Claude-François Ménestrier (1631–1705), Jesuit, polymath, organiser of festivals, princes’ entries, and ballets, and author of over 150 writings on emblem-atics, numismatics, heraldry, and a wide variety of festivals and public spectacles, must be considered one of the most influential early modern theoreticians on images, festivals and the performing arts. His work aims to provide a comprehensive overview of mental and material images. This trilingual anthology (in English, French, and German) is the first to present excerpts of Ménestrier’s theoretical writings on festivals and the performing arts in a modern edition. The excerpts are preceded by introductions written by internationally renowned scholars of the early modern period.
