Sprezzatura as a term was first used by Castiglione in The Book of the Courtier. There’s no direct English translation of the word. Castiglione describes it as an art that he admired in his contemporaries, the ability ‘to conceal and make whatever one does or says appear to be without effort and almost without any thought about it’. To possess sprezzatura you need to be able to do something brilliantly without looking like you’re even trying, to look like the kind of person who tumbles out of bed well dressed, beautifully groomed and elegant. You can express this quality in a broad range of
...more
