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Book/Printed Material Bucolics, Georgics, and the Aeneid. Bucolicon, Georgicon, Aeneis

About this Item

Title

  • Bucolics, Georgics, and the Aeneid.

Other Title

  • Bucolicon, Georgicon, Aeneis

Summary

  • This 15th-century manuscript, known as the Riccardiana Virgil, includes the texts of the three extant works of the great Roman poet Virgil, the Bucolics, the Georgics, and the Aeneid, and contains 88 miniature paintings in the lower margin of many of the vellum leaves. The miniatures, 86 in the Aeneid and one each in the Bucolics and the Georgics, are attributed to Florentine artist Apollonio di Giovanni and his workshop. Those illustrating the story of Aeneas reflect the influence of Benozzo Gozzoli, who in 1459 completed a suite of frescos in the Chapel of the Magi in the Palazzo Medici Riccardi in Florence. The influence of contemporary events, notably the Council of Florence in 1439 (in which a large Greek delegation worked with Western prelates to try to resolve doctrinal differences and end the schism between Eastern orthodoxy and Rome) and the fall of Byzantium in 1453, can be seen in the miniature paintings, especially in the oriental costumes of many of the figures represented in the Aeneid. These richly rendered vestments highlighted in gold, purple and red, set against the architectural background of the city of Florence, produce some of the most beautiful illuminations of the period. In the Bucolics and the Georgics there is one miniature painting for each text, and throughout the entire volume there are numerous decorated initial letters in various sizes, designed in a branch-and-vine motif. A number of incomplete and uncolored designs appear in the manuscript. Of the 88 miniatures, 19 are only partially colored or are drawings awaiting illumination. These partially completed illustrations offer a window into the methods of the artist and a better understanding of the process of creating illuminated images.

Names

  • Apollonio di Giovanni, circa 1415-1465 Illuminator.
  • de' Ricci, Niccolò d'Antonio, active circa 1460 Scribe.
  • Virgil, 70 BCE-19 BCE Author.

Created / Published

  • [place of publication not identified] : [publisher not identified], [1450 to 1460]

Headings

  • -  Italy
  • -  70 B.C. to 19 B.C
  • -  Illuminations
  • -  Latin poetry
  • -  Miniatures (Illuminations)
  • -  Poetry

Notes

  • -  Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
  • -  Original resource extent: 254 folios ; 306 x 201 millimeters.
  • -  Original resource at: Riccardiana Library of Florence.
  • -  Content in Latin.
  • -  Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.

Medium

  • 1 online resource.

Source Collection

  • Illuminated Manuscripts from Europe

Digital Id

Library of Congress Control Number

  • 2021667869

Online Format

  • compressed data
  • pdf
  • image

Additional Metadata Formats

IIIF Presentation Manifest

Rights & Access

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Credit Line: [Original Source citation], World Digital Library

More about Copyright and other Restrictions

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For guidance about compiling full citations consult Citing Primary Sources.

Cite This Item

Citations are generated automatically from bibliographic data as a convenience, and may not be complete or accurate.

Chicago citation style:

Apollonio Di Giovanni, Circa Illuminator, Niccolò D'Antonio De' Ricci, and 70 Bce-19 Bce Author Virgil. Bucolics, Georgics, and the Aeneid. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, to 1460, 1450] Pdf. https://www.loc.gov/item/2021667869/.

APA citation style:

Apollonio Di Giovanni, C. I., De' Ricci, N. D. & Virgil, 7. B. B. A. (1450) Bucolics, Georgics, and the Aeneid. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, to 1460] [Pdf] Retrieved from the Library of Congress, https://www.loc.gov/item/2021667869/.

MLA citation style:

Apollonio Di Giovanni, Circa Illuminator, Niccolò D'Antonio De' Ricci, and 70 Bce-19 Bce Author Virgil. Bucolics, Georgics, and the Aeneid. [Place of Publication Not Identified: Publisher Not Identified, to 1460, 1450] Pdf. Retrieved from the Library of Congress, <www.loc.gov/item/2021667869/>.