author Colonna, Francesco Attributed 1433/34-1527 Italian
Creator
Materials:
paper
WorkMaterialDescript ion
paper
Materials
Techniques:
woodcut (process)
WorkTechniqueDescrip tion
woodcut (process)
Techniques
Measurements:
33.8 x 22.2 cm
WorkMeasurementValue Text
33.8 x 22.2 cm
Measurements
Repository:
New York, NY, USA, Private Collection, New York
WorkRepositoryName
New York, NY, USA, Private Collection, New York
Repository
Category:
Villas
WorkCategory
Villas
Category
Work Type:
Books
WorkTypeDescription
Books
Work Type
Subjects:
Romances; Pleasure gardens; Dreams; Banquets; Floral patterns; Scrolling foliage; Tree of Life; Chalices; Gems; Fountains; Centerpieces (furnishings)
ReproSubjectDescript ion
Romances; Pleasure gardens; Dreams; Banquets; Floral patterns; Scrolling foliage; Tree of Life; Chalices; Gems; Fountains; Centerpieces (furnishings)
Subjects
Work Notes:
Collation: a6 A-Bb6 Cc8 = 164 ff., complete. With engraved woodcut title-page and 181 woodcuts illustrating the text, of which 13 are full-page, several crible initials in preliminary text, large 9-line floriated arabesque initials forming an acrostic throughout, Kerver's unicorn device (Renouard 515) on verso of final leaf. Folio, 338 x 222 mm, bound in nineteenth-century calf, marbled endpapers.
A superb French Edition of the most famous illustrated book of the Renaissance. A large number of these magnificent illustrations are dedicated to gardens. The designer of the original 1499 Aldus woodcuts remains unidentified although speculation has included artists such as Mantegna and Giovanni Bellini. Nor has the author of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili been identified with certainty. It was probably written by Francesco Colonna, a Dominican from Treviso, in Latin about 1445. Its two main themes are the allegorical dream-journey of Poliphilus in search of his love Polia, and the praise of Antique art and culture.
WorkNotes
Collation: a6 A-Bb6 Cc8 = 164 ff., complete. With engraved woodcut title-page and 181 woodcuts illustrating the text, of which 13 are full-page, several crible initials in preliminary text, large 9-line floriated arabesque initials forming an acrostic throughout, Kerver's unicorn device (Renouard 515) on verso of final leaf. Folio, 338 x 222 mm, bound in nineteenth-century calf, marbled endpapers.
A superb French Edition of the most famous illustrated book of the Renaissance. A large number of these magnificent illustrations are dedicated to gardens. The designer of the original 1499 Aldus woodcuts remains unidentified although speculation has included artists such as Mantegna and Giovanni Bellini. Nor has the author of the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili been identified with certainty. It was probably written by Francesco Colonna, a Dominican from Treviso, in Latin about 1445. Its two main themes are the allegorical dream-journey of Poliphilus in search of his love Polia, and the praise of Antique art and culture.
Work Notes
Image Notes:
"Now five comely servants, dressed in costumes of blue silk beautifully interwoven with a golden weft, presented themselves first to the venerable and divine presence of the Queen, and afterwards presented themselves with extraordinary dignity, all in unison, to each of us in turn. The one in the middle held an oversized bush of cinnabar-coloured coral, such as would never be found in the Orcadian Islands: it was a cubit high, and fixed so as to stand upon a hillock made all of emeralds. This hillock covered the mouth of an antique vase of pure gold, made in the shape of a chalice and the same height as the mountain and the branching coral, and full of marvellous artificial foliage, such as is not made in our times. The tapering foot and the bowl were perfectly connected by a pommel of indescribable workmanship. Both the base and the bowl had outstanding bas-reliefs of leaves, little monsters and double-tailed scyllas, more exquisitely made than any embosser could achieve, and proportionate to the round body."
ReproNotes
"Now five comely servants, dressed in costumes of blue silk beautifully interwoven with a golden weft, presented themselves first to the venerable and divine presence of the Queen, and afterwards presented themselves with extraordinary dignity, all in unison, to each of us in turn. The one in the middle held an oversized bush of cinnabar-coloured coral, such as would never be found in the Orcadian Islands: it was a cubit high, and fixed so as to stand upon a hillock made all of emeralds. This hillock covered the mouth of an antique vase of pure gold, made in the shape of a chalice and the same height as the mountain and the branching coral, and full of marvellous artificial foliage, such as is not made in our times. The tapering foot and the bowl were perfectly connected by a pommel of indescribable workmanship. Both the base and the bowl had outstanding bas-reliefs of leaves, little monsters and double-tailed scyllas, more exquisitely made than any embosser could achieve, and proportionate to the round body."
Image Notes
Rights Type:
fair use
ReproRightsDetails
fair use
Rights Type
Hypnerotomachie, ou Discours du Songe de Poliphile
