. Old picture books; with other essays on bookish subjects. by no meanswholly a plagiarist, as is proved by the fact that while inhis first volume the 236 illustrations stand midwaysnumerically between the 215 and the 252 of the two Giuntaeditions of 1490 and 1492 ; for his second volume he pro-vided no fewer than 208 against the 176 and 187 of hispredecessors, the new cuts being fairly evenly distributedthrough the different books, while their artistic merit is ofaverage quality. It is by this touchstone of artistic merit, and not byconsiderations of quantity that the comparative claims of 48
. Old picture books; with other essays on bookish subjects. by no meanswholly a plagiarist, as is proved by the fact that while inhis first volume the 236 illustrations stand midwaysnumerically between the 215 and the 252 of the two Giuntaeditions of 1490 and 1492 ; for his second volume he pro-vided no fewer than 208 against the 176 and 187 of hispredecessors, the new cuts being fairly evenly distributedthrough the different books, while their artistic merit is ofaverage quality. It is by this touchstone of artistic merit, and not byconsiderations of quantity that the comparative claims of 48 OLD PICTURE BOOKS the two rival editions must be decided ; and on the wholethere can be no doubt that both for originality of designand for the highest merit in execution the palm must begiven to the artists and craftsmen employed by in both editions large numbers of thewoodcuts were intrusted to cutters quite incompetent todeal with such delicate work. Giuntas illustrations to theGospels are quite painfully bad, while those of Anima. 1^5^^^^^ THE ENTRY INTO THE ARK. FROM THE MALERMI , ANIMA MIA, I493 Mia are here only mediocre, his worst craftsman havingbeen employed on some of the middle books of the OldTestament. His worst work is almost as bad as the worst ofGiuntas, though less painful, as not introducing the figureof Christ. The proportion of mediocre cuts is far greater,and of these we give (p. 46) a generously chosen examplein that prefixed to Psalm Hi. It should really be an illus-tration, it may be imagined, to the text, Except the Lordbuild the house their labour is but vain that build it, butin any case it is strikingly inferior to the brilliant cut in TWO ILLUSTRATED ITALIAN BIBLES 49 the 1490 edition, which illustrates the heading Dixitinsipiens with all possible cogency. Lastly, his best work, though really good, is not sogood as that of his predecessor. One reason for this is,no doubt, that part of the space available in the col
Size: 1851px × 1350px
Photo credit: © The Reading Room / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: ., bookcentury1900, bookdecade1900, booksubjectbibliog, bookyear1902
