TSUGAMI Eske

In his letter to Pier Vettori from 1560, Girolamo Mei (1519-1594) gives a classification of the arts in a pedigree-like diagram. It is a coherent system that contains, mutatis mutandis, painting, sculpture, poetry, music and dance, resembling, or surpassing, that of Charles Batteux, who is often considered to be the first formulator of the modern concept of art. While Mei prima facie appears to be merely illustrating the three means of poetry and their combinations that Aristotle discussed in Poetics 1, Mei supplements them with modern theories and practices of art such as chiaroscuro or casting. He is thus not merely elucidating Aristotle’s thought in a purely scholarly manner, but presenting his reader(s) with a clear, complete picture of what the ancient theory is about, in a form easy to understand and ready to use. Ancient theories are for him not so much raw material (pace Palisca) for a new product, as an old garment to be remade for a new use, utilizing as much part untouched as possible.