ITALIAN 'RENAISSANCE 'BOOK
The grolier club 7
March
-6 May 199s
Special collections department -university research 1ibrary, ucla January - March 1996
r
•Tenders to the exhibition Ahmanson- Murphy
Collection of Early Italian Printing,
Department of Prints and J.
illustrated Books, Metropolitan
UCLA
Museum of Art
Paul Getty Centerfor the History of Art and the Humanities Bridwell Library Southern Methodist University
Pierpont Morgan Library Bennett Gilbert
r
l
he
1
ha
klist
was designed by Spring
and printed in an
i
fai
vey
edition o) 1500 copies.
lSBN:o <not\:
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'Bennett gilbert
<WOODCUT
in the
ITALIAN (RENAISSANCE 'BOOK
«
;^>'.V'.afc
New
YorL- lfe Gro/fer C/u&
Los Angeles:
UCLA Special Collections 1995
Introduction Sometime
in
the late fourteenth century
mented popular devotion created a market with pictures of the
saints.
the 1440's there
Venice and probably in most of northern lands.
fairs
Thus
late
and marketplaces and thence onto
There were two
Italy,
medieval popular culture
duction ofprinting into
was aflourishing trade
which began
to
show
in these
images
their influence even in other
and painting made an art of woodcut imagery
walls, cupboards,
and
this
in
chests in
homes on
the eve
thatflooded
of the intro-
Italy.
closely related uses
images" thatformed
demands of a renewed and aug-
marketfor images. The press and the woodblock served
large
By
the
in this period,
viewed as quasi- magical objects
of the images. with
its
First,
there are the uses suggested by the "cult of
strong spiritual and
fetishisticfeatures:
images were often
with protective powers and they added a note of divine presence
to
even the most humble dwelling. Second, these images repeated the cycles offrescoes that taught the unlettered the truths of religion
their devotional sentiment. Since the
and stimulated
more widely seen than paintings, they developed a new
woodcuts were
didactic or"speaking function in the chang-
ing devotional environment. Thus, these woodcuts were not fine art, nofaesthetic objects" in any
modern
The
sense,
and they were not signed;
instead, they taught, reminded, inspired,
desirefor these things motivated artists to transform the old
manufacture,
in
human
The new
figure to the design.
into a
wood
or stained glass. Popular
blocks, through the
art developed on the basis of an old
sophisticated technique, the practiced skills of which could
painted canvas,
woodcutting techniques of textile
which color designs were printed on fabrics by carved wood
introduction of the
and protected.
now
be used to
demand changed
the old
and
reproduce imagesfrom
manufacturing technology
communications technology for imagery.
'Wood engraving was illuminator. tials, in
a
at
first
employed
(c.
1470-1485)
to
One example of this was the use of woodcut
number of Venetian incunabula, stamped onto
mimic
efficiently
or to aid the work oj the
outlines oj initials, called xylographic ini-
the printed page
and then
often partially or
completely illuminated by hand. This seems more to have been the idea ofpaper merchants, hiring cutter
and miniator
to
work
together, than
of a printer. But as the marketfor printed books grew, the
activity of illuminators decreased. For, as the printed book lished text,
and
it
was
less
thinking. There
when
it
and
less
became more and more
essentially a
pub-
a unique trophy. Printed books werefor reading, studying, praying,
was no sense
in
transforming the printed book into something else by painting
it,
was wanted for reading and study.
to look at
woodcuts
in
images in manuscripts, in the churches,
books for
and
many of the same
in their
leaves or with text, presented episodes, singly or in series, clearly
imagination of the viewer, as an aid
to
reasons for which they looked at
homes. Woodcuts of devotional subjects, on single
enough
to
engage the empathy and
meditation. Other woodcuts provided ways of learning
and
remembering
religious
and secular subjects. But printing changed
the products of the press were
marked by their
the printer's device, the press
made so many copies
environment and were seen and used
weakened, agents within
woodcut
the
as
it
absorbed
it.
while
authenticated by the touch of the original image or type, hall-
still
this craft
and
many objects
of so
that these changed
woodcuts remained, though
differently. Yet the old uses of
trade-the world into which they were absorbed, that of the
its
printed book. 'In the
illustration that
imagery
to
drew from
provide illustrations
to
images for himself, making to create.
Through
imagery and brought
it
printed texts that
virtually his,
this atelier,
described in these terms.
way
its
principal divisions. Their small
is
composed
skillfully is
neous, panoramic,
and
is
to
fit
enhanced by the
is
graceful
and supple, so
and passionate pictures from
Malermi Bibbia Italica
the
popular
drew
in folios,
to a close.
and successfully
the space
daily
establishes a
faces are noble
and
life.
is
The
feeling.
easy to understand. Within
They bring
and pagan
artist
and pictorial
the sincere, sponta-
home,
of courage, love, joy, sorrow, virtue, evil, prayer, the
literature into sacred
be
column width, set
though often used
size,
that the whole picture
and
may
related cycles, also
tools that give vivid, bold descriptive
the intimate poetry of devotional
the marketplace
the
fine control of the line in narrative
background and ornament. In addition, the
The drawing
their world, there
Malermi and
popular devotional
Italy.
are small rectangular woodcuts, usually
shows that he works with hatching and shading texture.
long, old tradition of
the diminution of book format as the fifteenth century
these small spaces, the scene
choice of
of woodcutters of traditional popular
Malermi style (from
especially those in the
space behind the frame. This organization
and
traditional popular
a wider market than they had reached
atelier
Giunta scooped up the
Most of them
within the text or at the head of
detail
an
its
perhaps planned as a key constituent of the business he
the woodcuts of the
of 1490, printed by Ragazzo), and
Within
now had
re-shaped, into the realm of the printed book in
it,
The appeal and importance of
parallels in a general
and
the established craft of woodcutting
previously. Giunta seems to have secured the services
hoped
new kind
books published by Luc Antonio Giunta and printers associated with him we find a
of book
texts.
Furthermore, they often
bring with them imagery from oral traditions of faith and superstition. These cuts are intended represent the text, not drawings or other works of art; they live inside the text,
proof-stone. the
Thus they enlarge
imaginary space
enabled the printer narrative
some
OS well to
mark
schematize
it.
I
the space of the reader's imagination, adding
of the book by
to use
means
them both
Style
woodi
and
and giving
sections of text for the reader's
he Malermi
ut
the text
is
to
their
an extra dimension
to
of their short -hand narrative capability. This capacity
in liturgies
sense of the cyclical ritual
and
in narratives, to liturg v a
memory, but they
book
such as the Bible or
I
vivid pictorial realism. illustrate the text
illustrations are late
ivy,
and do
medieval works
lending to
They served
fully
not
harnessed
to the service 0) the text.
These are windows
into the
unrecorded culture oj the Italian Renaissance. This
popular"mcntalitv,"fullof irrationality, archaism, emotions,
is
the sphere oj the
and superstitions generally thought too
low
to record.
popular
belief
Some of the
When printed from
or almost
lost
and
in books,
occasionally censored, the woodcuts can depict images of
mixed with approved theology or humanism.
lost oral traditions,
devils, apparitions, ghosts, monsters, disasters,
and maps
oj the universe seen in these
woodcuts are pictures from the landscape of an obscure, almost unfathomable, layer of remote peasant traditions.
They are one
clue to
what Carlo Ginsburg called a
reader'placed between himself and the printed page ing others" -that
is,
.
.
that emphasized certain words while obscur-
.
an oral tradition of beliefs. The popular
example
screen or a filter that the non-learned
prophecy
literature has been studied recently to
literature or in the literature
uncover these distant
ideas, for
den Lutheran
cells in
Venice. The woodcuts, appearing sometimes
lar books, are
derivedfrom an ancient popular tradition and continued
ing popular spiritual 'later, in the i5)o's
in the
in learned to be
about the hid-
and sometimes parts of all
in
this,
popu-
express-
beliefs.
and
1540's, regional artistic styles
miscegenated, as they did throughout Europe,
following the printing trade's lines of distribution, in favor of an "international style" standardized by classicism.
refined
The most sophisticated stylistic
imagery that soon shed
its local,
ideas were classicizing, producing a
earthy, folkish, stark, rough qualities. Furthermore, the evolv-
and metaphor
ing understanding of meaning, representation, literature further artistic text.
and further from medieval
movements. In the realm of the
The nature of the
intricate as the
literary
demand for softer, more
century moved art and
in the sixteenth
ideas of presence, in complicated philosophical
illustrated book,
this led to the use of allegory in
and
picturing the
forms of the text and of the relations of text and image became more
Baroque approached, producing more complex forms of allegory and emblematics
from about 1540 on. Tinally, toward the end of the period there arose a nical illustration that
laboriously cutting
metal
it is
much
woodcutting could not produce.
away
As
this teaching the skills
of architecture, music, with engraving
It
grew beyond
chivalric
and
On
artillery, etc.,
it
in tech-
a woodblock only by
lines in
the other
of detail
hand with engraving
to illustrate detail
simply by drawing
in it
and with
required the enhanced precision
and
in metal.
the end, woodcutting within the realm
and pamphlet of devotion,
of the line
level
the printed text took on thejob of preserving data,
detail of possible only
verse, political satire,
One can make fine
the tiny spaces between the relief lines.
easier to control the thickness
directly with the burin into the plate.
'In
demand for a precision and
of the printed book returned
and mythic
tales,
to
its
origins: the
elementary education, love
stories,
popular book
humorous
and folk songs. In a sense, woodcutting did not change, but book illustration did.
the stage to
which the woodcut,
in a
phase of
its
own
history,
had taken
•Bennett Gilbert lOS ANGELES
it.
^Exhibition ROMAE
CWirabilia Planck has
Rome:Stefan Planck,i499
with
illustrated this edition
more
intimately with
printed books. Each
comment upon
within borders of suitable iconography that
a portrait
expands the image beyond the central
figure.
Here, an archer sends an arrow
from the border into the principal image to add
Another cut employs
sufferings.
the border in addition to St.
Augustine
its
6ou loqu 10
This woodcut, of an early
there to St. Sebastian's
it
tiny devotional figures in the four corners
Venice:
style,
Manfredo de Bondlis,
was
1503
used by the same printer in 1497.
first
before the innovations of the Malermi a
The
uses straight lines, with-
artist
On
the
wood of the
books twenty years
Cross.
much
very
It is
the other
the detailed portraits and the texture of
a rich tradition in
for
St.
style.
It is
use in publishing
its
rough and plain composition, and no background.
hand, he draws from
of
central portrait ot the Virgin Mary.
an example of the changes to the devotional woodcut from
out hatching,
or connect
it
Rather, they are traditional devotional images put into
it.
is
woodcuts. They
a series ot hill-page
stand across from and next to the text but do not
an old
woodcut of the
style
sort
made
earlier.
Antoninus Florentinus
Confessionale
Venice: Benedetto
andAgostino
Bindoni, 1524
Both the format and
of the 15th-century single-leaf devotional image of
style
the saint remained important in
and
French
is
by an illustration very
1
524, although this cut dates to at least 1489
Here the book
in origin.
much
like
its
is
authenticated
as a
devotional object
single-leaf predecessors, especially in the
decorated surfaces surrounding the saint and the simple hooked-line drapery
But the developed
folds.
skills
of woodcutting
previous decades have enabled the
more
hatching of the other parts
This
is
white
a
not
employed
a
woodcut but
a
Brescia:
Damiano erjacopo
steelcut, possibly very
gutter margin border
is
more contemporary while
tral ,1
image
symbol
ot
is
books during the
style
saint into a
with simple
Ftlippo TUrlino, 1537
older than the book.
one
ot the
the
Stylistically,
the other three are older.
Uing the decorative motifs on surfaces portrayed
Could be
much
on black ground, surrounded by woodcut borders.
line
authentic
m
of the figure.
apostoli epistolae
1
as
change the image of the
and appealing portrait by the use of the outline
realistic
•/'.Mi
to
artist
in
very early
Italian
wood
most powerful devotional images and
devotional imagery
itself: as
image by touching the sudarium, so the
(
hi
ist's
sweat
<
on (erred
his
press transfei red spiritual
from original to copies.
qualities
and intimacy of small 5.
Philipus Varagius
It is
also a
haunting example of the intensity
early devotional imagery.
^lores totius sacre theologie
Milan: Giacomo
Ferrari 1509
Medieval devotional and academic culture employed memory, rather than ence to published
text, to
develop
skill
ways to memorize text and to associate
and
virtue.
facts,
Its
memory
refer-
systems were
arguments, and anecdotes into
chains of ideas. They used visual metaphors and markers
more
easily retained
than text, to which text was linked. Even the illuminations of manuscripts were
sometimes clues to stimulate has
marked
sections of this
fleurs-de-lys,
memory of the
associated text.
handbook of theology
in the
and pointing hands, each of several kinds.
Here the printer
margins with
He
type-case to notify the student of significant passages and to give
hook 6.
to use in his
Aristotle
also
It
him
his
a visual
scheme of memorization.
Venice:for Ottaviano Scoto, 1505
seems possible that the profusion of woodcut decorative
different sizes
stars,
reached into
and from different
series
on the same page was
initials
of
a printer's version
of this mnemonic technique. They helped to break up the page and provide varying visual clues for each section. The profusion of assorted woodcut
found
is
as a rule
only in
scientific, theological,
and grammatical
texts
initials
—books
to
be studied, re-read, and memorized. 7.
St.
Bonaventure
OPUSCULA
Venice:
Giacomo Penzifor Luc Antonio Giunta, 1504
Woodcuts were used at an early date in Germany to reproduce the mnemonic devices employed by medieval students. This edition contains full-page woodcuts of two of them: a tree, which organizes the different kinds of prayer and worship of God named in xylographic text; and a cherub, whose wings are hung with the names of philosophical concepts. 8.
Dionysius Periegetes
Venice: Erhardt Ratdolt
This title-page has been decorated to display
stamping
a
its
c?
Peter Loslein, 1477
owner's coat of arms by
woodblock-produced border and then painting
it.
Thus
this
first
copy was
customized by the employment of woodcutter and illuminator probably on the
commission of a bookseller, printer or paper merchant, acting for or a
in search
customer. This kind ot decoration creates an illusion of the physical page,
or
less
complicated.
It
of
more
does not picture the text or aid in reading comprehension.
The most magnificent of printed book
illuminations, such as those
by Gerardo
da Cremona, do emphasize the importance of the book but seem more to draw attention to themselves than to engage the reader in the text.
9.
Antonio Beccaria (?)
.
This
a picture
is
.
of the powerful wave of feminine
movement of the
quential part of the religious
centuries in northern
Italy.
St.
Thomas Aquinas, we
see that
as
10.
without hatching,
in the tradition
life
women
conse-
monk,
were one of the groups newly is
sketched by subtly drawn
of Lombard woodcutting.
CMeditationes Rome: Ulrich Han
Johannes de Turrecremata
a
of teaching and
the nuns kneel before a
seeking deepened religious experience. The event lines,
was
fourteenth and fifteenth
Emphasizing the purity of a
learning in the uncluttered surroundings,
probably
spirituality that
late
& Simon Nicolai
Chardella, 1473 In 1467
Han
published the
first
edition of this
probably taken from an otherwise trated
book printed
in Italy.
lost Italian
work with
a
group of woodcuts
blockbook.This was the
first illus-
This second edition includes the same woodcuts,
did Han's edition of 1478. The printed text explains these didactic frescoes in
Roman
church,
now
destroyed.
The woodcuts,
were the object of reverence and
interest
sionate desire for religious imagery, based
devotional
woodcut images
nation with the image, printed book. vivid reality
11.
is
in Italy,
a
pictures speaking through a text,
on the
part of the faithful. This pas-
on the old
tradition
of single-leaf
and the involvement of the
thus found in the very
The contemporary
as
first
woodcuts
coloring ot these woodcuts
imagi-
reader's in
an Italian
testifies to
the
of the imagery.
Johannes de Turrecremata
CWeditationes Rome: Ulrich
Han, 1478
The woodcuts in this uncolored copy allow us to see more detail of the artist's work. The blocks were certainly executed prior to the printed edition of [467. Whether of predominantly German or Italian origin, their late medieval flavor, outline style, simple backgrounds, and lack of hatching or shading
hand of an
artist
fifteenth century,
working
when
show
the
the rich iconographic environment of the early
111
religious fervor stimulated
a
great production of repro
ducible images. 12.
CVflSSALE
SECUNDUM ORDINEM FRATRUM PREDICATORUM
Venice:
Nicholas of Frankfurt, 1484 I
Ins
tu.il
primitive Crucifixion,
a
simple sketch drawn
in
wood,
testifies to
the spiri
and psychological power of images quite apart from then refinement.
It
mind the image ofjesus's blood dripping ofl his bod) so his missal was not simply liturgi in. forcefully that he was moved to paini has left a) servh c hook bul a plat e of devotional meditation so intense that
created
in a reader's
it
.1
I
it
(
10
this
dramatic vestige
manuscript
ment i}.
in the text not
tatina
'Biblia
hook.
in the
of an
In this case, the printer's use
Canon of the Mass becomes
illustration at the
artist
but of
devout
a
of the traditional
part of the engage-
priest or lay person.
Venice: Boneto Locatellofor Ottaviano Scoto, 1489
Ottaviano Scoto attempted to expand the uses of woodcut imagery
in
books
in
which the important editions of Capcasa, Giunta and others began, 1489. But he did not employ their artists or participate in the wave of illustrated publication that followed. Instead, he later found his niche in academthe
same year
ic texts.
in
In this Bible he provides a
woodcuts
that detail the text
-
number of explanatory, Moses or
the breastplate of
rather than narrative,
the
encampment of
the twelve tribes of Israel for example, or, as here, Noah's ark, displaying
14.
pop-
its
man.
ulation in cut-away view, a carefully layered hierarchy topped by
meditatione sopra la passion del nostro signore jesu christo Venice: Matteo Capcasafor Luc Antonio Giunta, 1492
st.Bonaventure
EVOTE
In 1487
from
a
made
printers issued an edition of this
two Venetian
blockbook. Capcasa then produced the
for a printed edition of
bly by the
it
when he employed
woodcutter of the Malermi Bible,
1489-90, which he used again in four is
the third.
There was
also
first set
more
work with woodcuts of woodcuts
a suite
in his edition
expressly-
of woodcuts, probaof 27 February,
editions before 1494, of
another suite of woodcuts for
this text
which
Benalio alone and in association with Capcasa. Both of these printers, the
unknown
artist
of these
cuts,
this
used by as well as
were associated with Luc Antonio Giunta
in
these years. This stunning image of the flagellation of Christ shows the visual qualities that the artist
the year after
making
complete picture tight
and
'Biblia
Malermi Bible
popular tradition,
by the narrative order of the
and individualized
Venice:
Italian translation
of three from the Giunta the
in the
earlier
figures
endowed with
a
text;
affecting
details.
vulgare istoriata
ally called
advanced form
imagery derived from an
in a small space, organized
This edition of the first
to put into an
active composition;
and expressive 15.
was
these:
Malermi
cycle,
illustration, establishing a style
G.Ragazzojvr Luc Antonio Giunta.,1490
of the Bible by Niccolo Malermi was the
of 384 woodcuts vignettes, generprofound influence on the history ot book
press. Its series
had
a
used extensively in
ing half-century and permanently re-defining
woodcuts
are elegant
brilliantly
composed
Italian
book
books for the succeed-
illustration.
The
and beautiful renderings ot devotional scenes scenes. Their grace
and charm stem
in large
series
of
in small,
measure trom
the use of devotional imagery and the traditional woodcutting techniques of religious prints. Traditionally attributed to the "Popular Designer," Dr. Lilian
Armstrong has very recently attempted illuminator 16.
<$iblia
known
as
to identify the artist as an important
the "Maestro di Pico."
vulgar historiata
Venice: ["de
Anima Mia"]
After Giunta's second edition of the illustrated printer generally
known
as
,
149}
Malermi Bible
in July 1492, the
"de Anima Mia" published Malermi's
Italian
Bible
with 433 woodcut vignettes modelled on those used by Giunta. There were however distinct stylistic differences, as a result of which the artist or atelier, perhaps influenced by Mantegna,
more
called the "Classical Designer." The figures are
is
statuesque, robed in flowing classical draperies; there
is less
detail
of figures
and background; and the intimate charm of the Giunta series has been replaced bv less vivid and more rigid arrangements of iconography. It is in this series that the beginning of classicism in woodcut, and later in engraved,
book
illustration.
Thus, the "popular" woodcuts of the Giunta editions and the "classical" wood-
of the de Anima Mia edition of the Malermi Bible stand
cuts tic
poles of the format of
book
illustration
invented in
this
as
the twin
period
stylis-
as its
influence developed over the next century.
17.
Biblia
The
cum tabula
scenes
Venice: Simon Bevilacqua, 1498
- Abdias on the
are rich in detail, set off
left-side verso
and Jonah on the right-side recto -
by white space, created by controlled shading and
flecking. All the cuts in this edition are copied
18.
from those of the Malermi Bible.
Quatuor primum approbatas religiosis quibusque VIVENDI REGULAS ...S.'BENEDICTI, S.'BASILII, S. AUGUSTINI ET S. trancisci Venice:Johann Emmerich of Speyerfor Luc Antonio Giunta, 1500 EBresciano (ed.)
St.
Benedict
is
tured image of
here flanked by
God
in the
Placidus and
St.
St.
Maurus, with
heavens above them and
a
a richly tex-
crowd of small monks
in
pious worship below. These outline portraits have been enhanced visually by the complexities of drapery', especially in the nls
a
quotation
bottom providing
.1
motto
press text at the
image Thus the old portrait of the fully tit
St.
monks
of the divinity; textuallv. by
below, and by the hatched
in
xylographic text and by letter-
for devotional contemplation of the
saint has
been enriched
visually
and more
incorporated into the printed book. The book also has two paired portraits Benedict and
St. Justine,
the second in the small
the
Malermi
first a
style,
large tr.ulition.il devotional
image and
thus representing the same image
in
two
historic ally adjacent styles.
19.
Dante Alighieri I
his
COM edia
Venice: B. Benalio
and Matteo Capcasa,
1491
medieval image of the spheres of heaven has here been imported from
ditional
woodcut imagery
into
a
printed literary text.
It
is
presented
tra-
in the small
column-width woodcuts pioneered tation
Thus
is
completed by the
it is
figures
in the
period of
this publication.
of Dante and Beatrice
The
adap-
upper corners.
in the
both an image of bliss for religious meditation and an informative
illustration
20. St. Johannes
of a printed
text.
Climacus <j>chala
This woodcut
is
taradisi
Bonaventure's Devote Meditationi.
Renaissance
Its
St.
very beautiful design combines the refined
of Venetian woodcutting with the atmosphere of single-leaf
style
woodcuts of the
Venice: Matteo Capcasa, 1491
repeated by Capcasa from his joint edition with Benalio of
last
half of the century; furthermore,
Malermi
into the small rectangular format of the
it
has essentialized
style cuts. Its
charm
all
this
is
enhanced by the small space within which so much elegant architectural and
background 21.
detail
is
easily
rendered and arranged.
'Processionarium ordinis fratrum predicatorum
Venice: Johann
Emerich for Luc Antonio Giunta, 1494
This cosmic hierarchy a
is
not
a theological
or philosophical statement but rather
popular image, the sort of cosmology that lived in the oral traditions of the
common
devout
in Italy.
It
portrays the direct line of inspiration from
God
in
mind of Jesus and thence in books to the religious below. Throughout this book small woodcuts skillfully executed in the Malermi style provide clear images for the meditation of those reading the liturgy, some of whom are porthe
trayed in a fine cut of a religious procession into a rural monastery. 22. St. Jerome (attributed)
'Vite de sancti padri hystoriate
Venice: Francesco
Bindoni and Majfeo Pasini, 1532
The
several editions
of
this
popular
lives
of the
saints chiefly
employ woodcuts
used in the editions printed by Ragazzo in 1491 and by Capcasa in 1493, both for
Luc Antonio Giunta. Some
Ragazzo tions ness,
for
Giunta
of spiritual
and
life
sacrifice.
in
are
woodcuts from the
1490. These column-width
and
travail, full
life
intimately
giving alms, another making
a
—
of a deeply
combination of factors
book 23.
felt
this style
this scene in the piazza shows
purchase
at a
shop, and a
This combination of charm and devotional power for readers
drawn depic-
of the images of demons, temptation, holi-
This cut also shows the singular power of
cutting to depict daily
by
Biblia Italica printed
cuts are finely
woman
made them
religious text. They are a perfect
in the invention
of wood-
one man
preparing
effective
fish.
images
example of the
and success of the Malermi
style
of
illustration.
:Horae in laudem beatiss/virginis This small devotional woodcut
is
Florence: Ftlippo Giunta, 1520
Venetian, rather than Florentine, in style and
perhaps came to Filippo through his brother Luc Antonio.
Malermi format, of the kind of
in the small
on the wings of a dove
heavens sending the Holy Spirit
room opening
to
God
in the
Mary, seated in
a
to an exterior.
'JUetamorphoseos volgare
Ovid
a perfect picture,
format of early single-leaf woodcuts, with the image of
in the larger
24.
It is
scene that probably appeared widely
Venice:
Akssandw Bindonifor Luc Antonio
Giunta, 1508
This
from the marvelous
is
ers, this
on
cut
is
of woodcuts Luc Antonio Giunta introduced
suite
of Ovid's Metamorphoses of 10 April, 1497. Unlike most of the oth-
in his edition
black ground,
a
terrain differentiated into the parts
its
allowing the figures in white to stand out boldly
story,
with the
of the
artist's
crisp lines, give the
woodcut
its
poetry with
power
dramatic quality. This
drama and
a
make
to
it.
a
Such an image
on
focus the reader's meditations St.
Bonaventure
Majfto
The
Malermi
of the text
fixes the reader's attention
biblical
as
much
as
as
it
was
in
and involves
his
other woodcuts
and devotional stones.
'.Ueditationi devotissime
of woodcuts
Venice: Francesco Bindoni
and
Compared
proportions.
style
edition portray this traditional medieval cycle in
in this
to the earlier versions, the increased
sophistication of composition and hatching in central figure a
.is
body. In
and
a richer texture.
strong action,
all
as
The
the figures
this cuts lends
brightness to
its
deposition of Christ from the cross
m
groups by
is
his side reach across to his
mark
the cuts of the series in this volume, these strong lines
influence ot the popular 26.
one
Pasini, 1537
series
shown
along
artist,
picture that illustrates Ovid's
detail as nearly equal to those
imagination in a story from pagan antiquity quite
25.
of the
figures,
or atelier attached to Giunta and associated printers in Venice in
circle
the 1490's. has used these techniques to create
his
The white
the
style.
del'humana 'REDENTIone
Valcrwda Bologna '.AfiSTERio
Venice: Niccolo
Zoppino, 1534 I
he Malermi style
sion
of Christ
is
seen
m
that decorate
the cycles of
woodcut scenes of the
life
and pas-
even humble works of vernacular devotional poetry
a number of these in the [520's and [530's that were illuswoodblocks probably ot single origin. The artist was especially adept usmg white space to create son of glow around sanctified persons and at
Zoppino published trated with at
h. in
.1
hme
:
i
image was powerful enough onto Christ
m
brought the picture
that also
to
his flagellation
induce
1
alive.
1
[ere the devotional
readei to interact with
and reddening
his
robes
in
it.
adding blood
the second scene.
27.
1IBRI 'PONTIFICALIS SECUNDUM RITUM & USUM SANCTE ECCLESIE Venice: Luc Antonio Giunta, 1520
One
of the many splendid
by
seemingly endless stream of woodcut images. These grew and changed in
a
from the
style
liturgical
early 1490's, but they
relation to the text,
esting series of
first
books which Giunta was able
of rituals. Here
this series
make
an inter-
is
we
see the laying of the
the appropriation for the costs; a band of
prepared to execute the subsequent
marking and beautifying the (AflSSALE
In this edition there
woodcuts representing the construction and consecration of a
stone while the bishop
priests are
to decorate
maintained the same small format, intimate
and beautiful workmanship.
church, preserving in detail
28.
ROMANE
rituals;
and vignettes and
initials
texts for the pictured events.
SECUNDUM sancti AMBROSii
Milan: Giovanni Angelo Scinzenzeler
for Giovanni Giacomo Lengano and brothers, 1522 This edition presents the Milanese
ous
Italian
of the mass
rite
in
one of the most sumptu-
books of the period. This opening exemplifies
its
intense decorative
scheme. The printer had numerous kinds of woodcuts and ways of using them at his disposal to illustrate
and enhance the
text.
These include the giant
Annunciation, which shows trans-Alpine influence; ten text tional cuts
developed
in the
Malermi
cent of predellas; three borders; a
29.
dense array of imagery for
CMissale
homanum
This opening presents in ed:
woodcuts and
large cuts
show
a
cuts, small
devo-
pattern; horizontal strip vignettes reminis-
head-piece; and vignette
initials.
These provide
this special sacred text.
Venice: Luc Antonio Giunta, 1509
summary
the
texts are intimately
way
mixed
in
which the
physically
entire
book
is
illustrat-
and thematically; the
the great refinement of the old devotional woodcutting tech-
nique developed through the demands of printers and their market over two decades of practice, especially by sophisticated use of simple shading devices; the
mnemonic comimages from the med-
use of printed shoulder notes in line with replacement of the old
devices by textual documentation; and a sensuously attractive appearance,
bining rich decoration, such itative tradition.
30.
This
is
how
as
the large
the mature
initial,
with small
Malermi
cWcMetamorphoseos vulgare
style illustrated service
books.
Venice: Christoforo da Pensafor Luc
Antonio Giunta, 1501
This edition
is
lished in 1497, tions.
Its
the
first
which
re-impression of the magnificent woodcuts Giunta pub-
inspired virtually
marvelous woodcuts are
all
the subsequent Italian illustrated edi-
like a vast cycle
of miniature frescoes on
Ovidian themes. This scene of Ulysses and the giant Polyphemus shows the
unique individual open-work
of the
style
series,
its
perfection of line, fine sense
of perspective and distance, and appealing and involving narrative.
monogram
"la", a
signed
It is
appearing in numerous book woodcuts from various printers
from 1497 on. 31.
CMetamorphoses
Ovid
In this
the original figure
—
Ovid'lE
1
501 editions, the
The scene
has disappeared.
artist
comparison with
its
metamorphosi
hand and
has lost Ulysses as
The whole composition
the hero has shrunk.
detailed in
31.
Venice: Giovanni Tacuino, 1333
copy of the cut from the 1497 and
is
its
of
style
dominant
more cramped and
less
model.
Venice: Bernardino di Bindoni, 1538
copy of the 1533 version or of some other version of the original cut o( 1497 and 1501. As a copy of a copy it shows an increased crudeness of portraiture; thick, clumsy, and even unnecessary detail; worsened
This woodcut
labelling;
attributes
and
a
is
of woodcuts
the image illustrates sibility to
ments of 33.
Livy
'
The
in the
popular press
work of
a
in the
succeeding
years.
Latin literature, applying a naive
and
Nonetheless, tolkish sen-
an original influenced by Mantegna and other painters and
Renaissance
Italian
Decades style
move-
art.
Venice: Filippo Vincio for Luc Antonio Giunta, 1495
of Livy printed by Giunta are one of the great bodies
illustrated editions
Malermi
of balance and refinement. These are some ot the
a general lack
woodcuts he published. They
in quite fresh state. They
may be
and were closely copied see the story-telling
for
seen rather deteriorated
Pans edition
a
appeared
first
power of the
style. In
in
111
[533. In these
ot
1493 and are here
in
the later editions
two
cuts
one can
both, the figures are set orl by careful
in the cut on the left-side verso, by division between two groups, one with many persons and the other solitary; by contrast, on the right side recto, bv centering the principal figure. Hoth woodcuts employ a
systems of composition:
diagonal line of action to 34.
Livy
Decades
In this small
Giovanni & Bernardino
Venice:
woodcut two armies
together, as their lances
merge
m
mat gives drama ami point to
toi
memorable
ing
a
urn
>di
uts in this
others
made
lot
im); hut this
used
m
(
pit
Vercellensisfor
are seen locked
m
Punic Wars.
Luc Antonio Giunta, 1506
battle
this
are taken
ut I
is
ivy
new ot
i
I
he small
simple hut strong image, successfully creat
Some
ol the
from Giunta 's Malermi Bible; Giunta had a
similar Style (with
to this edition. repla< ing 193
locked
literally
the middle space ol their conflict.
ivy by an artist in
1
woodi
liunta's first
ot the
ture of the text tor the reader's imagination.
volume the
sweep and action
illustrate the
and again
i (
.
in
1
(.95.
a
a
different
more
statu
monoimage
35-
Tpistole
Ovid
Venice: [no printer], 1337
This one woodcut includes three scenes that
These scenes narrate the story of the conforms
The it. Thus
form.
tive visual
to
of cuts
entire suite
the story of Paris and Enone.
tell
and
text
the same time give
at
organized by the text
is
the story-telling, shape, and beauty of the
it
it
a
decora-
and
illustrates
Malermi
style
provides a cycle of imagery for the love stories of Ovid. 36.
Tpistolae heroides
Ovid
This suite of woodcuts
and
first
are attributed to the artist
works. Like the others of the
&
Parma: Ottaviano Sallado
appeared
in a
Francesco Ugoleto, 1317
Venetian edition byTacuino
of woodcuts used
in
in
1501
both devotional and secular
of the story of Cydippa's unre-
series, this picture
quited love for Acontius narrates the story in three distinct and informative scenes.
The
with only broad
figures are statuesque
the cycle with clarity.
The background of this
representing a part of
details,
scene has been quickened by
a
manuscript imitation of the woodcutter's surface texturing technique. 37.
Cicero
Ambition, Cicero
of a
Venice: Giovanni Tacuino, 1514
says,
series picturing
is
altogether the most miserable thing. This woodcut, one
moral duties and conditions,
unhappiness caused by ambitious
Malermi format
cation of the
ot
desires.
is
of emblem of the
a sort
The whole
woodcuts, executed
series
is
an effective appli-
in a classicized style, to the
representation of abstractions. Tacuino introduced these woodcuts in his 1506 edition of this text. 38.
Ovid 'I P
I
STO le H E RO D ES I
Venice: Giovanni Tacuino, 1301
This title-page symbolizes the juncture of the classical texts.
up-dated by
Above, the traditional image of
labels
naming
joined to introduce an the
39.
work were copied
Aesop This in
is
in the style associated in
figures
The
suite
style
putti, dolphins,
placed
at the
and gryphons.
head of the
his
di
Anima," printed
with very simple texture
with large heads and short bodies. Aesop
is
illustrating
editions.
with "Master of the Specchio
1497-1498, an expressive outline
This image
humanistic scene are
a
of woodcuts
Turin: Francesco da Silva, 130S
wandering poet, whereas the scholar writing ture.
is
this edition.
devotional image, Christ with
devotional scene and
number of subsequent
[AESOPUS MORALISATUS]
Milan
and
a
illustrated classical text. in a
commentators of
this a traditional
lamb of Cod. Thus
of religious imagery with
teacher instructing his pupils
these scholars as the
Below, the printer has added to his staff as the
style a
is
words
lines
strikingly portrayed as a sits
text, tied to
it
within
by
a
firm struc-
a playful
border of
40. St. Francis of Assist '1 a
dei Libri for Piero
(
In the Florentine
regola del terzo ordine.
Pasini) da Pescia,
manner, the
devotion bv placing
works,
41.
in the
Savonarola
and the town
side
Filipo da
Jacopo
Bergamo
artist's tools. In
and
tracts,
was consistent over
in
Florence: Bartolomeo
and passionate image of
in the
open space on the
are sparsely detailed; rather,
the great illustrated literary
other works such
as this,
the Florentine
period of many decades.
a
De Claris mulieribus
This printer issued several great illustrated
woodcuts
width text cuts that became popular
in the 1490's,
very successful
opening,
style. In this first text
Ferrara: Lorenzo di Rossi, 1497
books within the space of a few years
fifteenth century. The
end of the
just before the
.
standing, in the center, contrasted with the black
Both these and the foreground vegetation
color and composition are the
style
has created a strong
artist
St. Francis,
ground of the mountain on one other.
.
1497-1499
c.
we
column-
are the
executed
in a distinct
both pages reminiscent of illuminated manuscripts, enclosing on the verso
a
panel of six scenes from the
days of creation portrayed in Giunta's
Malermi
a
life
similar
Bible: this style of
42.
Jacob Gualla 'Papie
The by
series of
arrangement
than Job,
combine
saints
whose
has succeeded in
making
reader's attentive
when
figures, fighting us.
The
established by details I
probably derived from altar.
Pavia:Jacopo da Burgojranco, 1505
include two from the Ferrarese editions
distinctively Pavian artist or atelier.
made
clear
enough
to call for
The
— none more
our
pity.
The
so
artist
traditional devotional image, concentrated into the
Malermi
style, tell
the story of |ob and efficiently secure the
Opera nova
Venice: Niccolo Zoppino, 1531
many woodcut book illustrations printed in the decades soowe can see distinctive individual as well as In this cut, from a series illustrating the martial arts, we see the 1
this style flourished,
regional hands.
pose tor
is
churches near the
and sympathetic response.
Antomo Manciolino In sonic of the
a
.1
111
six
the corresponding pages of
realism with an emotional appeal
sufferings are
small format of the
[540
this edition
111
Rossi but are mostly from
di
images of the
4}.
sanctuarium
woodcuts
left-side
of the Virgin Mary. These echo the
manner on
paintings narrating biblical stories used
and
see the elaborate border to
a
with swords, are exquisitely modelled and indeed seem almost to house, the fencing, and the other elements that tidy
and
1
ontn
tiled
and functional hatching. These brmg out the action
he printei also employed
a
set
the scene are
hand, very deliberately employing
very old devotional
sele< ted
ot the central figures.
woodcut on
the
last
verso.
44-
Bartholomew Laurarius
^REFUGIUM ADVOCATORUM
Venice: Bernardino
Benalio, 1516
This representation of the flagellation of Christ, distinctive composition, suggests
German
nonetheless draws from the developed
employed by an ly
employed
laid
4$.
artist
of individual
of Venetian woodcutting
inspiration. faces,
and
artist,
but
as
Hatching and shading
are liberal-
and the picture has been cleverly
out with the aim of powerfully and quickly involving the reader's attention.
CMissale imonasticum
The
skills
and emotive
to render clear
in perspective
influence on, or perhaps origin of, the
Venice:
Luc Antonio Giunta, 1506
scene of the assumption of the Virgin
Mary
an intimate and emotional interpretation of a
emblematic elements, such
as
is
a fine,
classic
personalized woodcut,
devotional image. There are
the symbols of mortality, an unusual and intrigu-
ing composition, and a picture of a cosmic hierarchy possibly reflecting popular interesting to note that the edition also uses
belief. It
is
take the
form
46. Plutarch
In this
work
woodcuts
of old devotional
the
Venice: Melchiorre Sessa artist
in a variety
woodcut
initials that
of styles.
& pietro de Ravanis, 1516
has enlarged the format of his block and joined imagery
from the popular imagination
to a formal style, influenced
by Mantegna and
contemporary Venetian painting. 47. Isidoro Isolani
'Inexplicabilis mysterii gesta beatae -veronicae
Milan: Gotardo da Ponte, 1518
A
powerful series of woodcuts depicting visions
the visions of
St. Veronica.
This
is
is
found
in this description
the largest cut, used twice.
A
series
of
of smaller
woodcuts depict her concourse with angels and some of the things they showed her. This is what the readers of this book believed heavenly visions looked like, in so far as the
48.
Joachim ofFiore
The
woodblock could convey
Txpositio He
was
Venice: Bernardino Benalio, after 4 April 1516
a mystic
important work largely depict
many
faces,
swarms of black
ing battles are
more
among
these.
persistent hatching
create greater contrast
Dante Alighieri
The
and grandeur.
apocolyptic and anti-ecclesiastical visions of Joachim of Fiore had a great
following in Venice.
49.
their size
and
his visions.
birds
The
a millenialist,
and snakes,
artist,
and the cuts
Strange hybrid creatures, a fire-breathing Jesus,
in this
demons with and harrow-
under the monogram ".M.", employed
and shading than
in other Venetian cuts
of the period to
and drama within the framework ofVenetian outline
Comedia
style.
Venice:Jacopo del Burgofrancofor Luc Antonio Giunta,i529
blocks used for this edition are those used by Benalio and Capcasa in 1491.
19
They were employed by Zanni up the
Inferno,
a
illustrates
Dianora. The
den
decamerone
artist
in
January "a garden
which Ansaldo has in which to seduce
May"
as in
has given us, in this very small space, a clear rendering of the
his use
of strong hatching
showing the transformation of a
arbor. In the end,
lines.
The
Dianora s husband
lets
moves from
story
fireplace in the
house into
descend from woodcuts by the Malermi [Leo Archipmbyter, trans. Jacopo di Carlo]
Comino de
artist
Alex Andrew a
from India to Europe since
—
magician. This
the earliest extant edition of the
He
is
is
displayed
rior so
immense
a large
horse and indeed
as to
on the
subdue the background described
is
[Noplace, no printer,
c.
Florentine
book
pikes are pitched; are
and she
is
romance of his minuscule
to
first
appeared
size.
as
well as
c.
1495 has
all
men.
the qualities that
Dianora at
the
the center of groups of
is
in
motion, swept along
same angle
at
which
men. monks and
there arc tear and danger in
'Ragionamento del terremoto
.1
world no
woman
their
soldiers,
robbing her of what she holds dearest. Beyond the strong walk
home
war-
He commands
heightened by hand-coloring: unpreten-
her hair pulled back
at
in Italian
life
style, as a
tolita -buondelmonti: -dianora
illustration great,
soldiers,
Alexander the
his death,
king, warrior, philosopher, and
having battled animals
as
riousness, concise story-telling, dramatic action.
by the march of the
family
Venice:
1540]
This reversed version of a cut that
who
rima
in
rendered in the Lombard
title,
Leon Batista Alberti 'JiiSTOKi a di
made
in turn
a related atelier.
man of supernatural power
DE -BARDI
53.
or
Luere, 1512
In the popular imagination
Si.
to
her go to Ansaldo. The woodcuts
Great has been a
ottava rima.
left
a spring gar-
of this edition are copies of those in Zanni s Venetian editions, which
51.
ended
scene from
Florence: Filippo Giunta, 1516
the fourth story from the ninth day, in
magician to create
magic garden by right,
blocks,
a horrific
—
Giovanni Boccaccio 1L
This cut asked
many
at last, like so
deeds in living memory.
historical
50.
and
which the heads of traitors are left severed upon a field overlooked clearly a popular image of the moral judgment of the actors of
in
by monsters
in 1507
of Luc Antonio Giunta. This cut portrays
in the presses
of the
could control.
Naples: Giovanni Sulzbach, 1550
Since woodblocks were easily and cheaply prepared they were often used to illustrate brief newsletters,
to the
news report
I
where
their directness
he thick, rough lines of
this
could add
a
an earthquake, which tosses whole towns on land roiling like
while
a vol<
ano heh
lies fire.
I
he
1
ut
sensational picture
woodcut express a
the terror oi
stormy
informs us which town were
sea,
affe< ted,
but
at
the same time
it
which geological
portrays the unopposable force with
dis-
turbances control the territory in which they occur. 54. Filippo
Calandri
Florence:
Bernardo Zucchetta, 1518 Italian
woodcut book
practical arithmetic
and other quotidian surements of the
of a
This work of
life.
with woodcut images of contemporary the four small scenes seen here,
activities. In
size
of daily
illustration often portrays scenes
is filled
crafts, trade,
we
mea-
see
wall, the depth of a well, the volume of a chest, and
the capacity of a sack. These and the other woodcuts provide intimate glimpses into the basic tasks of
wine 55.
—
Justinian
I
the
—
building a house, getting water, providing grain and
Institutiones imperiales
In this legal text, at
life
in a simpler age long ago and far away.
where
window of a
Venice: Ottaviano Scoto, 1522
discusses business law,
it
dock-side
which he
stall at
we
have
of a merchant
a picture
Contrasting patterns
trades.
in
the background emphasize the meeting of land and waterway that was the
linchpin of so
much
trade.
The
other cuts in
this edition
the problem arising if one has killed a pauper's horse or
of inheritance symbolized by 56.
Antonio Cornazzano
The woodcut
man
pictures in this edition are
man was known
the questions
in his death-bed.
Venice: Niccolo Zoppino, 1535
employed
to give a vivid
and
as a particularly fine
"braided cord" (given
as
dancer because
if
he favors
"bodkin" by the English
a lady
same lady
attracting the
until she discovered that his
than that of the good dancer
—
punished him by shouting to ing him, and giving
rise to a
Giovanni Antonio Tagliente Venice: Giovanni Antonio
A
her
women
attention the dancer gained by this favor, having previously failed with
her himself, and then disguised himself as the good dancer.
57.
he puts
translator), in
hand while they dance. Another man became jealous of one of the
whose
intelligi-
of popular proverbs. In Pavia one handsome young
ble sense to the explanations
his cordone, a
a
portray such things as
cow and
it is,
all,
succeeded in beast",
the text says, but one-tenth the
"This
isn't
it!
This
size.
is littler
The
lady
not he!", utterly humiliat-
is
popular expression that was
'Tsemplario nuovo.
and
He
bestiolo, "little
.
.
a
double entendre.
a raccamare.
.
..
the brothers de Sabbio, 1530
pre-printed grid, produced by woodblock, was a useful tool that a printer
could provide in the sixteenth century, for workers and craftsmen doing any kind
—from land
of measuring
to lace stitches. In lace pattern
books
(see also
numbers
58—62), designs were often marked on grid by dots or crosses in the boxes creat-
ed by the intersection of grid
lines.
These
are
sometimes found today pricked
2
with pin-holes or with the designed area enhanced by shading the marked boxes with >8.
dark wash.
a
'RACCOLTA DE TUTTI Alessamiro Paganino,
c.
RITRATTI & DISEGNI DI RICCHAMI
I
1532
39.
Convivio DELLE belle donne
60.
Tsemplario
61.
Corona
62.
'IESemplario di lavori
63.
Ovuf
The
di
Venice: Giorgio deRusconi, 1517
a tradition
of primarily woodcut imagery
readers of the day.
naturally
It
for example, the 1497
porcelain.
Here, someone
woodcut and
lance, in the
Vitruvius
had
a
that, lasting until the
woodcuts were widely used
has traced the
margin. Whether
is
the
main
hand
is
lines
details,
that
Illustrated editions
as
models
of parts of the such
of an
here seen shaping the visual sense ot
architettura
common
to
widespread influence on decorative
copied the outlines of some
also
woodcut image 64.
Venice: Niccold Zoppino, 1529
of the sixteenth century, defined the vision of Ovid's scenes
—
of a
Venice: Giovanni Andrea Vavassore,iS32
illustrated editions of Ovid's Metamorphoses, beginning with the Giunta edition
many arts
Venice: Niccold Zoppino, \33
Venice: Giovanni Andrea Vavassore,c. 1520
'.metamorphosis
of 1497, constitute
end
lavori
ricammi
di
ToSCoknOl
a
as
artist
in
French
figures in the
shoes and the point or a reader, this
contemporary.
Venice: Niccold Zoppino, 1535
ofVitruvius provided instructional images that show
build different structures, measure spaces, pour cement, etc.
An
how
to
eighteenth-cen-
tury architectural student not only copiously annotated this book, supplying
legends to the floor-plans, but has used his copy
column
capital.
two centuries 63.
copy-book, imitating
as a
This woodcut continued to serve
as a
pattern for design
this
some
after publication.
EgidioCarisioCACCiA
amorosa enigmata
Bologna: Hieronymo deBenedetti,
1520 I
he woodcut shows
of many of the regional schools
Lombard
line.
These are
smoothly blended
Furthermore, the figures are so posed traiture.
ot the
the black ground of the Horcntine, the Venetian outline
decades strong
traits
I
heir elegance
marks
.1
as to
refinement
woodcutting's capacity to match.
seem
m to
an advanced
previous style,
the
Style.
be more emblems than por
in taste that
eventually grew beyond
66. Virgtll
primi libri del-eneide
SEI
Zoppino
first
used these vignettes in
and thinner
lines
a transitional style
his edition
were used
lines than
from the
Venice: Niccolo Zoppino, 1530
of 1528. They employ more
in the earlier Venetian style
and represent
fundamentals of the earlier period to the
stylistic
classicism that followed.
67. Cicero (trans.
Antonio Brucioli) 7l
Everything rough, folkish, and
woodcut.
It
sogno
background of thin
faces, against a refined
which
Venice: [no printer] ,1532
been pruned from the
style
of
this
portrays the classical image of the three Fates, with softly detailed
presented without surface texture. text,
scipione
di
spiritual has
is
It
This allegorical image
vertical lines.
is
symbolically represents the subject of the
destiny, rather than illustrating
neither inspirational nor memorial and
is
its
a fine
action. Thus
it is
example of the
didactic
and
classicized,
non-
regional style of later woodcutting. 68.
Johannes Maria Velmatius
"Vet eri et novi testamenti opus singulare
Venice: [no printer], 1538
The woodcuts
in this
book
use classical imagery to
example, the angel expelling
Adam
Bible stories. Here, for
tell
and Eve from Paradise
cut even introduces Ovid, Virgil, and Dido; another
a Fury.
is
One wood-
marvelous neo-classical
a
is
imitation of the famous depiction of the six days of the creation in the
Bible of al
1
49 1. The printer
also
mixed
number of older
a
Malermi
blocks in the tradition-
devotional style along with these newer woodcuts.
69. Benedetto
The
Bordoni 'Zsolario Venice: Niccolo Zoppino, 1534
limits to the graphic display
maps
in this
of information by woodcut
are apparent in the
volume, despite their crisp beauty: unclear directions, inexact
labelling,
and lack of close
woodcut
lines also limited the potential
detail in shorelines
and other
areas.
of grids. Any attempt
The to
thickness of
add more data
degrades the legibility of the map. 70. Stefano
The
Vanneo
'Recanetum de musica aurea
increasing strain that technical illustration put
Rome:Valerio Dorico,is33
on the woodcut medium
is
of the complex relationships of
also evident in these graphic representations
sounds. Woodcuts could provide clear images and even symbols but not large
amounts of technical information. The for clear presentation
intricate spatial
of data, capable of easy reference,
arrangements required are entirely different
from the imagery used to narrate the action of a text or to symbolize general concepts. While the role of the
woodcut
as a
locus of meditation in the
medieval manner decreased, the increasing role of the book
and
text required a
more
precise illustrative
medium
as
the locus of data
than the woodcut.
71.
Johannes Franciscus Burana
7nterpretatio
aristotelis resolutorios
(et) expositio in priores
Venice: Ottaviano Scoto, 1536
Scoto specialized in academic texts and shows here text
and image in order to
illustrate
a
notable
skill
in
interweaving
the text. The annotations, both in the printed
and on a slip pasted onto one of them, demonstrate both the utility of the woodcut diagrams and the difficulties of picturing the concepts of the text.
leaves
72.
Diogenes Laertius
1/lTE DE PHILOSOPHIE MORALISSIME
Venice: [no printer] ,1535
These portraits of Cato, Curio, and Scipio are standardized images with crude and cumbersome shading and background. In them, and
portraiture
portraits in this edition,
assumed
we
in popular pamphlets,
marked
it
in the
The
style has lost the
decades
when
the ideas of great draughtsmen and woodcutters and ers enabled their work by commissioning them to literary,
and
naive style
scientific as well as
we
see here
became
other
it
ephemera, burlesques, and sacred and secular
tales over the subsequent three centuries.
aesthetic impulse that
in the
can see the woodcut already taking the form
its
refinement and
practitioners adopted
when
illustrate
printers
and publish-
important
liturgical,
popular books. Instead, the rough, simple, and
of illustration
a style
rather than of the development of fine
r
art.
reflective
of popular
taste
