Sprezzatura

Stumbled across this Italian word the other day. Its one of those words that are idiosyncratic to a language, ie. panache in French weltanschuung in German and maybe or maybe not quite translatable into English....

"Sprezzatura" (pronounced 'sprehts-ah-TOO-ra') was first used in print by the Renaissance Italian statesman Castiglione, who describes it as a style of behaviour in which every action,"conceals art, and presents what is done and said as if it was done without effort or virtually without thought."
More simply put, i've heard it elsewhere described as "performing something difficult in effortless and nonchalant manner".

The unassuming seamless bravado of Zen Swordsmanship or, in Hollywood terms, Clint Eastwood taking care of business in Wild West.

Come to think of it, there should be a word like "contra-sprezzatura" that defines actions by the likes of Mr.Bean: getting dressed in the morning or taking a civil service exam (or myself trying to
work a VCR/DVD...well, actually this is not acting). In other words, an easy action requiring little skill made to look incredibly complex and difficult. Hmmm...the implications are staggering.