ABSTRACT
Adam’s body lies almost motionless, turned slightly towards the viewer to display his ideal proportions; even the position of his outstretched arm seems designed to reveal the perfection of each detail of the arm and hand. The vivid expression of emotion or intention through movement may not always have been compatible with contemporary ideals of polite behaviour and their emphasis on self-control and physical restraint. The same connection between leggiadrìa and lightness of foot appears, only more eloquently, in Matteo Bandello’s Canzoniere. The angel also appears devoid of potential internal movement, his body a solid block that descends, seemingly without his control. The notion of leggiadria probably comes closest to encapsulating a contemporary notion of beautiful movement, and it is often used together with bellezza in contemporary texts, with bellezza serving primarily as a form of emphasis. Most writers identify it as a quality especially appropriate to the movement of women, or young men.
