C 1445 (4 results)

Publisher's original illustrated laminated card covers. 8vo 6½'' x 5'' 60 pp. Full-page monochrome illustrations throughout. In Very Good condition with light rubbing to covers, no dust wrapper as published. Member of the P.B.F.A. ART [Italian].

Publisher's original colour illustrated card wrap covers [softback], French flaps. Folio 11½'' x 9½''. Contains 215 printed pages of text with colour illustrations throughout. Minimal rubs to the cover and in Fine clean condition, no dust wrapper as published. Member of the P.B.F.A. ART [Italian].

From the most important and prolific Venetian illuminator of the early fifteenth century, this leaf preserves the Introit for the Feast of Saints Philip and James, celebrated at Mass on May 3. The large historiated initial 'E' for Exclamaverunt ad te Domine in tempore afflictionis suae depicts the two apostles at half-length, their faces individualized with subtle brushwork, expressive yet distinct. The text "They cried out to you, O Lord, in the time of their affliction" (Psalm 77:34 Vulgate) is particularly apt: the apostles are remembered as having turned to Christ in their trials, and the chant underscores their steadfastness in the face of suffering. Philip and James are venerated together because their relics were enshrined in the Church of the Holy Apostles in Rome in the sixth century, leading to their joint feast throughout the medieval liturgy. The leaf retains its original foliation 'CXIII' in red ink at the head of the border, placing it firmly within the Sanctoral of a monumental Gradual. The recto preserves cues for feasts from St. Tiburtius and Valerian (April 14) to St. Vitalis (April 28), with the celebration of Philip and James given in full, beginning with the Introit and Psalm. The refined modeling of the faces, the brisk treatment of draperies, and the restrained yet luminous palette, pink, yellow, green, and blue enlivened with white tracery are hallmarks of Cristoforo Cortese in his early career. The frequent use of pink and yellow grounds is a diagnostic feature of Cortese's production before 1420, situating this miniature among his formative works. Cortese was the first great illuminator of fifteenth-century Venice, and his workshop supplied monumental Graduals and choirbooks to monastic orders and churches throughout northern Italy. His figures are marked by delicate hair and beard detailing, emotive expression, and a painterly fluidity that bridges manuscript illumination with contemporary Venetian panel painting. Major works by Cortese and his workshop survive in leading collections worldwide, including the Biblioteca Marciana in Venice, the British Library, the Bibliotheque nationale de France, the Fitzwilliam Museum, the Morgan Library & Museum, and the J. Paul Getty Museum, situating the present leaf within the artist's documented oeuvre. Our firm was also fortunate to identify a related leaf from the same long-dispersed Gradual: the Prophet in a Red Hat, introducing the Introit for the feast of the Many Common Martyrs. That leaf, now in a private collection in Italy, shares with the present example the same format, eight staves ruled with a 21 mm. rastrum, square notation, rounded gothic bookhand, Roman numeral foliation, and the Venetian palette of pink, yellow, green, and blue enlivened with white tracery confirming their common origin. Together, the two enrich our understanding of Cortese's early output, demonstrating his ability to invest monumental liturgical books with vivid humanity and devotional intensity. PROVENANCE Unknown American dealer, indication on the verso written in pencil with marking mb, 58-b, Italy c. 1450 Mr. Kenneth W. Rendell, Somerville, Massachusetts, USA.

This exquisite miniature is by Cristoforo Cortese, the most accomplished Venetian illuminator of the early fifteenth century. Executed during the formative stage of his career, it once formed part of a sumptuous Camaldolese Gradual. The bearded prophet, set within an initial I, is rendered with Cortese's hallmark precision: expressive features painted with delicate strokes, highlighted with red-rimmed haloes and radiant yellow tones. These qualities firmly align the work with Cortese's early output, before 1420. The stylistic vocabulary recalls both Florentine models and Venetian innovations. Cortese clearly drew upon the influence of Don Silvestro dei Gherarducci, whose Choir Books for San Michele in Murano (1392-1399) provided prototypes for half-length prophet figures. Yet Cortese's interpretation, more vibrant and emotive, shows the confident individuality that would earn him recognition as the pioneer of Venetian Renaissance illumination. The palette dominated by blues, reds, and yellows closely parallels related cuttings: a Bust Portrait of a Bearded Man in the Getty's Compendium moralium notabilium (MS Ludwig XIV 8, f. 34v); a Saint John the Evangelist in the Victoria and Albert Museum (inv. D.637B-1894); and the Entry into Jerusalem at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge (Marlay Cutting It. 20). The square notation on the verso, written on four-line red staves (rastrum 25 mm), confirms its liturgical function as part of a choirbook used in monastic chant. Provenance: 1. USA, private collection, (early 20th Century framing tag, S.Schwartz picture frames, 128 W 42nd Street, New York, with a note pasted in the back of the frame "This fragment is old German. The miniature is a perfect work of art. Age no less 500 years."). Sister Leaves Known To Exist In: Victoria and Albert Museum (Saint Peter, initial "C"); Free Library of Philadelphia (Saints with initials "G" and "S"); Additional leaves include the Apostle initial "T" and Standing Saint initial "E" (formerly F. G. Zeileis collection, sold at Sotheby's); Cambridge Fitzwilliam Museum (Entry into Jerusalem, initial "D"); Museo Civico Medievale, Bologna (a prophet, initial "C"); Softer sales?e.g., Prophet initial "V" (Sotheby"s; Robert Lehman Collection); Les Enluminures, Paris (Bearded Bishop initial "S"; Prophet and St. Paul). Literature: F. Todini in Una collezione di miniature Italiane, vol. II (1994), no. VII; M. Bollati, Dalla Bibbia di Corradino a Jacopo della Quercia, in Duecento (1997), pp. 128-29; G. Freuler, Tendencies of Gothic in Florence: Don Silvestro dei Gherarducci, Corpus of Florentine Painting IV.7.2 (1997); G. Zeileis, Più ridon le carte (2009), no. 11; S. Panayotova, "Cristoforo Cortese in Cambridge," in Miniatura. Lo sguardo e la parola (2012), pp. 186-89.