Le “giustissime lagrime” della poesia e della pittura per la morte di Luigi Scaramuccia | The “most fair Tears” of Poetry and Paintings on the Luigi Scaramuccia’s Death

Abstract

This paper examines a pamphlet published in Milan in 1681 describing the celebrations and ephemeral apparatuses organised in Pavia for the death of the Perugian painter Luigi Scaramuccia. Scaramuccia had previously worked in Pavia, where he had also published his book Le finezze de’ pennelli italiani (The Subtleties of Italian Brushes) in 1674. The pamphlet is entitled Le Giustissime Lagrime della Poesia, e della Pittura (The Most Just Tears of Poetry and Painting) and describes a complex iconographic programme in which painting and poetry share an articulated celebratory message. In addition, the funeral oration read on that occasion discusses Scaramuccia’s artistic and literary readings and interests, which are examined here for the first time. Some insights in recognizing the author of the pamphlet are proposed, pointing out in the Pavia university and academic milieu.