Paradox in an emblematic culture of the Renaissance

However well researched in various fields of early modern studies, emblematic tradition has not yet been put in context of early model paradox tradition, and so this project aims to fill this gap by thoroughly analyzing the confluences of paradoxes with Renaissance symbolic tradition and exploring the mechanisms functioning in emblem books proper. The project looks at a number of the most representative emblem books, among them are J. Cats «Silenus Alcibiadis» (1618), Anthony of Burgundy’s «Mundi Lapis Lydius…» (1639) and various «Emblemata amatoria», exploring convergences of love and hate, as is suggested, for example, in L. Van Leuven’s «Amoris divini et humani antipathia». This research understands emblem as a bimedial construct, where Image and Word interrelate and join each other in creating a new meaning, therefore it may enable and include paradoxes on both visual and textual levels. This research is going to demonstrate that emblematics not only conveniently fit in the history of paradox literature, but that the emblematic outlook positions itself as a veritable «para-doxon», that is «contrary to expectations».

My Russian homepage: https://www.hse.ru/org/persons/224730743