Gestures as a Transnational Language through Woodcuts: <i>Celestina</i>’s Title Pages
Following the 1499 publication of the Comedia de Calisto y Melibea, Celestina became among the most profusely illustrated sixteenth-century books. This article analyses the body language featured in the title-page woodcuts of its early editions. Conceiving the woodcuts as belonging to a particular h...
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Universidad de Valencia
2021-01-01
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Online Access: | https://ojs.uv.es/index.php/celestinesca/article/view/20181 |
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doaj-dc4d7323cf5b4545bf3267719a7164532021-03-26T09:41:04ZengUniversidad de ValenciaCelestinesca0147-30852695-71832021-01-013907911210.7203/Celestinesca.39.2018114777Gestures as a Transnational Language through Woodcuts: <i>Celestina</i>’s Title PagesMarta Albalá PelegrínFollowing the 1499 publication of the Comedia de Calisto y Melibea, Celestina became among the most profusely illustrated sixteenth-century books. This article analyses the body language featured in the title-page woodcuts of its early editions. Conceiving the woodcuts as belonging to a particular historical time, the study confirms that most contemporary printers conceived the work as part of a dramatic iconographic tradition and were openly concerned with the legibility of illustrations that would help readers understand the text. Printers and engravers enjoyed certain flexibility as they summarized the plot of the (tragi)comedy and codified emotions on the page, while operating under three distinctive iconographic programs: the lovers' encounter in Melibea's garden, Celestina depicted in Melibea's bedroom, and a condensation of the plot on a theatrical stage pop-ulated by groups of figures and successive actions. In these, changes in body language or the depiction of the scene convey different readings of the characters' intentions and inner feelings.https://ojs.uv.es/index.php/celestinesca/article/view/20181celestinaiconografíagestosrepresentaciónteatrocultura visualportadasilustraciones tempranas |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Marta Albalá Pelegrín |
spellingShingle |
Marta Albalá Pelegrín Gestures as a Transnational Language through Woodcuts: <i>Celestina</i>’s Title Pages Celestinesca celestina iconografía gestos representación teatro cultura visual portadas ilustraciones tempranas |
author_facet |
Marta Albalá Pelegrín |
author_sort |
Marta Albalá Pelegrín |
title |
Gestures as a Transnational Language through Woodcuts: <i>Celestina</i>’s Title Pages |
title_short |
Gestures as a Transnational Language through Woodcuts: <i>Celestina</i>’s Title Pages |
title_full |
Gestures as a Transnational Language through Woodcuts: <i>Celestina</i>’s Title Pages |
title_fullStr |
Gestures as a Transnational Language through Woodcuts: <i>Celestina</i>’s Title Pages |
title_full_unstemmed |
Gestures as a Transnational Language through Woodcuts: <i>Celestina</i>’s Title Pages |
title_sort |
gestures as a transnational language through woodcuts: <i>celestina</i>’s title pages |
publisher |
Universidad de Valencia |
series |
Celestinesca |
issn |
0147-3085 2695-7183 |
publishDate |
2021-01-01 |
description |
Following the 1499 publication of the Comedia de Calisto y Melibea, Celestina became among the most profusely illustrated sixteenth-century books. This article analyses the body language featured in the title-page woodcuts of its early editions. Conceiving the woodcuts as belonging to a particular historical time, the study confirms that most contemporary printers conceived the work as part of a dramatic iconographic tradition and were openly concerned with the legibility of illustrations that would help readers understand the text. Printers and engravers enjoyed certain flexibility as they summarized the plot of the (tragi)comedy and codified emotions on the page, while operating under three distinctive iconographic programs: the lovers' encounter in Melibea's garden, Celestina depicted in Melibea's bedroom, and a condensation of the plot on a theatrical stage pop-ulated by groups of figures and successive actions. In these, changes in body language or the depiction of the scene convey different readings of the characters' intentions and inner feelings. |
topic |
celestina iconografía gestos representación teatro cultura visual portadas ilustraciones tempranas |
url |
https://ojs.uv.es/index.php/celestinesca/article/view/20181 |
work_keys_str_mv |
AT martaalbalapelegrin gesturesasatransnationallanguagethroughwoodcutsicelestinaistitlepages |
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1724202503150501888 |