who had sprezzatura managed to make these difficult tasks look easy. Concerning sprezzatura, Castiglione said:

I have found quite a universal rule which in this matter seems to me valid above all other, and in all human affairs whether in word or deed: and that is to avoid affectation in every way possible as though it were some rough and dangerous reef; and (to pronounce a new word perhaps) to practice in all thing a certain sprezzatura [nonchalance], so as to conceal all art and make whatever is done or said appear to be without effort and almost without any thought about it.^[5]

Thus, sprezzatura was essential to becoming the ideal courtier, because having this quality allowed courtiers to survive in the highly competitive world of the nobility. If courtiers had this quality, they could gracefully blend into the court.

[edit] The Positive and Negative Attributes of Sprezzatura

Sprezzatura was a vital quality for a courtier to have, since it allowed courtiers to gracefully adapt to the highly competitive environment of the court. Courtiers essentially had to put on a performance for their peers^[6] and those who employed sprezzatura created the impression that they completely mastered the roles they played.^[7] A courtier’s sprezzatura made him seem to be fully at ease in court and like someone who was “the total master of self, society’s rules, and even physical laws, and [his sprezzatura created] the distinct impression that he [was] unable to err”.^[8] Moreover, courtiers who possessed sprezzatura could display their talents for their ruler to gain their favour without looking like they were putting on an act.^[9]

However, while the quality of sprezzatura did have its benefits, this quality also had its downfalls. Since sprezzatura made difficult tasks seem effortless, those who possessed sprezzatura needed to be able to deceive people convincingly.^[10] In a way, sprezzatura was “the art of acting deviously”.^[11] This “art” created a “self-fulfilling culture of suspicion”^[12] because courtiers had to be diligent in maintaining their facades. “The by product of the courtier’s performance is that the achievement of sprezzatura may require him to deny or disparage his nature”.^[13] Consequently, sprezzatura also had its downsides, since courtiers who excelled at sprezzatura risked losing themselves to the façade they put on for their peers.

[edit] Examples

Raphael was an artist who exemplified sprezzatura from the beginning of his career, starting with his first signed work The Marriage of the Virgin. “Inspired by his teacher Perugino’s rendering of the same subject, Raphael’s painting can be found to differ primarily from its model by its unique awareness of the importance of sprezzatura”.^[14]

The Marriage of the Virgin by Raphael, 1504

The Marriage of the Virgin by Perugino, 1500-1504

Raphael’s painting reveal its awareness of the importance of sprezzatura through Raphael’s representation of Joseph. Compared to Perugino’s more youthful representation of Joseph, Raphael’s version of Joseph is considerably more idealized and older. Perugino’s Joseph:

despite his almost cloying sweetness in contrast to earlier depictions by other artists, retains a certain hardness of profile and angularity which Raphael has avoided by softening the anatomy of facial features and breaking the rigid profile ever so slightly.^[15]

Additionally, “the poses and garments of the two also reveal a subtle transformation which reflects the same deliberate alteration of attitude”.^[16] For instance, the gracefulness of Perugino’s Joseph is “emphasized by the highlighting of drapery and body. The easy S-like movement from ear to right toe is inescapably obvious”.^[17] On the other hand, the grace displayed by Raphael’s Joseph “is equally great but perhaps more affecting since the manner of its expression is less obvious”.^[18] Joseph’s posture demonstrates an understated grace, since his:

slight turn toward the viewer tends to conceal the easy flow of line which characterizes the figure overall while he introduces any number of linear rhythms in the garment subordinate to the main movement of the figure. These variations, in addition to the deliberate avoidance of any dramatic highlights, help to explain why it is that we feel the “nonchalance” of Raphael’s Joseph in contrast to the almost hieratic frozen grace of Perugino’s. In the former we can detect that quality which Castiglione had in mind when he wrote: “Therefore we may call that art true at which does not seem to be art.”^[19]

[edit] References

^ Baldassare Castiglione, The Book of the Courtier: The Singleton Translation, Ed. Daniel Javitch, (New York: Norton, 2002), 32.
^ Wayne A. Rebhorn, Courtly Performances: Masking and Festivity in Castiglione’s Book of the Courtier, (Austin: Wayne State, 1978), 33.
^ Harry Berger Jr., “Sprezzatura and the Absence of Grace”, The Book of the Courtier: The Singleton Translation, Ed. Daniel Javitch, (New York: Norton, 2002), 297.
^ Castiglione, The Courtier, x.
^ Castiglione, The Courtier, 32.
^ Rebhorn, Courtly Performances, 14.
^ Rebhorn, Courtly Performances, 35.
^ Rebhorn, Courtly Performances, 44.
^ Daniel Javitch, “Il Cortegiano and the Constraints of Depotism”, The Book of the Courtier: The Singleton Translation, Ed. Daniel Javitch, (New York: Norton, 2002), 325.
^ Howard Wescott, “The Courtier and the Hero: Sprezzatura from Castiglione to Cervantes”, Cervantes for the 21st Century, ed. Francisco La Rubia Prado, (Newark: Juan de la Cuesta, 2000), 227.
^ Ibid
^ Berger Jr., “Sprezzatura and the Absence of Grace”, 299.
^ Berger Jr. “Sprezzatura and the Absence of Grace”, 306.
^ Lynn M. Louden, “‘Sprezzatura’ in Raphael and Castiglione”., Art Journal 28.1 (1968), 45.
^ Ibid.
^ Ibid.
^ Ibid.
^ Louden, “‘Sprezatura’ in Raphael and Castiglione”, 46.
^ Ibid.

[edit] See also

[edit] For Further Reading

Berger Jr., Harry. “Sprezzatura and the Absence of Grace”, The Book of the Courtier: The Singleton Translation. Ed. Daniel Javitch. New York: Norton, 2002.295-307.
Castiglione, Baldesar. The Book of the Courtier: The Singleton Translation. Ed. Daniel Javitch. New York: Norton, 2002.
Javitch, Daniel. “Il Cortegiano and the Constraints of Depotism”. The Book of the Courtier: The Singleton Translation. Ed. Daniel Javitch. New York: Norton, 2002. 319-328.
Louden, Lynn M. “‘Sprezzatura’ in Raphael and Castiglione”. Art Journal 28.1 (1968): 43-49+53.
Rebhorn, Wayne A. Courtly Performances: Masking and Festivity in Castiglione’s Book of the Courtier. Austin: Wayne State, 1978.