Portrait of Petrarch and Vegetius on War, Antique Print, 1849

Two fourteenth century miniatures on one horizontal sheet, each in its own flowered border. At the left a contemporary portrait of Petrarch, a half length figure of the poet in a hooded robe, taken from manuscript 6069 in the Bibliotheque nationale; at the right a scene from the Art of War of Vegetius, manuscript 7242 A.L., with armed men at the walls of a town. The sheet is lettered with both sources.

This is one of the chromolithographic plates of Le Moyen Age et la Renaissance, second volume, Paris, 1849, edited by Paul Lacroix with Ferdinand Sere as artistic director. The work was among the first large French publications to rely on color lithography throughout, and its plates were drawn directly from manuscripts, textiles, armor and goldsmiths' work in the public collections of Paris, Brussels and the German cities.

A portrait of Petrarch made in his own lifetime is a real thing to be able to hang, and it brings in buyers of Italian Renaissance material who would otherwise pass this volume by. The military half of the sheet has its own following among collectors of arms and armor. The horizontal shape suits a space over a desk. Two miniatures in two separate flowered borders also give a framer a choice: the sheet can be hung whole, which is much the better course, or the borders can be used to justify a wide mount that carries the horizontal shape. Both miniatures are fourteenth century and both come from the Bibliotheque nationale, so the pairing on the plate is the publisher's own.

Even age toning. Marked handling soiling along the bottom, left and right edges. A few small foxing spots in the margin. Slight wear at the top right corner. Minor edge wear, shallow nicks along the top.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.