Stampa, Gaspara

Born in Padua between 1520 and 1525, possibly in 1523. The daughter of the merchant Bartolomeo Stamp, a jeweler originally from Milan (biographers previously believed that she came from an aristocratic Milan family, but archival research of the last century destroyed this legend, although some continue to believe that her father was the offspring of the youngest branch of a noble family).

When Gaspara was eight years old, her father passed away, and her mother Cecilia, a Venetian, returned to her hometown with her children - Gaspara, Cassandra and Baldassare. Children studied literature, music, history and painting. Girls especially shone in singing and playing the lute , perhaps thanks to the training from the composer Tuttovale Menon . Her teacher was also the composer , who dedicated a number of madrigals to her, where he wrote in particular that “no woman in the world loves music like you, and no one understands it like you do” ^{[2 ]} . Gaspara was known for performing her own compositions to musical accompaniment, she also sang the works of Petrarch .

Gaspara’s brother studied at the University of Padua and wrote poems approved by famous writers. The Stump family house turned into a literary salon, in which many Venetian writers, artists and musicians visited in 1535-1540. Gaspara fans were representatives of the nobility, writers and artists. So, Girolamo Parabosco , poet and organist of St. Mark's Cathedral , included a work dedicated to Gaspara in his book Lettere amorose . Francesco Sansovino dedicated to her his reprint of Ameto Boccaccio , as well as several of his own works, including Ragionamentro (1545), an essay on the art of love ^[3] . Her friends were the poet Giovanni Della Caza , Ortensio Lando, Varchi, Domenichi, Sperone Speroni and others. In the academic group (Accademia dei Dubbiosi), Stampa used the pseudonym Anassilla ( in honor of the nymph Anassa ^[1] , which she also used in her poems.

The death of his brother in 1544 greatly influenced Gaspara, and she decided to become a nun. However, after a long crisis, she returned to normal life in Venice and was carried away by Count Collatino di Collalto, whose romance lasted three years - 1548 - 1551 . Most of the 311 poems that have come down to us are devoted to him. Relations were broken in 1551, apparently as a result of the cooling of the count, perhaps due to his numerous absences from Venice. Gaspara was destroyed.

She fell into a state of physical prostration and depression, but the result of this period was a series of beautiful, smart and passionate poems in which she finally prevailed over Collalto - at least for herself. The poetry, imbued with excruciating mental pain, helped Gaspara survive and led her to fame. Nevertheless, only three of her poems were published during her lifetime (No. LI, LXX and LXXV, in the anthology of modern poetry Il sesto libro delle rime di diversi eccellenti autori , 1553 ^[1] ). She did not use special fame as a poetess, although, apparently, some of her poems were distributed among friends, and a book might have been prepared for publication ^[5] Where did the epithet “ Safo of its time” come from in the Brockhaus and Efron dictionary, it is not clear. Contemporaries, she was extolled mainly for their musical talents.

After Count Collalto, Gaspara had another lover, to whom she dedicated several of her sonnets, testifying to a new hope for happiness in her heart. But Gaspara was not able to restore her peace of mind and health, continuing to suffer, she died at 31. According to some sources, Gaspar committed suicide; according to other sources, she died of a sudden illness. It is also known that she was poisoned by Count Collalto, or that she died of grief after hearing that he was married. The last version was successfully refuted, since he married three years before the death of his former mistress ^[3] , the penultimate seems unmotivated and implausible.

Was Stump a courtesan?

There are also the following biographical data: “Becomes a high-society courtesan , rotates in a refined society of noble people, artists, who appreciates her for the rare beauty and ability to“ charm ”those around him. Her brief life as a free, uninhibited woman goes through a series of fleeting and passionate novels, from which a dramatic relationship with Count Collatino di Collalto stands out ” ^[6] .

But still it is possible that the information that she was a courtesan is erroneous. Critics often discuss this issue ^[7] . The assumption that she was a courtesan was first voiced by Abdelkader Salsa in his article Madonna Gasparina Stampa secondo nuove indagini in 1913 ^[8] , and this assumption entailed an abundant polemic.

Unlike the other two Venetians, the courtesan poetess Veronica Franco and Tullia d'Aragon , whose occupations have preserved a lot of contemporaries evidence and official documents (for example, tax returns indicating the occupation), there are no similar sources about Gaspard Stump.

Abdelkader Salsa relies on a letter from the nun Angela Paolo, with whom Gaspara was in correspondence when her brother died. In it, the nun, although he calls on Gaspar to live in a monastery, nevertheless, despite the sensations of Salsa, does not say anything that could indicate that her addressee is engaged in prostitution. He also cites a certain anonymous epigram where Gaspara is called a whore. His findings are currently considered somewhat strained. For the most part, modern scholars are inclined to believe that, spinning in the intellectual circle of Renaissance humanists and discussing them on equal terms, Gaspara did have lovers among them, but she was not a professional courtesan who charges her visitors ^[2] , but was , most likely, those who are called virtuosa - that is, a professional singer ^{[9] [10]} .

In fact, this question has no significance, because in any case, this did not affect her work in any way. In addition, in Venice, more than in other Italian cities, respectable single women could live on their own. She played music in front of a mixed audience, visited salons in men's houses and conducted a novel in poetry in an open form, which, perhaps, indicates that Gaspara was a member of the half world. But if this marginality bothered her, then this did not appear in verse ^[5] .

After her death, Gaspara’s sister Cassandra released a collection of poems by Gaspara “Poems” (“Rime”, 1554), with a dedication to the poet Giovanni Della Caza , Archbishop of Benevento, who was a friend of both sisters. The collection includes 311 sonnets , canzon , sextin . Most of the works are devoted to the story of Gaspara's love for the Count Collatino di Collalto. Her work is one of the most important complexes of female poetry of the XVI century.

The posthumous collection was not successful. Gaspara Stampa remained just a footnote in the history of Italian literature, until in 1738 in Rome Count Antonio Rambaldo (a descendant of Count Collalto) with the help of Louise Bergalli released a reprint of her poems. He found the first edition in the archives of his family and decided on a new one "wishing to at least somehow fulfill his duty to the memory of such an outstanding poetess" ^[2] . For this publication, he ordered to engrave portraits of the poetess and her lover, his ancestor (in the first edition there was only her portrait).

This second edition became popular, giving in addition the ground for the growth of the romantic legend of Gaspard, which circulated in Italy for the next two centuries. The real creativity of Stampa was appreciated in the era of romanticism .

Gaspara's collection is a kind of diary: it expresses both joy and frustration. She uses various types of verses - sonnets, madrigals, canzons, sextins, capitals. According to sonnet II, she met the count during Christmas, and it was love at first sight. This is followed by a time of happiness, then doubts, tearing and suffering. Then there are several sonnets dedicated to the new lover. They are not as bright as the previous ones, and have more muffled intonations, but they show that a new hope has penetrated her heart. It is believed that the collection does not owe its narrative structure to the author, but to her sister, who possibly arranged the verses in such a way as to make a proper impression ^[2] .

Her element is immediate feelings and confession. The main theme of her works is the love story for Collalto. “They depict, step by step, the development of passion for a lover, in all its volatile manifestations, from great happiness to bitter despair; they are distinguished by passionate pathos ” ^[11] . “The poetess compared him to all the gods of ancient Parnassus, but could not and did not want to hide his cruelty and inconstancy” ^[12] . “She was a poet against her own will. She wrote for herself and for him: these sonnets were just letters in their correspondence, compressed and ardent pages of her personal diary ” ^[13] .

I. Golenishchev-Kutuzov noted that Stampa’s passionate poetry violates the canons of Petrarch’s poetry: instead of an unattainable ideal, she refers to “earthly love and earthly passions” ^[12] . She uses the simplified — in images and lexical forms — tradition of Petrarch: “The quotes from Petrarch in the verses of Gaspara Stump are very numerous, but the poetess fails to fully adhere to the necessary style, and she uses the vocabulary and schemes of Petrarch quite superficially and simplified” ^[6] . Of particular value to her verses give immediate feelings and confession.

• Simon Vouet (1590–1642) portrayed her as Calliope in his painting Apollo and the Muses, Budapest.
• Jacopo Cabianca. Gaspara Stampa dramma in versi. The play includes the following characters: Gasparu, her sister, Count Collatino, Biche Contarini, Lorenz Venirea and artist Cesarino da Murano.
• The story of the Diodes of Saluzzo Roero "Gaspara Stump" ^[14]
• German poet Rainer Maria Rilke mentions Gaspara in the first of his Duin Elegies, which is often considered one of his greatest works: “Have you changed your mind about Gaspar Stump? a worthy example, so that every girl from whom her beloved has gone away is dreaming: will I become like that one who loves? ”
• At the beginning of the 20th century, one of her famous lines - “to live blazing and not to feel pain” (“viver ardendo e non sentire il male”) will choose one of the autobiographical characters Gabriele D'Annunzio , Stelio Effrena, the protagonist of the novel “Fire” as his life principle ” (“ Il fuoco ”) to emphasize his special attitude to life.
• The same sonnet from which this line was taken attracted the attention of the composer: Gilberto Bosco wrote “Dedica” for soprano, flute, clarinet and horn (1982).

• Petrova T. A. Five sonnets to verses to verses by Gaspara Stump. For voice accompanied by piano. - M .: Music, 2005 .-- 32 with ISBN 5-7140-0423-X
• Angelo Borzelli. Una poetessa italiana del secolo XVI (Gaspara Stampa, 1523-1553), 1888
• Fiora A. Bassanese. Gaspara Stampa. 1982

• S. V. Logish "Gaspara Stump"
• Gaspara Stampa. Other's women voices
• Poems (pdf, (English) )