"I was, without realising it, extremely sensitive to the beauty of landscapes'. Bergamo and the imagery of pleasant places in the young Stendhal

Authors

  • Francesca Pagani Università degli Studi di Bergamo

Abstract

In this contribution we aim to analyse the opening pages of Stendhal's Journal with a special focus on the landscape of Bergamo. The excerpts from the Journal we consider appear to be in tune with the 18th-century evolution of landscape theories and the concept of the picturesque linked to them, of which Stendhal was well aware, and are configured as the product of the young author's literary imagination, in those years all marked by the Rousseauian myth. These are not only the first occurrences in which Stendhal writes about landscape: even in their brevity, they testify to an already formed sensibility and aesthetic vision, which would be confirmed and enriched in the author's subsequent literary production. Moreover, Stendhal's landscape will become a reference point, among others, for 19th century travel literature, which will retrace its places and cultivate its imagery. The landscape of Bergamo thus became a topos of Stendhal's locus amenus and inspired the imagination of travellers and literary figures throughout the 19th century and beyond.

Author Biography

Francesca Pagani, Università degli Studi di Bergamo

Francesca Pagani è professoressa associata di letteratura francese presso l’Università degli Studi di Bergamo. Specialista del Settecento, le sue ricerche privilegiano l’immaginario della modernità, nell’intreccio tra letteratura, arti e scienze. Tra i suoi ambiti di indagine, il rapporto tra letteratura e saperi scientifici, quali l’immaginario delle macchine nei Lumi e quello medico fra Sette e Ottocento, in particolare relativamente al magnetismo (de Villers, Révéroni Saint Cyr, Puységur, Balzac e Zola) e l’intreccio tra arte e letteratura nella concezione del giardino e del paesaggio tra Settecento e inizi Ottocento.
Ha curato l'edizione delle opere complete di Jean Galli de Bibiena (La Nouvelle Italie, 2008 e Romans, con la prefazione di Michel Delon, 2014). Attualmente, i suoi studi sono rivolti alla scrittura femminile del Settecento e del tournant des Lumières.

Published

01-12-2022

How to Cite

Pagani, F. (2022). "I was, without realising it, extremely sensitive to the beauty of landscapes’. Bergamo and the imagery of pleasant places in the young Stendhal. Elephant & Castle, (27). Retrieved from https://elephantandcastle.unibg.it/index.php/eac/article/view/219

Issue

Section

Studi e Ricerche