Like the classical mythology in Alciati’s emblem, Alciati gathered his inspiration for emblems from many different sources. Some of these include the Greek epigram, a concise poem with a moral purpose; illustrated books like dance of death sequences; and Egyptian hieroglyphics. Two other sources that appear elsewhere in this exhibit are imprese and devices that are very similar to emblems (see page Parallel and Evolving Emblem Forms); and commemorative medals struck for great battles or heroes (see page Emblematic Influences: Literature and Coins).
Before
creating his emblem book, Alciati translated a book on Greek epigrams and
was very familiar with them. No fewer than fifty of his emblems can be traced
back to translations or imitations of Greek epigrams, which resemble the
third, subscriptio, part of the emblem. (Daly 9-10) On a related
note, Mario Praz contends that epigrams are in fact the inverse of emblems
since epigrams are words that illustrate objects while an emblem represents
objects that illustrate words (22). For more information and specific examples
of epigram-inspired emblems, see Alison Saunders
“Alciati and the Greek Anthology.” The earliest known dance of death sequence was a series of paintings in the Cimetière des Innocents in Paris, painted in 1424-25. The Totendanz (Dance of Death) presented here is from a facsimile copy of the hand-colored Nuremberg Chronicle, originally published in 1493. The idea of combining text with image was made even more possible with the advent of and access to the printing press and movable type, allowing easier reproduction and circulation of text and image.
