As the first Italian translator of Ovid's I Fasti, a Latin poem about the gods and religious beliefs of the ancient Romans, Cartari gained a deep knowledge of the classical world and its myths. After publishing the translation and commentary of his I Fasti, in 1551 and 1553, he authored the first mythographic handbook not written in Latin, but in Italian, thereby widening his readership. Le Imagini con la sposizione dei dei de gli antichi was first published in Venice in 1556, and continuosly enriched with illustrations – such as the woodcuts of the ancient gods by Giuseppe Porta Salviati and Bolognino Zaltieri. Notes and translations in other languages had been added by the same author and others, for at least 150 years.
Iconographic focus on Classical myths
Cartari also chose an unedited special focus on ekphrastic descriptions and visual iconography of the various gods, presented through a charming and informative gallery of identifying epiphanies, triumphs, clothing, expressions, poses, attributes, ceremonies, and legends. Although inspired by the more traditional and vast works of Lilio Gregorio Giraldi, Giovanni Boccaccio, and Classical literature and comments, Cartari invented a new, visual approach to antiquity. As a result, his Le Imagini had considerable influence on both artists – starting from Paolo Veronese – and on antiquarians and art writers, like Gian Paolo Lomazzo and Cesare Ripa with its encyclopedic Iconologia''.
The antiquarian and egyptologist Lorenzo Pignoria added some important notes in 1615 and 1624. In particular, his appendix Seconda Parte delle Imagini de gli Dei Indianidisplays detailed illustrations of some archeological remains portraying Mexican, Egyptian, Indian and Japanese gods, seeking a sort of uniquevisual language in pre-Christian religions. In his Teutschen AcademieJoachim von Sandrart writes of his respect for Cartari's work, which Sandrart republished in translation in 1680 with new illustrations.
Editions
V. Cartari, Le imagini de i dei de gli antichi, edited by G. Auzzas, F. Martignago, M. Pastore Stocchi, P. Rigo, Vicenza, Neri Pozza, 1996
V. Cartari, Le immagini degli dei di Vincenzo Cartari, edited by C. Volpi, Roma, De Luca, 1996
V. Cartari, Imagini delli dèi de gl’antichi, edited by A. Grossato, Milano, Luni, 2004
V. Cartari, Images of the Gods of the Ancients: the First Italian Mythography, edited by J. Murlyan, Tempe, Acmrs, 2012
Studies
E. Calderoni, Raccontare gli Antichi. Le Imagini di Vincenzo Cartari, Roma, Aracne, 2017
Vincenzo Cartari e le direzioni del mito nel Cinquecento, edited by S. Maffei, Roma, Gbe, 2013
C. Volpi, Le vecchie e le nuove illustrazioni delle Immagini degli dei degli antichi di Vincenzo Cartari, in «Storia dell’arte», 1992, n. 74, pp. 48–80
C. Volpi,, Lorenzo Pignoria e i suoi corrispondenti, in «Nouvelles de la Republique des Lettres», 1992, n. II, pp. 71–128
