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The Anchor and the Dolphin : A History of Emblems

Führer, Heidrun LU ; Muszta, Cecilia Victoria and Kováca, Viktor (2023) p.521-550
Abstract (Swedish)
This chapter explores the history of emblems, which appear on a broad spectrum between printed literature, visual art, and material culture. Starting from Andrea Alciato’s Emblematum liber of 1531, the chapter explores multiple approaches on how emblems can be understood in the context of other multimodal media types such as insignia, badges, epigrams, hieroglyphs, and visual artifacts. Differentiating between historical and modern semiotic models, it explains the emergence of the notion of “emblem” in relation to tropes such as symbol, ekphrasis, or allegory. It also deconstructs the common narrative of emblems being characterized by a standardized tripartite pattern consisting of a picture, title, and motto, and their historical... (More)
This chapter explores the history of emblems, which appear on a broad spectrum between printed literature, visual art, and material culture. Starting from Andrea Alciato’s Emblematum liber of 1531, the chapter explores multiple approaches on how emblems can be understood in the context of other multimodal media types such as insignia, badges, epigrams, hieroglyphs, and visual artifacts. Differentiating between historical and modern semiotic models, it explains the emergence of the notion of “emblem” in relation to tropes such as symbol, ekphrasis, or allegory. It also deconstructs the common narrative of emblems being characterized by a standardized tripartite pattern consisting of a picture, title, and motto, and their historical confinement to the epochs of the Renaissance and Baroque, specifically between the years 1531 and 1750. By analyzing early modern and modern examples, the chapter demonstrates the historical, technological, and sociocultural influences directing the fluid expectations of this genre. Against the various normative attempts to define the emblem, the chapter strives to contribute to a more open-ended approach to emblems, enabling the identification of them even in modern cultural products. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
author
; and
organization
publishing date
type
Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceeding
publication status
published
subject
keywords
Emblem, Epigram, Ekphrasis, Allegory, Symbol, Transmediation
host publication
The Palgrave Handbook of Intermediality
editor
Bruhn, Jörgen ; López-Varela Azcárate, Asun and De Paiva Viera, Miriam
pages
29 pages
publisher
Palgrave Macmillan
ISBN
978-3-031-28322-2
978-3-031-28321-5
DOI
10.1007/978-3-031-28322-2_25
language
English
LU publication?
yes
id
1896c2ac-2203-4acd-8a18-0da4724448da
date added to LUP
2024-01-16 20:51:00
date last changed
2024-01-17 08:50:01
@inbook{1896c2ac-2203-4acd-8a18-0da4724448da,
  abstract     = {{This chapter explores the history of emblems, which appear on a broad spectrum between printed literature, visual art, and material culture. Starting from Andrea Alciato’s Emblematum liber of 1531, the chapter explores multiple approaches on how emblems can be understood in the context of other multimodal media types such as insignia, badges, epigrams, hieroglyphs, and visual artifacts. Differentiating between historical and modern semiotic models, it explains the emergence of the notion of “emblem” in relation to tropes such as symbol, ekphrasis, or allegory. It also deconstructs the common narrative of emblems being characterized by a standardized tripartite pattern consisting of a picture, title, and motto, and their historical confinement to the epochs of the Renaissance and Baroque, specifically between the years 1531 and 1750. By analyzing early modern and modern examples, the chapter demonstrates the historical, technological, and sociocultural influences directing the fluid expectations of this genre. Against the various normative attempts to define the emblem, the chapter strives to contribute to a more open-ended approach to emblems, enabling the identification of them even in modern cultural products.}},
  author       = {{Führer, Heidrun and Muszta, Cecilia Victoria and Kováca, Viktor}},
  booktitle    = {{The Palgrave Handbook of Intermediality}},
  editor       = {{Bruhn, Jörgen and López-Varela Azcárate, Asun and De Paiva Viera, Miriam}},
  isbn         = {{978-3-031-28322-2}},
  keywords     = {{Emblem; Epigram; Ekphrasis; Allegory; Symbol; Transmediation}},
  language     = {{eng}},
  pages        = {{521--550}},
  publisher    = {{Palgrave Macmillan}},
  title        = {{The Anchor and the Dolphin : A History of Emblems}},
  url          = {{http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-28322-2_25}},
  doi          = {{10.1007/978-3-031-28322-2_25}},
  year         = {{2023}},
}