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Il libro del cortegiano. Venice: heirs of Aldus Manutius and Andrea Torresano d’Asola, April 1528.
Details
CASTIGLIONE, Baldassare (1478-1529)
Il libro del cortegiano. Venice: heirs of Aldus Manutius and Andrea Torresano d’Asola, April 1528.
First edition of The Book of the Courtier: a famous guide to courtly manners and an icon of Italian Renaissance literature. Composed as a fictional dialogue between important members of early 16th-century Italian society, Il libro del cortegiano features figures such as Pietro Bembo, Ludovico da Canossa, Bernardo da Bibbiena and others discussing the virtues of the good courtier over the course of four evenings. The discourse focuses on the central concepts of ‘grazia’, ‘misura’, ‘ingenio’ and ‘arte’. The work had a significant influence on Montaigne, Cervantes, Shakespeare and many others, all of whom helped to shape the figure of the gentilhomme or gentleman. As both poet and diplomat, Castiglione served the dukes of Urbino, among others, before serving as papal representative to the court of Emperor Charles V. Raphael painted him in a celebrated portrait of 1515, depicting Castiglione precisely as the ideal courtier described in the present work. Adams C-924; PMM 59.
Folio (311 x 203mm). Woodcut Aldine anchor device on title and verso of final leaf, 5- and 6-line initial spaces with guide-letters (small repaired hole in title, occasional faint soiling or staining). 19th-century half vellum over patterned paper, spine lettered in black, edges red, Provenance: Leo Samuele Olschki (Italian publisher, 1861-1940; labels to front pastedown and foot of spine) – Pasolini (bookplate).
Il libro del cortegiano. Venice: heirs of Aldus Manutius and Andrea Torresano d’Asola, April 1528.
First edition of The Book of the Courtier: a famous guide to courtly manners and an icon of Italian Renaissance literature. Composed as a fictional dialogue between important members of early 16th-century Italian society, Il libro del cortegiano features figures such as Pietro Bembo, Ludovico da Canossa, Bernardo da Bibbiena and others discussing the virtues of the good courtier over the course of four evenings. The discourse focuses on the central concepts of ‘grazia’, ‘misura’, ‘ingenio’ and ‘arte’. The work had a significant influence on Montaigne, Cervantes, Shakespeare and many others, all of whom helped to shape the figure of the gentilhomme or gentleman. As both poet and diplomat, Castiglione served the dukes of Urbino, among others, before serving as papal representative to the court of Emperor Charles V. Raphael painted him in a celebrated portrait of 1515, depicting Castiglione precisely as the ideal courtier described in the present work. Adams C-924; PMM 59.
Folio (311 x 203mm). Woodcut Aldine anchor device on title and verso of final leaf, 5- and 6-line initial spaces with guide-letters (small repaired hole in title, occasional faint soiling or staining). 19th-century half vellum over patterned paper, spine lettered in black, edges red, Provenance: Leo Samuele Olschki (Italian publisher, 1861-1940; labels to front pastedown and foot of spine) – Pasolini (bookplate).
Brought to you by
Eugenio Donadoni
Senior Specialist, Medieval & Renaissance Manuscripts