Il primitivismo di Jacques-Nicolas Paillot de Montabert e il linguaggio della pittura

The article focuses on the essay by Jacques-Nicolas Paillot de Montabert “Dissertation sur les peintures sdu Moyen Age” (1812), which Giovanni Previtali (1964) branded “bigot”. In fact by tackling the Roman cultural backdrop and taking into account other theoretical writings by Paillot, the analysis demonstrates the originality of the essay. Paillot observes a form of continuity between ancient and medieval arts, both characterized by simplicity and essentiality, whereas he pinpoints a break in the Renaissance and the Baroque, both marked by a progressive complication of their expressive means. The praise of medieval art and the bright clarity of its language is part of a wider and more general reflection on art as a language able to express ideas and emotions through expressive signs