Biography

Italian aesthetician who worked for Cardinal Anton Maria Salviati as a cook and butler. After the death of the cardinal, Ripa worked for his relatives.

Little is known about his life. He was knighted after his highly successful book called Iconologia, which he wrote in his free time, was published. The first edition of his Iconologia was published in 1593 and dedicated to Anton Maria Salviati. A second edition was published in Rome in 1603 this time with 684 concepts and 151 woodcuts, dedicated to Lorenzo Salviati. The book was extremely influential in the 17th and 18th centuries and was quoted extensively in various art forms.