Event—Public Programming

Morality Visualized in Poetry and Calligraphy at the Newberry Library

Daniela D’Eugenio’s talk examines the implications of the visual representation of moral expressions in Renaissance Italian verses and calligraphic specimens held at the Newberry Library. It does so by considering maxims, adages, proverbs, and didactic sayings as moral tools that can be used in texts connected to iconic elements. In these texts, they are employed thanks to their rhetorical structure, their pedagogical intent, and their reception. Either they guide the readers visually in order to make them undergo an ethical experience, or they represent a means to allow viewers and students to learn effectively and internalize a moral and didactic message.