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Andrea AlciatiEmblemata cum commentariis
The monumental Padua edition of the foundational emblem book, complete with 212 woodcuts and an exceptionally extensive body of humanist commentary.
- Edition
- 212 woodcut emblems · Padua · Complete
- Format
- [4], 80, 1004, [4] pp. · 212 woodcuts
- Availability
- Price on request
Bibliographical details
Twentieth-century half cloth with gilt spine title and signs of wear. Complete text and iconographic corpus; occasional foxing, browning, stains and damp marks.
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Alciati’s Emblemata created an entirely new European literary and visual genre. Motto, image and explanatory text work together, turning classical learning into a language of moral and political interpretation.
The Padua edition of 1621 represents the tradition at its most expansive. Its 212 woodcuts are surrounded by a vast apparatus of commentary, making the volume an encyclopaedia of Renaissance and Baroque symbolism.
The work influenced painting, sculpture, architecture, gardens, court festivals and literature for generations. The completeness of the iconographic sequence is central to this copy.
Further photographs and a complete condition report are available on request.