ABSTRACT
It has long been recognized that certain defining Renaissance concerns are common to both the visual and the literary arts, and that they also inform social and political behaviour at the highest levels. The imitation of authoritative models, the cultivation of a personal style, the creation of naturalistic forms in which 'the art consists of hiding the art', together with a pervasive moral concern about the deceptiveness of appearances, all went to make up a distinctive culture in which a courtier's gesture resonated as meaningfully as a painter's brushstroke. The discussion of beauty as the cause of love, with its corollary, the deceptive power of affection, prompted by the paragone of painting and sculpture, links the visual arts with a frequently reiterated theme of the Book of the Courtier. The apparently irreconcilable demands on the courtier to practice dissimulation and prudent discretion are, in fact, linked by the concept of imitation.
