Un’«armonica e magnifica fronte». La persistenza della frenologia nei discorsi medici italiani intorno al genio musicale

When Vincenzo Bellini died in 1835, the sculptor Dantan took a mold of his face in order to preserve the features of the great Italian composer for future generations. The operation was carried out a second time in Catania forty-two years later, when the musician’s corpse was moved from Paris to Sic...

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Main Author: Simone Baral
Format: Article
Language:fra
Published: École Normale Supérieure de Lyon Editions 2017-11-01
Series:Laboratoire Italien
Subjects:
Online Access:https://journals.openedition.org/laboratoireitalien/1619
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author Simone Baral
author_facet Simone Baral
author_sort Simone Baral
collection DOAJ
description When Vincenzo Bellini died in 1835, the sculptor Dantan took a mold of his face in order to preserve the features of the great Italian composer for future generations. The operation was carried out a second time in Catania forty-two years later, when the musician’s corpse was moved from Paris to Sicily. In order to explain Bellini’s musical genius with regards to the structure of the skull and his facial features, both molds were subject to various phrenological studies which highlighted the predominance of the faculties of tune and benevolence. By analyzing contemporary texts, we will frame “the Bellini case” in the historical context of phrenological studies on Italian, and more widely European composers, that aimed to scientifically explain the origins of musical genius.
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spelling doaj-art-25c3bb7011fd45eb96eac9d09a8102c62025-01-10T13:01:43ZfraÉcole Normale Supérieure de Lyon EditionsLaboratoire Italien1627-92042117-49702017-11-012010.4000/laboratoireitalien.1619Un’«armonica e magnifica fronte». La persistenza della frenologia nei discorsi medici italiani intorno al genio musicaleSimone BaralWhen Vincenzo Bellini died in 1835, the sculptor Dantan took a mold of his face in order to preserve the features of the great Italian composer for future generations. The operation was carried out a second time in Catania forty-two years later, when the musician’s corpse was moved from Paris to Sicily. In order to explain Bellini’s musical genius with regards to the structure of the skull and his facial features, both molds were subject to various phrenological studies which highlighted the predominance of the faculties of tune and benevolence. By analyzing contemporary texts, we will frame “the Bellini case” in the historical context of phrenological studies on Italian, and more widely European composers, that aimed to scientifically explain the origins of musical genius.https://journals.openedition.org/laboratoireitalien/1619Italynineteenth centuryphrenologyVincenzo Bellinimusical genius
spellingShingle Simone Baral
Un’«armonica e magnifica fronte». La persistenza della frenologia nei discorsi medici italiani intorno al genio musicale
Laboratoire Italien
Italy
nineteenth century
phrenology
Vincenzo Bellini
musical genius
title Un’«armonica e magnifica fronte». La persistenza della frenologia nei discorsi medici italiani intorno al genio musicale
title_full Un’«armonica e magnifica fronte». La persistenza della frenologia nei discorsi medici italiani intorno al genio musicale
title_fullStr Un’«armonica e magnifica fronte». La persistenza della frenologia nei discorsi medici italiani intorno al genio musicale
title_full_unstemmed Un’«armonica e magnifica fronte». La persistenza della frenologia nei discorsi medici italiani intorno al genio musicale
title_short Un’«armonica e magnifica fronte». La persistenza della frenologia nei discorsi medici italiani intorno al genio musicale
title_sort un armonica e magnifica fronte la persistenza della frenologia nei discorsi medici italiani intorno al genio musicale
topic Italy
nineteenth century
phrenology
Vincenzo Bellini
musical genius
url https://journals.openedition.org/laboratoireitalien/1619
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