Offiziolo Alfonsino. Alfonso I d Este s Book of Hours.

Transcription

1 Offiziolo Alfonsino Alfonso I d Este s Book of Hours A

2 The last really extraordinary creation of the Ferrarese illuminators This codex, known as the last really extraordinary creation of the Ferrarese illuminators, was commissioned by Duke Alfonso I to Matteo da Milano. It belonged to the Modena Library until 1859, when it was taken away by the Estense along with the Bible of Borso and the Breviary of Ercole d Este, which together made up a trilogy of illuminated masterpieces of the highest excellence and conserved as patrimony of the House of Austria-Este in exile in Vienna. The body of the manuscript, without the 14 detached illuminations of Zagreb, was bought by the Armenian collector Gulbenkian for his Foundation, now in Lisbon.

3 The illuminator Matteo da Milano was the most talented illuminator in the court of Ferrara at the beginning of the 16 th century, author of the last materpieces for the Estense family. Appreciated disciple of Bramante and Birago in the court of Ludovic the Moor in Milan, in 1502 he was invited to Ferrara to illuminate the Breviary of Ercole, then Alfonso d Este s Book of Hours and Cardinal Ippolito s Missal. In Ferrara he completed his Lombard studies getting in contact with the artists who worked for Leonello and Borso; he studied also Dürer s new style and became the main illuminator using a new and more modern language. Leading artist of the last golden age of illumination, he created masterpieces of extraordinary value and can be placed on the same level as the French and Flemish illuminators.

4 Alfonso I d'este Alfonso d Este (Ferrara ), son of Ercole and Eleonor of Aragon, dukes of Ferrara, is the first son of a generation that will be leading in Italy at the beginning of the 16th century.

5 His marriages reflect precise diplomatic choices: in 1491 he marries Anna Sforza to strengthen the alliance with the dukes of Milan. Then, in 1502, to obtain the benevolence of pope Alexander VI, he marries Lucrezia Borgia. In 1506 he becomes the third duke of Ferrara. Fiery and controversial, good commander and clever politician, always in contrast with the pope claiming rights of succession on Ferrara, he gains the support of France and of the emperor Charles V. Though not very disposed to studies and culture, he acts in order to keep for his duchy the traditional role of artistic and cultural pole of attraction in Europe that his ancestors gave to Ferrara.

6 The manuscript lluminated manuscript on parchment, dated between 1505 and 1510, cm (6.69 x in), made up of 199 folios. The first 12 are dedicated to the calendar, 29 completely illuminated, with border, coat of arms, text and initials, 10 show small illuminations, while all the text, in lower case Gothic script with regular characters, is decorated with gold initials. The 14 folios detached from the original codex and now kept in Zagreb are without the external border but have illuminated framed boxes in the centre. The binding is based on that of the Lisbon fragment, in Russian calfskin with gold frames on the sides and spine, dating back to the 18th century.

7 Fine Art Facsimile Edition The codex is presented in its original entirety. This facsimile edition was sponsored by the Italian Ministry of Culture and coordinated by the Estense Library in Modena, who intended to reconstruct, at least virtually, this antique heritage. This is a world exclusive limited edition of 999 numbered copies, printed with 8 colours and two kinds of gold. The gold framed red leather binding is the same as the original in Lisbon. The commentary volume includes the unabridged transcription of the manuscript, and essays by E. Milano, S. Cvetnic, M. Fidalgo, P. Di Pietro Lombardi and G. Malacarne.

8 A complete reproduction of the manuscript L.A.149 (Museu Calouste Gulbenkian - Lisbon) and 14 detached folios (nn ; Strossmayerova Galerija - Zagreb) A 199 folios; cm (6.69 x in), bound entirely by hand A The 288 pages commentary volume is in Italian, with abstracts in German and English (in preparation) Colophon

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