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Poet and ‘World Painter’: Francesco Berlinghieri's Geographia (1482)
Poète et ‘peintre du monde’: Francesco Berlinghieri et sa Geographia (1482)
Poet und ‘Weltmaler’: Francesco Berlinghieri und seine Geographia (1482)
Poeta y ‘Pintor del Mundo’: Francesco Berlinghieri y Su Geographia (1482)
- DOI:
- 10.1080/03085691003747100
pages 145-160
- Received: Aug 2009
- Accepted: Mar 2008
- Published online: 23 Jun 2010
ABSTRACT
Although Francesco Berlinghieri's Geographia (Florence, 1482) is now regarded as representative of a thriving humanist geographic enterprise, modern scholars universally agree that its author had no significant role in the production of its maps. Yet Berlinghieri's contemporaries regarded the poet as a cosmographer and ‘world painter’ and associated his work so closely with its principal source, Ptolemy, that it was referred to as el tolomeo. From an examination of the Geographia’s text, maps and illuminations, I argue that Berlinghieri, and the artists who worked for him, portrayed the poet as author of both the textual and the cartographical components. This poetic and artistic project served to frame Berlinghieri's endeavour as one that emulated the achievements of classical geography and conformed to fifteenth-century expectations for the role of the geographer.
Bien que la Geographia de Francesco Berlinghieri (Florence, 1482) soit considérée comme représentative d'une entreprise géographique et humaniste florissante, les spécialistes modernes s'accordent sur le fait que son auteur ne joua pas un rôle significatif dans la production des cartes qui l'illustraient. Pourtant, les contemporains de Berlinghieri considéraient le poète comme un cosmographe et un ‘peintre du monde’ et ils associaient si étroitement son travail avec sa source principale, Ptolémée, qu'ils le désignaient comme ‘el Tolomeo’ (le Ptolémée). A partir de l'étude du texte, des cartes et des enluminures de la Geographia, je montre que Berlinghieri et les artistes qui travaillèrent pour lui présentèrent le poète comme l'auteur de la composante textuelle comme de la composante cartographique de l'œuvre. Ce projet artistique et poétique servit à présenter la tentative de Berlinghieri comme l'une de celles qui égalait les résultats de la géographie classique et répondait aux attentes du XVe siècle en ce qui concernait le rôle du géographe.
Obwohl Francesco Berlinghieris Geographia (Florenz 1482) heute als Beispiel eines erfolgreichen geographischen Unterfangens des Humanismus gewertet wird, stimmen moderne Wissenschaftler darin überein, dass sein Autor für die Herstellung der Karten keine entscheidende Rolle spielte. Seine Zeitgenossen sahen in ihm jedoch einen Kosmographen oder ‘Weltmaler’ und sein Werk so nahe an seiner Hauptquelle, Ptolemäus, das sie es mit ‘el tolomeo’ zitierten. Eine Untersuchung von Text, Karten und Illuminationen der Geographia legt nahe, dass Berlinghieri und die Künstler, die für ihn arbeiteten, den Poeten sowohl als Autor der textlichen als auch der kartographischen Werksteile darstellten. Mit diesem poetischen und künstlerischen Projekt strich Berlinghieri sein Bemühen heraus, den Errungenschaften der klassischen Geographie nachzueifern und damit den Erwartungen des 15. Jahrhunderts an die Rolle eines Geographen zu entsprechen.
Aunque la Geographia de Francesco Berlinghieri (Florencia, 1482) se considera en la actualidad representativa de una próspera empresa humanística y geográfica, los investigadores coinciden en afirmar de forma unánime que su autor no desempeñó ningún papel significativo en la producción de los mapas. Sin embargo, los contemporáneos de Berlinghieri consideraron al poeta como un cosmógrafo y ‘pintor del mundo’, y asociaron su trabajo de forma tan estrecha a su fuente principal, Ptolomeo, que fue apodado ‘el tolomeo’. A partir del examen del texto, mapas e iluminaciones de la Geographia, el autor afirma que Berlinghieri y los artistas que trabajaban para él, consideraron al poeta como autor tanto de la parte textual como cartográfica de su obra. Este proyecto poético y artístico sirvió para enmarcar el esfuerzo de Berlinghieri a la altura de los logros alcanzados por la geografía clásica y ajustó el papel del geógrafo a las expectativas del siglo XV.
Poet and ‘World Painter’: Francesco Berlinghieri's Geographia (1482)
Poète et ‘peintre du monde’: Francesco Berlinghieri et sa Geographia (1482)
Poet und ‘Weltmaler’: Francesco Berlinghieri und seine Geographia (1482)
Poeta y ‘Pintor del Mundo’: Francesco Berlinghieri y Su Geographia (1482)
Published online:
23 June 2010Plate 1. Francesco Berlinghieri, Geographia, c.1482. Incipit of Book One. Ink and colour on vellum. 43 × 31 cm. The opening folio of Lorenzo de' Medici's manuscript combines classical decorative motifs with a portrait of the author and a cycle of illuminations comprising narrative illustrations of the poetic prologue, and images of the practical activities necessary for producing maps. The cycle, with modifications, is also found in the manuscript prepared for Federico da Montefeltro and in the hand-illuminated printed copy for the Pucci family (see Plates 5 and 6). Milan, BNB, MS AC.XIV.44, fol. 1r. (Reproduced with permission from the Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense, Milan.) (See p. 149.)
Plate 1. Francesco Berlinghieri, Geographia, c.1482. Incipit of Book One. Ink and colour on vellum. 43 × 31 cm. The opening folio of Lorenzo de' Medici's manuscript combines classical decorative motifs with a portrait of the author and a cycle of illuminations comprising narrative illustrations of the poetic prologue, and images of the practical activities necessary for producing maps. The cycle, with modifications, is also found in the manuscript prepared for Federico da Montefeltro and in the hand-illuminated printed copy for the Pucci family (see Plates 5 and 6). Milan, BNB, MS AC.XIV.44, fol. 1r. (Reproduced with permission from the Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense, Milan.) (See p. 149.)
Poet and ‘World Painter’: Francesco Berlinghieri's Geographia (1482)
Poète et ‘peintre du monde’: Francesco Berlinghieri et sa Geographia (1482)
Poet und ‘Weltmaler’: Francesco Berlinghieri und seine Geographia (1482)
Poeta y ‘Pintor del Mundo’: Francesco Berlinghieri y Su Geographia (1482)
Published online:
23 June 2010Plate 2. Sandro Botticelli, St Augustine in His Study, 1480. Fresco. 202 × 162 cm. Church of Ognissanti, Florence. The frescoes of Ghirlandaio and Botticelli depicting the Church Fathers as fifteenth-century scholars set the tone for portraits of contemporary writers in Renaissance Florence. (Reproduced with permission from Scala/Art Resource, NY.) (See p. 149.)
Plate 2. Sandro Botticelli, St Augustine in His Study, 1480. Fresco. 202 × 162 cm. Church of Ognissanti, Florence. The frescoes of Ghirlandaio and Botticelli depicting the Church Fathers as fifteenth-century scholars set the tone for portraits of contemporary writers in Renaissance Florence. (Reproduced with permission from Scala/Art Resource, NY.) (See p. 149.)
Poet and ‘World Painter’: Francesco Berlinghieri's Geographia (1482)
Poète et ‘peintre du monde’: Francesco Berlinghieri et sa Geographia (1482)
Poet und ‘Weltmaler’: Francesco Berlinghieri und seine Geographia (1482)
Poeta y ‘Pintor del Mundo’: Francesco Berlinghieri y Su Geographia (1482)
Published online:
23 June 2010Plate 3. Francesco Berlinghieri, Geographia, c.1482. Detail (approximately 5 × 5 cm) from the incipit to Book One. Ink and colour on vellum. The illuminator of Lorenzo de’ Medici's manuscript illustrated the Geographia’s poetic prologue in which Ptolemy emerges from the clouds to guide Berlinghieri and his companion on a voyage around the world. Milan. BNB, MS AC.XIV.44, fol. 1r. (Reproduced with permission from the Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense, Milan.) (See p. 151.)
Plate 3. Francesco Berlinghieri, Geographia, c.1482. Detail (approximately 5 × 5 cm) from the incipit to Book One. Ink and colour on vellum. The illuminator of Lorenzo de’ Medici's manuscript illustrated the Geographia’s poetic prologue in which Ptolemy emerges from the clouds to guide Berlinghieri and his companion on a voyage around the world. Milan. BNB, MS AC.XIV.44, fol. 1r. (Reproduced with permission from the Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense, Milan.) (See p. 151.)
Poet and ‘World Painter’: Francesco Berlinghieri's Geographia (1482)
Poète et ‘peintre du monde’: Francesco Berlinghieri et sa Geographia (1482)
Poet und ‘Weltmaler’: Francesco Berlinghieri und seine Geographia (1482)
Poeta y ‘Pintor del Mundo’: Francesco Berlinghieri y Su Geographia (1482)
Published online:
23 June 2010Plate 4. Francesco Berlinghieri, Geographia, c.1482. Detail (approximately 5 × 5 cm) showing a roundel on the incipit page with a dramatic visualization of Berlinghieri, Ptolemy and a companion's flight around the globe on a cloud. Ink and colour on vellum. Milan, BNB, MS AC.XIV.44, fol. 1r. (Reproduced with permission from the Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense, Milan.) (See p. 151.)
Plate 4. Francesco Berlinghieri, Geographia, c.1482. Detail (approximately 5 × 5 cm) showing a roundel on the incipit page with a dramatic visualization of Berlinghieri, Ptolemy and a companion's flight around the globe on a cloud. Ink and colour on vellum. Milan, BNB, MS AC.XIV.44, fol. 1r. (Reproduced with permission from the Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense, Milan.) (See p. 151.)
Poet and ‘World Painter’: Francesco Berlinghieri's Geographia (1482)
Poète et ‘peintre du monde’: Francesco Berlinghieri et sa Geographia (1482)
Poet und ‘Weltmaler’: Francesco Berlinghieri und seine Geographia (1482)
Poeta y ‘Pintor del Mundo’: Francesco Berlinghieri y Su Geographia (1482)
Published online:
23 June 2010Plate 5. Francesco Berlinghieri. Geographia, c.1482. Incipit of Book One. Ink and colour on vellum. 45 × 31 cm. The illuminated first folio of Federico da Montefeltro's Geographia, like that produced for Lorenzo, stresses practical map production through illustrations of a scholar (top left roundel) taking measurements from the celestial globe and transferring those to a map (see Fig. 7). Rome, BAV, Urb. Lat. 273, fol. 4r. (Reproduced with permission from Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Rome.) (See p. 153.)
Plate 5. Francesco Berlinghieri. Geographia, c.1482. Incipit of Book One. Ink and colour on vellum. 45 × 31 cm. The illuminated first folio of Federico da Montefeltro's Geographia, like that produced for Lorenzo, stresses practical map production through illustrations of a scholar (top left roundel) taking measurements from the celestial globe and transferring those to a map (see Fig. 7). Rome, BAV, Urb. Lat. 273, fol. 4r. (Reproduced with permission from Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Rome.) (See p. 153.)
Poet and ‘World Painter’: Francesco Berlinghieri's Geographia (1482)
Poète et ‘peintre du monde’: Francesco Berlinghieri et sa Geographia (1482)
Poet und ‘Weltmaler’: Francesco Berlinghieri und seine Geographia (1482)
Poeta y ‘Pintor del Mundo’: Francesco Berlinghieri y Su Geographia (1482)
Published online:
23 June 2010Plate 6. Francesco Berlinghieri, Geographia, c.1482. Incipit of Book One. Ink and colour on printed page. 45 × 29 cm. Illumination transforms the letterpress page of the Pucci family's printed copy of the Geographia into what appears, at first glance, to be a manuscript incipit. Berlinghieri is depicted, in the initial G, not writing but drawing or labelling a map. Rome, BNC, 70.I.G.5, fol. 4r. (Reproduced with permission from Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, Rome.) (See p. 153.)
Plate 6. Francesco Berlinghieri, Geographia, c.1482. Incipit of Book One. Ink and colour on printed page. 45 × 29 cm. Illumination transforms the letterpress page of the Pucci family's printed copy of the Geographia into what appears, at first glance, to be a manuscript incipit. Berlinghieri is depicted, in the initial G, not writing but drawing or labelling a map. Rome, BNC, 70.I.G.5, fol. 4r. (Reproduced with permission from Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, Rome.) (See p. 153.)
KEYWORDS
- Francesco Berlinghieri,
- Ptolemy,
- Renaissance geography,
- Septe giornate della geographia ,
- Florence,
- engraving,
- manuscript illumination
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- Citation information:
- Received: Aug 2009
- Accepted: Mar 2008
- Published online: 23 Jun 2010
Author biographies
Sean Roberts is assistant professor of art history at the University of Southern California.
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