Instytut Badań Literackich Polskiej Akademii Nauk

(Curiositas as a category of the Baroque culture (16-17th century))

Year of publication: 2016
Page range: 17 (35-51)
Keywords: curiositas, aesthetica curiosa, scientiae curiosa, pansemioticism, unitas, microcosmos, macrososmos, aesthetic of wonder, encyclopedism, pansophism, 

Author: Katarzyna Strużyńska (Catholic University of Lublin)


Abstract

The paper attempts to identify the characteristic features of the curiositas category and to locate it in the culture of the Baroque era. The aim of the paper is also to paint a picture of a unique intellectual atmosphere of the scientific and artistic spheres of the time, characterised by an affinity towards the new, the original, the rare, and the difficult. The 17th century “curiosity culture" is described as a certain type of cultural formation in which the curiositas category played a key role by setting its aesthetic and ideological profile, as well as by bringing together the various phenomena from the world of art and science.

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