Decembrio's Bestiarium & the Michelino deck

Huck

This discussion has been moved from another thread.
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Huck posted a link to the trionfi article about the Decembrio family with images of the Bestarium.
http://trionfi.com/0/k/marc/21/
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Bernice said:
A wealth of infomaton at that link, Huck. Thank you for posting it.

Sadly, the links to those other lovely little miniatures of Decembrio's Bestiarium, are dead. i.e. Page Not Found.

The Michelino is beautiful.

Bee :)

???? the Michelino deck is lost ?????
 

Bernice

Huck said:
???? the Michelino deck is lost ?????

The images posted at trionfi....?

Bee :confused:
 

Huck

Bernice said:
The images posted at trionfi....?

Bee :confused:

That's from Decembrio's "Bestiarium", an illustrated text with no relation to the Michelino deck.
The article is about Pier Candid Decembrio and his family, who wrote a few sentences about the Michelino deck in 1447 in the biography of Filippo Maria Visconti (a major source about the life of this man).
Thanks to this snippet we know, that the Michelino deck was paid with 1500 ducatos. Although - this sum is so fantastic high (especially in the relation to the knowledge of other paid prices for card decks), that there are doubts, if this comment really tells the true story. So it is a discussed point, if Decembrio knew the conditions of the Visconti court around 1425 "good as an insider" or "less good" - then.
Later he became an important man, no doubt. Some go so far and call him a president of the Ambrosian republic.

Decembrio was only "second son" and till the death of his father (1427) and his elder brother he wasn't so important. It's unlikely, that he had an insider position at the court.

... :) ... as you have so great addiction to the German language
http://www.ubs.sbg.ac.at/sosa/bdm/bdm0408.htm

The book was written ca. 1460, the pictures are of early 16th century. Commissioner was Lodovico Gonzaga (I don't know, which Lodovico).

btw. it has also one of the species called phoenix:

candPhoenix.jpg
 

Bernice

Thank you for putting me right about the Bestiarium images and the highly expensive 'Lost Michelino' deck. Pity they didn't create a deck with the Bestiarium illustrations. The artwork appeals to me.

Huck:....I point out, that the description of the Michelino deck speaks of the Phoenix as a suit symbol, and, as Doves and Eagle (the other suit symbols) already are recognized as "heraldic birds", I suggest, that the Phoenix likely had similar function, at least for the time of ca. 1425 (Michelino deck).
Which rather favours the probability of the bird-on-the-tree being a Dove.

Of course, it's also likely that the bird has no historical importance whatsoever. The artist may have wanted to embellish the image - introduce some perspective..........

Bee :)
 

Huck

Which rather favours the probability of the bird-on-the-tree being a Dove.

Of course, it's also likely that the bird has no historical importance whatsoever. The artist may have wanted to embellish the image - introduce some perspective..........

Bee :)

... it seems completely unlikely, that the first designer of the Marseilles Tarot read the rare manuscript of Martiano da Tortona ... :)
 

Huck

... the artist is unknown, the Faksimile was done in Zuerich 1984. The original seems to be in the Vatican. ... :) ... not a very German production in this case
 

Huck

Bernice said:
EDIT: Responding to Hucks' post *below*.

Huck, I know that the artwork at the link is not German.....

... :) ... you can't be sure about it ... the Gonzaga were half German - half Italian.
And the Rhinoceros was stolen from Dürer.

candMonoceros.jpg


D%C3%BCrer_rhino_full.png


So at least a German Rhinoceros participated, although they're more common in Africa.