The Gentleman, the Virtuoso, the Inquirer - Cambridge Scholars ...

INTRODUCTION
LASTANOSA, ART AND SCIENCE IN BAROQUE.
A HISTORIOGRAPHICAL EXPERIMENT
MAR REY-BUENO & MIGUEL LÓPEZ-PÉREZ
In 1645 Vincencio Juan de Lastanosa published in Huesca, a northern
spanish city, his first book, the Museo de las medallas desconocidas
españolas, a detailed study of more than a hundred seventy ancient coins.
Lastanosa (1607-1681) was the owner of this collection. Patron, collector,
scholar and editor, Lastanosa was born in a family of merchants, priests
and local rulers 1 . Comfortably installed in his palace, Lastanosa dedicated
all his life on collecting marvels and curiosities, antiquities and books,
studies and knowledge. Traditionally known as the patron of Baltasar
Gracián, Lastanosa has being considered by himself only in the last years.
This interest is promoted by the Instituto de Estudios Altoaragoneses
(IEA), a local institution devoted to Huesca and its history. In 2007 the
IEA celebrated Vincencio Juan de Lastanosa fourth centenary birth with
several events, one of them was the International Conference Lastanosa.
Art and Science in Baroque, origin of this book.
***
In 2005 Miguel López was invited to participate in the so-called Lastanosa
Project, an ambitious program devoted to the study of Vincencio Juan de
Lastanosa, his collections and the city where he lived, Huesca. Some years
before, López had published an approach to Lastanosa chemical practices 2 .
The IEA was interested in this research because offered a new Lastanosa
1 JOSÉ IGNACIO GÓMEZ ZORRAQUINO (2004), Todo empezó bien. La familia
del prócer Vincencio Juan de Lastanosa (siglos XVI-XVII), Zaragoza, Diputación
Provincial.
2 MIGUÉL LÓPEZ-PÉREZ (2003), Asclepio Renovado. Alquimia y Medicina en
la España Moderna (1500-1700), Madrid, Ed. Corona Borealis, pp. 268-284.