Udine Aesop

Udine Aesop – Casamassima Libri – Cod. Bartolini 83 (olim 34) – Biblioteca Arcivescovile e Bartoliniana (Udine, Italy)

Montevarchi (Italy) — 1449

Civic lay book art in Tuscany between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance: an Italian vernacular adaptation of Aesop's fables and other works, with 64 expressive washed pen-and-ink drawings

  1. Francesco Orlandi was both the scribe and illuminator of this fascinating manuscript from Montevarchi, Tuscany

  2. He illustrated Aesop's Fables with 64 washed pen-and-ink drawings, which are characterized by their gestural liveliness

  3. He thus created an important testimony to civic lay art and culture in 15th-century Tuscany

Udine Aesop

Cod. Bartolini 83 (olim 34) Biblioteca Arcivescovile e Bartoliniana (Udine, Italy)
  1. Description
  2. Facsimile Editions (1)
Description
Udine Aesop

The so-called Udine Aesop is a remarkable literary and artistic testimony to 15th-century Tuscan civic lay culture. The manuscript contains a collection of free Italian translations and adaptations of several moralizing and edifying works by classical and medieval authors such as Seneca, Cato, and Bernard of Clairvaux, with Aesop's famous fables making up the majority of the text. They dominate the codex not only in terms of length, but also because of their striking illumination, which is absent from the other parts. Almost every fable is accompanied by a large, page-wide washed pen-and-ink drawing. The 64 miniatures depict scenes from the respective fables in a sketchy, folkloristic manner, characterized by expressive animal depictions, people in rustic clothing, and vivid gestures. Despite their simplicity, these extensive illustrations are highly remarkable for a vernacular text. Francesco Orlandi, who created both the text and the miniatures, deliberately distanced himself from the elegant court art of the time and instead implemented an independent book art that reached its middle-class lay readership in a much more accessible way.

Codicology

Alternative Titles
L'Esopo di Udine
Udine Aesop
Seneca, Esopo ed altro
Seneca, Esopo e altro
Size / Format
206 pages / 26.6 × 20.3 cm
Origin
Italy
Date
1449
Style
Language
Script
Mercantesca
Illustrations
64 large miniatures with dozens of animal depictions
Content
Italian translation of Aesop's fables and adaptations of selected sentences and treatises by Seneca, Cato, Bernard of Clairvaux, Alanus ab Insulis, and Augustine of Hippo; three recipes and a spell
Artist / School
Previous Owners
Alvise Mocenigo di San Stae
Conte Antonio Bartolini

Available facsimile editions:
Udine Aesop – Casamassima Libri – Cod. Bartolini 83 (olim 34) – Biblioteca Arcivescovile e Bartoliniana (Udine, Italy)
Casamassima Libri – Udine, 1996
Limited Edition: 735 copies
Facsimile Editions

#1 L'Esopo di Udine

Casamassima Libri – Udine, 1996

Publisher: Casamassima Libri – Udine, 1996
Limited Edition: 735 copies
Binding: Cardboard binding. Facsimile and commentary volume come together in a protective slipcase.
Commentary: 1 volum by Claudio Ciociola, Claudia Frugoni, Armando Petrucci, and Cristina Moro
Language: Italian
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