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Project: Festival book 1475

Posted: 04 Dec 2009, 18:26
by Huck
http://special-1.bl.uk/treasures/festiv ... rFest=0171

Actually I would love to see this text or at least parts of it translated ... in my opinion it would answer a few questions, if it would be known. Here it is given with its content, totally it has 85 pages.
Festival : Wedding in Pesaro of Costanzo Sforza and Camilla of Aragon. (Pesaro: 1475)
Described in
"In q[ue]sto picolo libretto se co[n]tiene le admira[n]de magnifice[n]tie e stupe[n]dissimi aparati de le foelice noze celebrate da lo illustre segnor de Pesaro Constantio Sforza per madama Camilla sua sposa ... . (Vicenza, 1475)"

Page 001
Section "In q[ue]sto picolo libretto se co[n]tiene le admira[n]de magnifice[n]tie e stupe[n]dissimi aparati de le foelice noze celebrate da lo illustre segnor de Pesaro ... ."

Page 002
Reception Of Camilla of Aragon outside Pesaro by a company that included thirteen young people in costume, one dressed as Diana the huntress.

Page 003
Triumphal_Arch Located at the castle of Novillara.

Page 005
Entry Of Camilla of Aragon into Pesaro.

Page 006
Machine: A ship.
Pageant Camilla of Aragon is met by forty merchants from Pesaro and carried through the streets in a ship accompanied by music.
Music

Page 008
Chariot

Page 010
Triumphal_Arch

Page 012
Mass
The nuptial mass, which was celebrated on Sunday 28th May in the Sala Grande.

Page 016
Banquet Lasting over seven and a half hours, the banquet was divided into two parts, symbolised by the sun and the moon, with courses dedicated to gods and goddesses, among them Hymen, Venus, Apollo, Jove, Pallas, Neptune, Diana and Ceres, each represented in short verse performances.

Page 046
Theatrical_Performance Given on Monday, 29th May the performance included poems in praise of the couple given by figures representing the planets.

Page 060
Showpiece_confectionery
In the shape of castles, animals, trees and flowers.

Banquet
Page 064
Poem Written by Antonio Constantio de Fano.

Page 076
Fireworks

Page 077
Joust

Page 078
Arena
closes with page 85
It describes the wedding activities of Camilla d'Aragon and Costanzo Sforza in May/June 1475 and it is one of the oldest festival books known.
The text is illustrated in a Vatican library edition with 36 (? I've read so) illustrations showing allegorical motifs and they have similarities to trionfi cards. 4 are known by a Vatican library exhibition, two others I found recently in Jstor article:

Hymeneus
Image


Muse Erato
Image


I've transcribed 1 1/2 pages, which include a poem about Fama with 15 terzine ... it's the last poem in the text and it was staged at the opening of a final tournament with prizes. I has an opening text (not transcribed), in which Fama is introduced on her triumphal chariot (so its p. 77-79 with the poem starting p. 78) ... a translation of the passage might give an impression, if a larger translation would be worth the energy.
Gia p salir al ciel/leuate lale
Doue ho mia uera eterna&summa sede/
Disposto hauea lassar ogni mortale.

Da poi che uera gPia/or (= Gloria ?) mai non chiede
Piu alcucuno in terra/& loccio e solo un presio
Et del mio nome el premio alcun un vede.

Ma io che vertu uera mai non spresio/
Voltato ho el corso a questo bel conspecto
Per vostra gPia/& (= Gloria ?) vostra honor chi apresio

Io sum la dea/che in ogni gentil pecto/
Et valoroso/pongon et mio nume/
Chiamando at alta ipresa/& gran concepto

Fama e il mio nome/& de splendore/& lume
Ad ogni mortal opra/6 folla aperta/
Per quanto el mar circunda/el sol alume.

Chi laude aprexia /ben ben constante/e certa
Et del mio nome accura piu non tema
Che sua virtu morte sia coperta

Ben che lauara terra/elcorpa prema
Di man gli trago/&faciolo imortale
Pero di me/la morte/el mondo trema.

Cum questo carro eterno /e triumphale
La terra/e el cel circundo/& parlo/& sono
Nivno indegno in questo luocho sale.

Cum mille lengue/& boche/anchor ragiono/
Et di lor laude/& libri empio/& honori
Si che per tuto se ne sente et tono.

Vui mei dilecti adonche/& car signori/
Et generosi caualeri/chauete
Di vera gPia (= gloria ?) gia infiamati i cori.

Lalta prudentia/& forza or mai prendete
Et in questo nobil campo facte proua
Di vertu vera se el honor volete.

Voi iudicanti passion/non moua/
Ogniu secudo el merito fia digno/
Cossi dame el suo premio ciascun troua

Questo sera de la victoria el segno/
Che fra questi altri electi in questo luocho/
Sedendo el portaro P ogni regno

Ogni altor pregio/a tanto honor fia poco/
Pero che gloria eterna honore/et fama
Accende in lialti cuor /piu uero fuocho.

Cossi pesaro gentil/che altro non brama
Per me fia exelso/poi che il cel distilla
SuPna gratia al popul/che sol chiama
Viua Constanzo eterno cum Camilla.
The 4 pictures in the Vatican library exhibition


This is a Ratdolt edition of 1488, Flores astronomiae


Comparing the Venus figure, you see, that the 2nd is an imitation of the illumination of the text in the Vatican library.

Re: Project: Festival book 1475

Posted: 05 Dec 2009, 10:49
by Ross G. R. Caldwell
Philine Helas, in Lebende Bilder in der Italischen Festkultur des 15. Jahrhunderts discusses this one (you can read most of the pages at Google Books -
http://books.google.fr/books?id=I2cmOhI ... ro&f=false )

I haven't looked to see if she translates any of the poems in German.

Re: Project: Festival book 1475

Posted: 05 Dec 2009, 13:49
by Huck
I was so lucky to find an online edition of the "Flores astrologiae" and this gave me all 7 planet pictures. It's of 1495, but the pictures should be similar to the Ratdolt edition.

http://daten.digitale-sammlungen.de/~db ... 73&seite=5

Note, that the festival book pictures were without animals.

Image


Image


Image


Image


Image


Image


Image


*****************************************************

Meanwhile I've analyzed a little bit and I found the following:

In the part, which follows page 16, which is described with ...

"Page 016
Banquet Lasting over seven and a half hours, the banquet was divided into two parts, symbolised by the sun and the moon, with courses dedicated to gods and goddesses, among them Hymen, Venus, Apollo, Jove, Pallas, Neptune, Diana and Ceres, each represented in short verse performances."

... I find some general festivity till page 20 with a longer poem. At page 20 I find this headline ..



... and I find no moon headline till page 46. Then there are a few words about Castor and Pollux, both possibly as twins are used as picture for sun and moon (?).

Then are presented (page 22) ...

1. Hymeneus
2. Vivande de Venere - Erato
3. Vivande de Iove - Perseo
4. Vivande de Juno - Iris
5. Vivande de Apollo - Orpheo
6. Vivande de Pallas - Hebe
7. Vivande de Vesta - Tatia (daughter of Tatius, king of the Sabines)
8. Vivande de Neptuno - Triton
9. Vivande de Diana - (missing page 36)
10. Vivande de Marte - Romulo
11. Vivande de Ceres - Arethusa
12. Vivande de Bacho - Syleno

... whereby the Vivande texts are only short and describing the gods, but the following "explaining figures" Erato, Perseo etc. have much longer texts and each of them has a poem. Each poem ends with a lucky sentence for Constanzo and Camilla ... it seems, that after each poem there is offered something to eat. And "Cioe" ... what is this? Prost? And much sugar-figures ...

The poems of the figures have different length.

When all this is done and the pair Bacho - Syleno is reached (it seems, that they then are little bit drunken), we've reached p. 41 and get the ...



The Influxo Fortuna with some Justice in the background

... followed by some other text and then this poem (Page 42)


then again some other text and this poem (page 44+45) ...


... which seems to be a result of a "divination" (?) ... the terminus "natura" appears
... and then ...


... the sun returns back to her place (?)

So far the structure. The details of the show should be in this above already mentioned figures:

1. Hymeneus
2. Vivande de Venere - Erato
3. Vivande de Iove - Perseo
4. Vivande de Juno - Iris
5. Vivande de Apollo - Orpheo
6. Vivande de Pallas - Hebe
7. Vivande de Vesta - Tatia (daughter of Tatius, king of the Sabines)
8. Vivande de Neptuno - Triton
9. Vivande de Diana - (missing page 36)
10. Vivande de Marte - Romulo
11. Vivande de Ceres - Arethusa
12. Vivande de Bacho - Syleno

The first 11-12 names are those of the 12 Olympian gods, but one god is missing and that is Mercury and now we've here a "Hymeneus" ... the Hymeneus myth has it, that Hymeneus has to be called (he is essentially necessary for the wedding, if he doesn't come, it's a bad sign), so Mercury would have gotten the job to run around and cry everywhere "Hymeneus" ... perhaps that's the detail, why Mercury isn't there, but Hymeneus is.

"Nature" and "Fortuna" appear in the chess book of Edvart da Conty's "Echecs amoureux", the "chess of lovers", but they appear at the begin in Conty's text and then 16 gods are shown ... in this text first the 23-24 figures are shown and "fortune" and "nature" appear at the end.

It is suspected by us, that Conty's book was known to Filippo Maria Visconti, who commissioned the Michelino deck (also with 16 gods).

Filippo's arragement of the god 12 Olympian gods (in ranking) has this row

1. Jupiter - ( - now Hymeneus)
2. Juno - (now Venus)
3. Pallas - (now Jupiter)
4. Venus - (now Juno)
5. Apollo - (now Apollo)
6. Neptun - (now Pallas)
7. Diana - (now Vesta)
8. Bacchus - (now Neptuno)
9. Mercury - (now Diana)
10. Mars - (now Marte)
11. Vesta - ( now Ceres)
12. Ceres - (now Bacchus)

Re: Project: Festival book 1475

Posted: 08 Jan 2010, 22:31
by Mary Greer
Huck -

I'm assuming that you are connecting this material for the marriage of Costanzo Sforza with the Tarocchi of Alessandro Sforza—seeing as he was father of Costanzo and brother of Francesco Sforza. The whole family seems steeped in the allegories of the gods and the qualities they bring to humanity.

Re: Project: Festival book 1475

Posted: 09 Jan 2010, 00:43
by Huck
Mary Greer wrote:Huck -

I'm assuming that you are connecting this material for the marriage of Costanzo Sforza with the Tarocchi of Alessandro Sforza—seeing as he was father of Costanzo and brother of Francesco Sforza. The whole family seems steeped in the allegories of the gods and the qualities they bring to humanity.
hi Mary,

thanks for your interest.
I have, as you've possibly noticed, a "broad" understanding what Trionfi cards are ... I'm not very fixed on these 22 special motifs, actually I see it as necessary to understand objects with similarity to Trionfi cards (playing cards or not playing cards, usual Tarot motifs or totally others) from the same time, just with the aim, to understand everything better, also some details of the common Tarot development. These 36 motifs of the Camilla-Costanzo marriage (I still search for the answer, if this really were 36) are such an object. No evidence, that these did become a playing card deck, but if life would have take a somewhat different run, perhaps they would have had become a playing card deck, if there would have been somebody with enough money to pay the printer, if there was somebody with enough fun to do so.
Or let's take Lazzarelli, who had 27 pictures in his manuscript (and the number is not accident, but intention), and who always was on the search of a sponsor, if somebody had said, let's do it, Lazzarelli would have jumped on it and we would have now a 27-pictures-Tarot to study.

For the playing cards of Alessandro, I don't forget about them, of course. But also the court of Naples was since 1473 in a sort of Trionfi-card-kick, likely caused by all these marrying daughters of the family. For the earlier one has to assume, that Alfonso had been against playing cards, strongly.

Did you note this recent web-finding of the 15 Ursino-cards? Aren't that fantastic cards?

Image


http://www.icpal.beniculturali.it/esito ... afico.html

Angel plays with dog, and a gigantic hand from the left. ... somebody had really a charming humor.

Re: Project: Festival book 1475

Posted: 09 Jan 2010, 13:05
by cadla
Erato reminds me of the Mantegna cards, as does Apollo.

Everyone of the time was steeped in mythology, I hardly think it exclusive to nobility.

Re: Project: Festival book 1475

Posted: 11 Jan 2010, 08:51
by marco
Huck wrote: ... whereby the Vivande texts are only short and describing the gods, but the following "explaining figures" Erato, Perseo etc. have much longer texts and each of them has a poem. Each poem ends with a lucky sentence for Constanzo and Camilla ... it seems, that after each poem there is offered something to eat. And "Cioe" ... what is this? Prost? And much sugar-figures ...
"Cioè" means "that is", it marks the beginning of a detailed list of the food (vivande) that was served at the banquet.

As from the description on the web page, this passage is about the banquet:
Lasting over seven and a half hours, the banquet was divided into two parts, symbolised by the sun and the moon, with courses dedicated to gods and goddesses, among them Hymen, Venus, Apollo, Jove, Pallas, Neptune, Diana and Ceres, each represented in short verse performances.

The sweets arrived, and before them a triumphal chariot made of sugar. On it a Justice was sitting, with a sword and scales in her hands, all made of gold. And on the seat of justice this verse was written:

Now this virtue triumphs under [the authority of] this righteous (just) king.





Then confitures of various kinds were served, that is: confits, ..., almonds, nuts, cinnamon, raisins, ..., and finally apple confiture with sugar without spices. When all the confitures were taken away and the tables were left clean with the last towel, there was silence in the hall. A man dressed in a strange costume, called the Influx of Fortune, entered, with a banner (?) on which INFLUX OF FORTUNE was written.

Marco

Re: Project: Festival book 1475

Posted: 11 Feb 2010, 09:01
by Huck
Adam McLean presents

Image


, for which Mikeh offers a dating of 1460-64, based on Lambert

viewtopic.php?f=12&t=463

It's easy to recognize, that there is a relationship to



I'm surprised about the dating 1460-64, actually it would mean, that the wedding illuminations had copied from engravings.

Surely the lords of Pesaro weren't so rich as others, but ... The argument seems to be, as Mike gives it, a calendar starting with the year 1465:

"Baldini's popularity may be judged by the fact that quite soon after he published his "planets," someone else did a copy; Lambert shows both. ("Une copie réduite de la suite complète a été exécutée par un graveur florentine anonyme, très peu de temps après, témoignant du succès de cet ensemble," p. 41: "A reduced copy of the complete set was executed by an anonymous Florentine engraver a short time later, testifying to the success of this set.") The copy had a calendar with it, with successive years starting in 1465. Besides engravings, from 1452 on there was niello inlay on gold and silver plate as artwork, in the churches for anyone to see, and in the palaces for the would-be elite to covet. Nobody wanted gold engraving on gold; it was too hard to see. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niello)"

I have doubts ... and doubts have others too, as far I can sense this:

http://www.oldandsold.com/articles26/florence-30.shtml
"... is a very rare engraving after a composition by Botticelli, the Planet Venus, by Baccio Baldini, a Florentine goldsmith, born about 1436. This is one of a series of the Seven Planets, of which there is a complete set in the British Museum, and in the Bibliothèque at Paris. Cupid's Vintage, in the same frame, is also a scarce Italian engraving."
This seems to speak of the same objects. Botticelli is born 1446 ... being copied already 1460-64 would be rather early.

http://www.1911encyclopedia.org/Maso_Finiguerra
"Finiguerra, adds Vasari, was succeeded in the practice of engraving at Florence by a goldsmith called Baccio Baldini, who, not having much invention of his own, borrowed his designs from other artists and especially from Botticelli."
Botticelli cooperated with Baldini, but this seems to relate to later times.

Gods on triumphal chariots in 1460-64 look a little bit early for the general Trionfi development, though not impossible, it wood be more natural for the 1470's. So I've my doubts. As the devil will it, it isn't impossible, that a calendar-paper from 1465 was mixed with a later work of art ... that's just a humble and easy "forgery" by book binding, which might create "revolutionary perceptions" of conditions, which might well have been different.

Adam McLean offers a further pictures:
Image


see also generally "children of the planets" of Adam McLean:
http://www.emblematic-art.com/Children_ ... anets.html

also the Master of the Hausbuch ("nice pictures")
http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Categ ... ss_Wolfegg
http://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hausbuch_% ... Wolfegg%29

Image

Re: Project: Festival book 1475

Posted: 12 Feb 2010, 02:09
by mikeh
Huck's source for Baldini's "Venus" or "children of Venus" being of the time of Botticelli is as follows, "originally published in the early 1900's," as it says on the top of the page:
No. 45 is a very rare engraving after a composition by Botticelli, the Planet Venus, by Baccio Baldini, a Florentine goldsmith, born about 1436. This is one of a series of the Seven Planets, of which there is a complete set in the British Museum, and in the Bibliothèque at Paris. Cupid's Vintage, in the same frame, is also a scarce Italian engraving.
I am not aware of any such Venus by Botticelli, similar to Baldini's design. On the site he refers to, I don't see a picture of either. Is this source even talking about the same engraving?

In the early 1900's, people thought that the Baldini "planets" series was actually by Finiguerra, Hind for example (History of Engraving and Etching, third edition, 1923, p. 40f. They were misled by Vasari, I assume. Hind does, however, agree with the dating and the popularity of the series:
It is a likely assumption that Finiguerra only turned to the new art during the last few years of his life, and possibly none of these prints date before about 1460. The Planets, with its summary of astrological lore, must have been very popular at the time, if we may judge by the existence of a set of copies which appeared very soon after the original publication in conjuunction with a calendar starting with the year 1465...In all these engravings there is a considerable advance upon the coarse cutting of the earlier group, but the line still lacks clearness of definition, though this may be due in part to imperfect printing. The main characteristics of style in dress are still the long trailing skirt, and the two-peaked hat with heavy veil borrowed form the costume of Burgundian society, wich figures so priminently in Florentine cassone paintings between about 1440 and 1460.

Re: Project: Festival book 1475

Posted: 15 Feb 2010, 22:00
by Huck