De Aetatibus Mundi Imagines
Trained as a miniaturist, Francisco de Holanda went to Italy at the behest of the Portuguese king to study Italian Renaissance art locally. After several years of apprenticeship with the great Michelangelo, he returned to his homeland and became one of the greatest Renaissance artists of the Iberian Peninsula. In his illustrated world chronicle De Aetatibus Mundi Imagines he interwove a variety of influences both Christian and pagan, ancient and contemporary. His pictorial representations of the Ages of the World impress with their artistry, meaningfulness, and symbolism as well as bearing witness to an astonishing innovative capacity.
De Aetatibus Mundi Imagines
De Aetatibus Mundi Imagines is the chronicle in images of the ages of the world, although this is the main reason to present, with subtle irony, our temporary reality. Eternity is the only enemy able to beat time. Life is fleeting, a world full of grey tones as time passes. In contrast, eternity, shown as a life in full color, is a perfect world. The techniques employed in the drawings are watercolors and washes. It is a book full of overpowering images, loaded with allegorical and historical references, with a strength and vigor that make it hard to believe that they were made in the 16th century because of the validity and modernity of the artistic vision of Francisco de Holanda.
A Renaissance Education
Francisco de Holanda was sent to Italy by an explicit order of the king of Portugal in order to learn the new art of the Renaissance. As luck would have it, Michelangelo taught him for two years and turned him into one of the most outstanding Renaissance artists from the Iberian Peninsula when he returned in 1540. Michelangelo’s influence is obvious; the first thing Francisco de Holanda painted was the creation of the world, inspired by what he could examine still unfinished in the Sistine Chapel.
An Amalgamation of World History
The rich imagery of the manuscript presents the history of the world in six Ages in the tradition of biblical histories. However, the imagery is not strictly biblical in its inspiration, but are more complex and draw from a number of sources, including pagan sources, the early Church Fathers, Christian poets from Late Antiquity, and contemporary works like the Chronicles of Nuremberg and the Chronologia by Nicolau Coelho do Amaral. This mélange of artistic inspiration allowed the Renaissance master to realize the fullness of his imagination and create images that equally beautiful and charged with meaning.
Codicology
- Type
- Manuscript on paper
- Size / Format
- 178 pages / 43.0 × 30.0 cm
- Origin
- Portugal
- Date
- 1540–1573
- Epochs
- Style
- Language
- Illustrations
- 170 drawings in gouaches and washes
- Content
- Chronicle in images of the ages of the world
- Artist / School
- Francisco de Holanda (1517–1584)
De Aetatibus Mundi Imagines
The Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse
Revelation 6 contains some of the most powerful imagery of the Apocalypse: the Four Horsemen. Although not an exact copy, the image is strongly reminiscent of a famous woodcut by Albrecht Dürer, especially with regard to the arrangement of the horsemen. This unfinished, uncolored miniature allows us an inside glimpse into the production process and reveals the masterful pen strokes underlying the gorgeous miniatures in this manuscript, especially with regard to gestures and facial features.
De Aetatibus Mundi Imagines
Resurrection of Jesus
This subtly colored miniature encapsulates the events of the Resurrection and combines several scenes into one. In the foreground, the risen Christ presents himself to a female follower with a jar of ointment, most likely Mary Magdalene, and bears the wounds of his Crucifixion. The Messiah is crowned with a laurel wreath, symbolizing his victory over death.
To the right, we see Christ’s empty tomb, where his followers are met by an angel informing them of the Resurrection. In the distance on the left, representing the past, we see the Annunciation, which set the saga of salvation into motion. The uncolored medallion miniatures at the bottom show his disciples spreading the good news of the resurrection to the gentiles.
#1 De Aetatibus Mundi Imagines
Language: Spanish
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