Hypnerotomachia Poliphili
author
Francesco Colonna
(Italian, 1433 - 1527)
printer
Aldus Manutius
(Bassiano, about 1450 - 1515, Venice)
DateDecember 1499
Place MadeVenice, Veneto, Italy, Europe
MediumPrinted ink on paper
Dimensions31 x 22 cm (12 3/16 x 8 11/16 in.)
ClassificationsBooks
Credit LineIsabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston
Accession number2.b.1.1
Description1 Vol. (234 leaves) : paper : ill. ; 32 cm. (folio)Status
Not on viewWeb CommentaryThis curious book of fantasy illustrated throughout with woodcuts once thought to be by Bellini has always been prized by bibliophiles. Its Elizabethan title is The Strife of Love in a Dream, and it is an allegorical dream-tale of the monk Poliphilus who wanders through a quasi-classical world of monuments, ruins, and pagan festivals in search of his love Polia. The language is Colonna's own hybrid of Latin and Italian, enhanced by Greek, Hebrew, and his own hieroglyphic inscriptions. The illustrative woodcuts are virtually an encyclopedia of classical design in the visual arts, and they were used as patterns by artists of every medium, from Bramante in his Vatican architecture to landscape architects in the gardens of England and France. Although Aldus Manutius rarely published illustrated books, his Hypnerotomachia is considered a masterpiece of art because the illustrations, the Roman typeface, and the page layouts are so beautifully and classically balanced. Charles Eliot Norton encouraged Mrs. Gardner to see his copy and then to get one for herself, calling it the prettiest book in the world.
Id720462
Last Updated8/9/24
Other NumberGoff M507
Other NumberISTC ic00767000
EmbARK ObjectID17673
Other NumberARC.007518
Source ID5924
Francesco Donato
17 July 1547
Object/Provenance
