Naturalis historia, translated into Italian by Christophorus Landinus (1424–98)
Venice: Nicolaus Jenson, 1476
The spectacularly illuminated opening of this book embodies the essence of the Venetian Renaissance. No expense spared, the text was printed on parchment, then sumptuously decorated. A prominent though otherwise unidentified Venetian artist, the Master of the London Pliny, produced the architectural frontispiece, from which the printed text is hung with delicate strings of red beads. The monumental structure, imperial cameos of Emperor Antoninus Pius and his wife Faustina, and mythological imagery celebrate both the classical world and the wealth of the patron. The latter, possibly a member of the Agostini family, was later forced into anonymity when his arms were erased from the margin.
Inc.1.B.3.2[1360], fol. [c2] recto
Printed on parchment; illuminated in Venice by the Master of the London Pliny, 1480s
Arguably the most spectacular incunable in Cambridge University Library is this copy of Pliny’s Historia naturalis, in the Italian translation by the Florentine humanist Cristoforo Landino, printed on vellum in 1476 by Nicolas Jenson, the most successful printer in Venice in the 1470s. The text is an encyclopedic work in which the first-century author proudly announces his topic: ‘the world of Nature, or in other words, Life’. Jenson’s edition is remarkably well documented. Commissioned through the Strozzi banking firm of Florence, Jenson agreed to print 1025 copies on paper, and in addition about twenty were printed on vellum.
The Cambridge Pliny combines monumental dimensions (389 x 250 mm), handsome layout in beautifully designed Roman type, a stunningly beautiful illuminated frontispiece, over thirty large painted initials in gold and brilliant colours, and hundreds of smaller gold initials on coloured grounds. The margins of Book II have been exquisitely painted with motifs that create an ‘architectural frontispiece’. Painted around the edge of the printed text is a narrow bronze-coloured frame, illusionistically creating a gigantic inscribed plaque. Surrounding it has been painted an architectural wall-monument to which the plaque appears to be tied with strings of red beads. The colours of this ensemble are sumptuous: a deep purple base, blue columns with golden capitals, a blue-green frieze with fictive reliefs. Delicate chains of gems and cameos hang at the side and base of the monument. The opening initial E also appears to be three-dimensional, composed of red crystalline cylinders with gold fixtures. Dangling from the upper stroke of the E is a cameo with profile busts of emperor Antoninus Pius (reigned 138–161) and his wife Faustina, while on the green plaque behind them is ‘carved’ a cherub riding on the tail of a triton. The decorative motifs evoke the world of classical antiquity, without referring specifically to the text.
The illumination is attributed to an anonymous Venetian miniaturist known as the Master of the London Pliny. Evidence provided by coats of arms found on other elaborately illuminated Jenson incunables makes it likely that the original owner was a member of the Agostini family, wealthy Venetian merchants who were associates of Nicolas Jenson, supplying paper for the Pliny publication. Thus, not only is the Cambridge Pliny a work of outstanding beauty, but it also informs us about the history of printing and Venetian Renaissance culture.
Essay by Professor Lilian Armstrong
