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Burckhardt, Jacob

Born: 25 May 1818, Basel (Switzerland)

Died: 8 August 1897, Basel (Switzerland)

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Book cover Encyclopedia of Renaissance Philosophy

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Abstract

Jacob Burckhardt was an art and cultural historian, renowned for his historiographical method known as Kulturgeschichte. In the analysis of a historic moment, this method focuses on the moment’s inner aspects, such as the contemporaneous art and literature, the religious and moral habits, and the economical and social developments. Burckhardt was the author of the notable Die Cultur der Renaissance in Italien (1860; The Civilisation of the Renaissance in Italy), in which he declared that modernity was born in Italy in the fifteenth century. This work has long remained – and it still remains, even if outdated in many aspects – a classic of the critical literature on the Renaissance and an excellent example of cultural historical studies.

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References

Primary Literature

  • Burckhardt, Jacob. 1853. Die Zeit Constantin’s des Grossen. Basel: Schweighauser. English edition: Burckhardt, Jacob. 1983 (1st ed. 1949). The Age of Constantine the Great (trans: Hadas, M.). Berkeley: University of California Press.

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  • Burckhardt, Jacob. 1855. Der Cicerone: Eine Anleitung zum Genuss der Kunstwerke Italiens. Basel: Schweighauser. English edition: Burckhardt, Jacob. 1979 (1st ed. 1918). The Cicerone: An Art Guide to Painting in Italy (trans: Clough. A. H.). London: Garland Publishing.

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  • Burckhardt, Jacob. 1860. Die Cultur der Renaissance in Italien: ein Versuch. Basel: Schweighauser. English edition: Burckhardt, Jacob. 2010 (1st ed. 1878). The civilisation of renaissance in Italy (trans: Middlemore, S. G. C.). Mineola: Dover Publications.

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  • Burckhardt, Jacob. 1955–1959. Gesammelte Werke. Basel: B. Schwabe.

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  • Burckhardt, Jacob. 2000–2014. Burckhardt Werke. Kritische Gesamtausgabe. In 29 Bänden. Herausgegeben von der Jacob Burckhardt-Stiftung, Basel. München: C. H. Beck; Basel: Schwabe.

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Secondary Literature

  • Bazzicalupo, Laura. 1990. Il potere e la cultura: sulle riflessioni storico-politiche di Jakob Burckhardt. Napoli: Edizioni Scientifiche Italiane.

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  • Garin, Eugenio. 1952. Introduzione. La civiltà del Rinascimento in Italia, ed. Jacob Burckhardt (trans: Valbusa, D.), XV–XXXV. Firenze: Sansoni.

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  • Kaegi, Werner. 1947–1982. Jacob Burckhardt: eine Biographie. Basel/Stuttgart: Schwabe.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Philosophy and Cultural Heritage, Università Ca’ Foscari Venezia, Dorsoduro 3484/D, 30123, Venice, Italy

    Maria Vittoria Comacchi

Authors
  1. Maria Vittoria Comacchi
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Correspondence to Maria Vittoria Comacchi .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Verona, Mantova, Italy

    Marco Sgarbi

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© 2016 Springer International Publishing AG

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Comacchi, M.V. (2016). Burckhardt, Jacob. In: Sgarbi, M. (eds) Encyclopedia of Renaissance Philosophy. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02848-4_577-1

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02848-4_577-1

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-02848-4

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