The Bible of Federico da Montefeltro

#

his large Bible in two volumes, since 1657 in the Vatican Library, represents a clear departure from the classical concept of an illuminated manuscript. Firstly, its size: 44.2 x 59.6 cm, and number of pages: 241 in the first volume and 311 in the second, make it a particularly unwieldy object, difficult even to move about, destined to a sumptuous display lectern rather than daily consultation. Then too, the thirty-five large miniatures which adorn the lncipit of each book of the Bible stand alone as paintings surrounded by a precious parchment frame rather than true miniatures, in the sense that the word miniature suggests something very small, to be observed even with the aid of a magnifying glass.

This is not the case at all with the Urbino Bible, in which every detail is harmoniously proportioned to a page four times the size of a normal sheet of modern paper, and the miniatures are 15 cm high by 26 cm wide.

More than a mere book, then, we can speak of a very special monument to the greatness of a ruler, Federico da Montefeltro, Duke of Urbino, who although not ignoring the art of war is justly remembered for his love of art and culture, which led him to make Urbino a nerve centre of the Italian Renaissance.

He it was who summoned the architect Luciano Laurana from Dalmatia to build for him a palace clinging to a mountainside, a sheer drop into the abyss; but inside what appears from outside as an unbreachable fortress, he reserved for himself that marvellous place of private meditation that is his Studiolo. He it was who called to his court artists like Meiozzo da Forli, justus of Ghent, Piero della Francesca, and others; and it was he who established what at the time was one of the richest libraries in the western world, keeping at least thirty scribes engaged for more than fifteen years copying books, the most important of which were then entrusted to the skilful hands of the miniaturists in the Florentine workshop of Vespasiano da Bisticci to be decorated with the magnificence worthy of the Duke.

Thus it was for the Bible, destined to be the most beautiful codex in his library. It was copied by Ugo Comminelli of Mêziéres and decorated in Florence in the brief span of two years (1477 - 1478). Vespasiano da Bisticci himself wrote in his Life of Federico da Montefeltro, ”this is a book that in this age none similar has been made", clear evidence that both the man who commissioned it and those who made it were aware they were dealing with an absolute masterpiece.

Vespasiano entrusted the decoration of the Bible to Francesco Antonio del Chierico, a miniaturist at the time at the height of his fame; the most demanding patrons sought his services, including Lorenzo de’ Medici himself, signore of Florence, who, it is said, magnanimously lent” him to the Duke of Urbino. Working alongside Francesco were other illustrious names in the history of miniatures, like Attavante, Francesco Rosselli, and in all probability Davide Ghirlandaio, the brother of the better known Domenico. Through these artists all the rich heritage of fifteenth century figurative culture comes together in the miniatures of this Bible.

The Urbino Bible thus can be seen as the work on paper that in a certain sense is the fulfilment of the art of that century, and perhaps even as the most sublime achievement in the art of miniature, the last great illuminated manuscript when movable-type printing was already beginning to emerge.

The Making of the Facsimile

The reproduction of these manuscripts is a remarkable blend of sophisticated imaging technology with the most traditional artisan techniques. Together they recreate that magic one feels when standing before the original. Before being reproduced, the codex is dismantled to enable the technicians to verify more completely the state of conservation and to arrange for any necessary restoration.

The photography is done in the same protected environments as the restoration. The next step, utilising the most modern technology, is the decomposition of the colours, an indispensable part of the reproduction process. Subsequently, in a delicate operation of image elaboration, carried out by hand, the plates are made for the gold leaf and dry impressions for each page.

The colour trials are then meticulously compared page by page with the original, and further adjustments of the colour checked equally carefully.

The printing is done by offset on fine paper using a very fine screen, which allows the reader to use a magnifying glass without being disturbed by the dot effect given by normal printing techniques.

The gold decorations are reproduced using hot plates and the sheets sewn individually to recreate the irregular edges of the pages of the original.

The binding, done by hand in artisans’ workshops, recomposes the sections exactly as they appear in the original.

The cover is made of wooden boards covered with silk velvet, the ribbons are handsewn and trimmed with decorative edging. The endpapers are made of moiré and the inner straps of leather. The accessories are of burnished brass, silver and silver gilt created especially for the facsimile.

The Volume of Commentary

Besides enabling the safeguarding of the original, the facsimile edition of an ancient codex offers the chance for a more profound and systematic study of the work, permitting scholars to work, using the facsimile, in more suitable environments, rather than having to go to the library where the original is preserved. In this way, ancient manuscripts may reveal information that has remained hidden for centuries. For this reason, every facsimile edition is entrusted to a scholar chosen among the leading experts on the historical period and milieu in which the codex was produced. The scholarly editor co-ordinates the work of the individual experts who examine the various aspects of the codex and its history.

Thus part of the volume of commentary collects the fruits of their research, made possible by the operations carried out in the course of preparing the facsimile, beginning with taking the binding apart, and moving through the flattening, cleaning, and if necessary actual restoration.

But the volume of commentary also aims at offering readers an introduction to the historical and cultural context in which the work was created and an analytical description of the manuscript’s contents, with particular attention to the miniatures and decorations. Where opportune, an integral transcription of the text is given and, if necessary also a translation into modern Italian.

The volume of commentary thus constitutes a valuable tool for comprehension and full appreciation of the beauty and significance of the codex.

The refined printing, authoritative authors, and rich illustrations make the commentary an indispensable complement to the facsimile itself.

#