Jump to content

Atalanta Fugiens: Difference between revisions

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Browse history interactively
← Previous edit
Content deleted Content added
VisualWikitext
italicize title, italics add
 
(39 intermediate revisions by 26 users not shown)
Line 1: Line 1:
{{Short description|1617 emblem book by Michael Maier and Matthias Merian}}
⚫
{{italic title}}
{{Infobox book
⚫
[[File:Michael Maier Atalanta Fugiens.jpeg|thumb|330px|Title page]]
⚫
| italic title =
⚫
'''''Atalanta Fugiens''''' ([[Atalanta]] in flight) is an [[emblem book]] by [[Michael Maier]] (1568-1622), published by [[Johann Theodor de Bry]] in [[Oppenheim]] in 1617 (2nd edition 1618). It consists of 50 discourses with illustrations by [[Matthias Merian]], each of which is accompanied by an epigrammatic verse, prose and a musical [[fugue]]. It may therefore be considered an early example of multimedia.
| name = Atalanta Fugiens
⚫
| image = Michael Maier Atalanta Fugiens.jpeg
| image_size =
| alt =
| caption = Title page.
| author = [[Michael Maier]]
| audio_read_by =
| title_orig = Atalanta Fugiens, hoc est, Emblemata Nova de Secretis Naturae Chymica, Accommodata partim oculis et intellectui, figuris cupro incisis, adjectisquesententiis, Epigrammatis et notis, partim auribus & recreationi animi plus minus 50 Fugis Musicalibus trium Vocum, quarum duae ad unam simplicem melodiam distichis canendis peraptam, correspondeant, non absq; singulari jucunditate videnda, legenda, meditanda, intelligenda, dijudicanda, canenda et audienda.
| orig_lang_code = LA
| title_working =
| translator =
| illustrator = [[Matthias Merian]]
| cover_artist =
| country =
| language =
| series =
| release_number =
| subject = [[Alchemy]]
| genre = Multimedia
| set_in =
| published = [[Oppenheim]]
| publisher = [[Johann Theodor de Bry]]
| publisher2 = printed by Hieronymus Galler
| pub_date = 1617
| english_pub_date =
| media_type =
| pages =
| awards =
| isbn =
| isbn_note =
| oclc =
| dewey =
| congress =
| preceded_by =
| followed_by =
| native_wikisource =
| wikisource =
| notes =
| exclude_cover =
| website =
}}

⚫
'''''Atalanta Fugiens''''' or '''''Atalanta Fleeing''''' is an [[emblem book]] with an [[alchemy|alchemical]] theme by [[Michael Maier]] (1568–1622), published by [[Johann Theodor de Bry]] in [[Oppenheim]] in 1617 (2nd edition 1618). It consists of 50 discourses with illustrations by [[Matthias Merian]], each of which is accompanied by an [[epigram|epigrammatic verse]], prose and a musical [[fugue]]. It may therefore be considered an early example of multimedia.

The fugues were arranged in three voices symbolizing the [[philosopher's stone]], the pursuing adept, and obstacles in his way.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Read |first=John |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=F6J-AUOWzpMC |title=From Alchemy to Chemistry |date=1995-01-01 |publisher=Courier Corporation |isbn=978-0-486-28690-7 |pages=72–73 |language=en}}</ref> As [[Florin George Călian|Florin G. Calian]] writes,

{{blockquote|It is the first alchemical ''[[Gesamtkunstwerk]]'' that comprises music, images, poetry, and prose together in one piece. As is stressed on the frontispiece of the book, all the senses are involved in contact with this treatise: ''partim oculis et inteflectui... partim auribus et recreationi... videnda, legenda, meditanda, intelligenda, dijudicanda, canenda et audienda''. In this respect, ''Atalanta'' is a book that requires a rather contemplative exercise.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Alkimia operativa and alkimia speculativa. Some Modern Controversies on the Historiography of Alchemy |url=https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=de&user=eywnpDEAAAAJ&citation_for_view=eywnpDEAAAAJ:u5HHmVD_uO8C |access-date=2022-09-05 |website=scholar.google.com}}</ref>}}


== Title page ==
== Title page ==
Line 7: Line 54:
* ''Top:'' Garden of the [[Hesperides]].
* ''Top:'' Garden of the [[Hesperides]].
* ''Left:'' [[Hercules]] stretching out his arm to seize one of the golden apples.
* ''Left:'' [[Hercules]] stretching out his arm to seize one of the golden apples.
* ''Right:'' [[Aphrodite]] handing the golden apples to Hippomenes.
* ''Right:'' [[Aphrodite]] handing the golden apples to [[Hippomenes]].
* ''Bottom:'' Race between [[Atalanta]] and Hippomenes, with Atalanta picking up an apple. Behind them is a temple with lovers embracing each other, while in the background they appear as a lion and lioness.
* ''Bottom:'' Race between [[Atalanta]] and Hippomenes, with Atalanta picking up an apple. Behind them is a temple with lovers embracing each other, while in the background they appear as a lion and lioness.


== Preface ==
== Preface ==
⚫
[[File:Michael Maier Atalanta Fugiens Emblem 39.jpeg|thumb|right|Maier's reinterpretation of [[the Riddle of the Sphinx]] as pictured in Emblem 39<ref name=Webinar>Peter Forshaw/Ritman Library - [https://web.archive.org/web/20130803014418/http://www.ritmanlibrary.com/2012/11/infinite-fire-webinar-ii-the-emblemata-of-the-atalanta-fugiens/ Ritman Library Webinar on 'Atalanta Fugiens''.], at 48:45</ref>]]
The preface contains a dissertation upon ancient music and narrates the Greek myth of Atalanta and Hippomenes.
The preface contains a dissertation upon ancient music and narrates the Greek myth of Atalanta and Hippomenes.


== Discourses ==
== Discourses ==
⚫
[[File:Michael Maier Atalanta Fugiens Emblem 39.jpeg|thumb|330px|Maier's reinterpretation of [[the Riddle of the Sphinx]] as pictured in Emblem 39<ref name=Webinar>Peter Forshaw/Ritman Library - [http://www.ritmanlibrary.com/2012/11/infinite-fire-webinar-ii-the-emblemata-of-the-atalanta-fugiens/ Ritman Library Webinar on 'Atalanta Fugiens''.], at 48:45</ref>]]
Each of the 50 discourses contains:
Each of the 50 discourses contains:
* A detailed copper-plated engraving by [[Matthias Merian]].
* A detailed copper-plated engraving by [[Matthias Merian]].
* An epigram in verse set to music in the form of a [[fugue]] for three voices - Atalanta, or the ''vox fugiens''; Hippomenes, or the ''vox sequens'', and ''Pomum objectum'' (Apple) or ''vox morans''. "Atalanta fugiens" is a play on the word "fugue"<ref>Peter Forshaw/Ritman Library, at 18:15.</ref>
* An epigram in verse set to music in the form of a [[fugue]] for three voices - Atalanta, or the ''vox fugiens''; Hippomenes, or the ''vox sequens'', and ''Pomum objectum'' (Apple) or ''vox morans''. "Atalanta fugiens" is a play on the word "fugue"<ref>Peter Forshaw/Ritman Library, at 18:15.</ref> Forty of the fifty fugues are based on compositions by [[John Farmer (composer)|John Farmer]]<ref>Ludwig, Loren. “John Farmer’s ''Sundry Waies'': The English Origin of Michael Maier’s ‘Alchemical Fugues.’” ''Furnace and Fugue: A Digital Edition of Michael Maier’s “Atalanta fugiens” (1618) with Scholarly Commentary''. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2020. {{doi|10.26300/bdp.ff.ludwig}}</ref>
* An epigram in German.
* An epigram in German.
* A Latin verse with an accompanying discourse.<ref>Count Michael Maier: Life and writings J.B.Craven pub. 1914 reprinted 2003 Ibis Press</ref>
* A Latin verse with an accompanying discourse.<ref>Count Michael Maier: Life and writings J.B.Craven pub. 1914 reprinted 2003 Ibis Press</ref>
Line 23: Line 70:
==References==
==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Reflist}}

== Further reading ==
* [[Florin George Călian|Calian, Florin G]] (2009), [https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=de&user=eywnpDEAAAAJ&citation_for_view=eywnpDEAAAAJ:u-x6o8ySG0sC Spiritual Alchemy and the Function of Image: Coincidentia oppositorum in Michael Maier's Atalanta fugiens], Central European University, Budapest.
⚫
* [https://www.academia.edu/779423/Oratorium-Auditorium-Laboratorium_Early_Modern_Improvisations_on_Cabala_Music_and_Alchemy Forshaw, Peter J (2010)] 'Oratorium-Auditorium-Laboratorium: Early Modern Improvisations on Cabala, Music and Alchemy'.
*Lenke, Nils; Roudet, Nicolas; Tilton, Hereward (2014), Michael Maier - Nine Newly Discovered Letters. ''Ambix: Journal of the Society for the History of Alchemy and Chemistry'' (pp. 1-47).
*Carla Bromberg, (2015), [https://www.calameo.com/read/0076312910bd4f10e26dc Musical Knowledge in the History of ''Atalanta fugiens'']. In: ''[https://www.cle.unicamp.br/ebooks/index.php/publicacoes/catalog/book/95 Crossing Oceans: Exchange of Products, Instruments, Procedures and Ideas in the History of Chemistry and Related Science]'' (pp. 117-133).
*[http://sashachaitow.co.uk/atalantaunveiled/ Chaitow, Sasha, ''Atalanta Unveiled: Alchemical Initiation in the Emblems of the Atalanta Fugiens'', Attic Books, 2020]


== External links ==
== External links ==


* Copies at various websites:
* Copies at various websites:
** [http://www.scribd.com/doc/5986531/Maier-Atalanta-Fugiens scribd.com] (with engravings; without fugues, German epigrams)
** [https://www.scribd.com/doc/5986531/Maier-Atalanta-Fugiens scribd.com] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190407223250/https://www.scribd.com/doc/5986531/Maier-Atalanta-Fugiens |date=2019-04-07 }} (with engravings; without fugues, German epigrams)
** [http://livres-d-hermes.pagesperso-orange.fr/DOC/ATALA101.HTM pagesperso-orange.fr] (complete scanned text including German epigrams; with appendix, errata; without engravings, fugues)
** [https://web.archive.org/web/20170623152827/http://livres-d-hermes.pagesperso-orange.fr/DOC/ATALA101.HTM pagesperso-orange.fr] (complete scanned text including German epigrams; with appendix, errata; without engravings, fugues)
**[https://digital.sciencehistory.org/works/pc289j53n digital.sciencehistory.org] (complete high-resolution scan of a 1618 printing, all pages including engravings and fugues)
* [[c:Category:Atalanta Fugiens|Images and other media at Wikimedia Commons]]
* [[c:Category:Atalanta Fugiens|Images and other media at Wikimedia Commons]]
* [[s:Michael Maier- Epigram verse to ''Atalanta Fugiens''|English translation of Epigram Verse at wikisource]]
* [[s:Michael Maier- Epigram verse to ''Atalanta Fugiens''|English translation of Epigram Verse at wikisource]]
* [http://www.alchemywebsite.com/atalanta.html alchemywebsite.com] English translation of complete book
⚫
*[https://www.academia.edu/779423/Oratorium-Auditorium-Laboratorium_Early_Modern_Improvisations_on_Cabala_Music_and_Alchemy Forshaw, Peter J (2010)] 'Oratorium-Auditorium-Laboratorium: Early Modern Improvisations on Cabala, Music and Alchemy'.
* [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1a6X-JUL2LE youtube] colored prints with instrumental version of the music for each emblem
*[https://furnaceandfugue.org] Furnace and Fugue. An open-access multimedia resource published by the University of Virginia Press. This English translation of Maier's work features high-resolution, zoomable images and newly commissioned, manipulable vocal recordings of Atalanta’s music.

{{Alchemy|state=expanded}}
{{Authority control}}


[[Category:1617 books]]
[[Category:1617 books]]
Line 39: Line 99:
[[Category:Fugues]]
[[Category:Fugues]]
[[Category:Multimedia works]]
[[Category:Multimedia works]]
[[Category:Classical mythology in popular culture]]
[[Category:Atalanta]]
[[Category:Hesperides]]
[[Category:Hercules]]
[[Category:Aphrodite]]

Latest revision as of 09:33, 23 June 2024

Atalanta Fugiens
Title page.
AuthorMichael Maier
Original titleAtalanta Fugiens, hoc est, Emblemata Nova de Secretis Naturae Chymica, Accommodata partim oculis et intellectui, figuris cupro incisis, adjectisquesententiis, Epigrammatis et notis, partim auribus & recreationi animi plus minus 50 Fugis Musicalibus trium Vocum, quarum duae ad unam simplicem melodiam distichis canendis peraptam, correspondeant, non absq; singulari jucunditate videnda, legenda, meditanda, intelligenda, dijudicanda, canenda et audienda.
IllustratorMatthias Merian
SubjectAlchemy
GenreMultimedia
PublishedOppenheim
PublisherJohann Theodor de Bry, printed by Hieronymus Galler
Publication date
1617

Atalanta Fugiens or Atalanta Fleeing is an emblem book with an alchemical theme by Michael Maier (1568–1622), published by Johann Theodor de Bry in Oppenheim in 1617 (2nd edition 1618). It consists of 50 discourses with illustrations by Matthias Merian, each of which is accompanied by an epigrammatic verse, prose and a musical fugue. It may therefore be considered an early example of multimedia.

The fugues were arranged in three voices symbolizing the philosopher's stone, the pursuing adept, and obstacles in his way.[1] As Florin G. Calian writes,

It is the first alchemical Gesamtkunstwerk that comprises music, images, poetry, and prose together in one piece. As is stressed on the frontispiece of the book, all the senses are involved in contact with this treatise: partim oculis et inteflectui... partim auribus et recreationi... videnda, legenda, meditanda, intelligenda, dijudicanda, canenda et audienda. In this respect, Atalanta is a book that requires a rather contemplative exercise.[2]

Title page

[edit]

The title page depicts various scenes from Greek mythology related to golden apples:

  • Top: Garden of the Hesperides.
  • Left: Hercules stretching out his arm to seize one of the golden apples.
  • Right: Aphrodite handing the golden apples to Hippomenes.
  • Bottom: Race between Atalanta and Hippomenes, with Atalanta picking up an apple. Behind them is a temple with lovers embracing each other, while in the background they appear as a lion and lioness.

Preface

[edit]
Maier's reinterpretation of the Riddle of the Sphinx as pictured in Emblem 39[3]

The preface contains a dissertation upon ancient music and narrates the Greek myth of Atalanta and Hippomenes.

Discourses

[edit]

Each of the 50 discourses contains:

  • A detailed copper-plated engraving by Matthias Merian.
  • An epigram in verse set to music in the form of a fugue for three voices - Atalanta, or the vox fugiens; Hippomenes, or the vox sequens, and Pomum objectum (Apple) or vox morans. "Atalanta fugiens" is a play on the word "fugue"[4] Forty of the fifty fugues are based on compositions by John Farmer[5]
  • An epigram in German.
  • A Latin verse with an accompanying discourse.[6]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ Read, John (1995-01-01). From Alchemy to Chemistry. Courier Corporation. pp. 72–73. ISBN 978-0-486-28690-7.
  2. ^ "Alkimia operativa and alkimia speculativa. Some Modern Controversies on the Historiography of Alchemy". scholar.google.com. Retrieved 2022-09-05.
  3. ^ Peter Forshaw/Ritman Library - Ritman Library Webinar on 'Atalanta Fugiens., at 48:45
  4. ^ Peter Forshaw/Ritman Library, at 18:15.
  5. ^ Ludwig, Loren. “John Farmer’s Sundry Waies: The English Origin of Michael Maier’s ‘Alchemical Fugues.’” Furnace and Fugue: A Digital Edition of Michael Maier’s “Atalanta fugiens” (1618) with Scholarly Commentary. Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press, 2020. doi:10.26300/bdp.ff.ludwig
  6. ^ Count Michael Maier: Life and writings J.B.Craven pub. 1914 reprinted 2003 Ibis Press

Further reading

[edit]
[edit]
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Atalanta_Fugiens&oldid=1230540940"