Baldassare Castiglione - Renaissance Thinkers

Baldassare Castiglione was born into a noble family on December 6th, 1478 in Casatico, Italy. This city was near Mantua. His father was the Count Cristoforo Castiglione. His mother, Luigia Gonzaga, was related to the marquis of that time, Ludovico II Gonzaga. Baldassare Castiglione resided in Milan and Urbino for most of his life. When his father died, the 21 year old Castiglione was forced to become the head of their family and had to move to Milan. In 1504, Castiglione had to go to the court of Urbino, which was ruled by Guidobaldo de Montefeltro. When Pope Leo X was elected Castiglione was sent to Rome as an ambassador of Urbino. In Rome, he met and befriended Raphael, who painted a portrait of him. This portrait is currently in the Louvre today. He married Ippolita Torelli, who was descended from a noble family, in 1516. Unfortunately, she died 4 years later, when he was once again in Rome as an ambassador for Mantuan Dukes. Baldassare Castiglione died on February 2nd, 1529 in Toledo, Spain. Although not proven, his cause of death was the Black Plague.

In 1513-1514, Baldassare Castiglione started writing his most famous book, The Book of the Courtier (Il Cortegiano), and this occupied the rest of his life until 1528. In this year, his book was published in Venice by Andrea d'Asolo. This book was based on the time that Baldassare Castiglione was in the court of the Duke Guidobaldo de Montefeltro of Urbino. It is presented in a dialogue similar to the ones of Plato and Cicero. This book is divided into four sections: Book 1, Book 2, Book 3, and Book 4. In this book, it describes how the perfect man must have a calm mind, argue and talk well, and be athletic. This man must be good at combat sports, as well as endurance sports and throwing sports. The Renaissance man must have common sense, wisdom, knowledge, and be able to read Greek and Latin classics.

Another skill was that he had to be able to draw and paint. He should also be well groomed and well dressed. However, when he does this he must do it in a casual manner, or as Castiglione put it “with sprezzatura”. This book soon became translated into many different languages, like Spanish, German, French, and English. Over 100 editions of this book were published between 1528 and 1616. The Book of the Courtier has changed the Renaissance because it redefined what a “perfect man” was. In the Medieval period, a man was considered great if he was strong and powerful on the battlefield. However, after the publishing of this book, the perfect man must also be interested in arts and have a good appearance as well as being proficient at combat and weaponry. Thus, Baldassare Castiglione was one of the most important persons in Renaissance history.