ITALIAN RENAISSANCE IMAGERY OF INSPIRATION, THE - METAPHORS OF SEX, SLEEP AND DREAM

Maria Ruvoldt traces the development of the pictorial vocabulary of divine inspiration, examining how themes of spiritual, intellectual, and artistic transcendence were given visual form. Ruvoldt argues that the imagery of sleep, a passive experience equated with the loss of reason, offered a powerful visual sign for a Platonic model of divine inspiration. Drawing on primary sources, including handbooks of dream interpretation, the recorded dreams of artists and poets, and philosophical texts, she also considers a range of objects where sleep is visualized.