Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, MS Reg. Lat. 1896
Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett

Divine Comedy by Sandro Botticelli Facsimile Edition

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The Divine Comedy by Sandro Botticelli is one of the most beautiful and intriguing renditions of Dante's Divine Comedy from the Renaissance. The manuscript, also known as Divina Commedia con illustrazioni di Sandro Botticelli, was created and illuminated in the last quarter of the fifteenth century. With its ninety-two silverpoint drawings, the manuscript is justly considered a Renaissance masterpiece.

Botticelli and the Innovations of the Iconographic Apparatus

Starting around the mid-1480s, Botticelli worked on these drawings for about a decade in Florence, leaving a testament to his artistry and innovative genius. Among his innovations is the arrangement both of the text and the images, for the text is placed along four vertical columns in order to avoid the spreading of a single canto over several pages.

Another striking and unprecedented feature of the drawings is the use of a single illustration per canto – rather than a sequence of several miniatures – structured in a vertical format matching the text from left to right. It has also been suggested that, potentially, the illustration would have been placed on top of the text thus creating a volume to be opened vertically. The drawings, unfortunately, were left unfinished with only four of them being fully and completely illuminated such as the Map of Hell.

A Powerful Commissioner

It can be stated with certainty that the commissioner of the Divine Comedy by Sandro Botticelli was a member of the de' Medici family, namely Lorenzo di Pierfrancesco de' Medici, cousin of the famous Lorenzo the Magnificent.

Troubled History of the Manuscript

The history of the drawings is certainly one of turmoil, for they were part of a manuscript of the Divine Comedy that disappeared for a few centuries only to reappear in the nineteenth century in the collection of the Duke of Hamilton. As the manuscript went missing so did the drawings, of which eighty-five were added to the collection of the Kupferstichkabinett Berlin in 1882.

The missing drawings were in the possession of Queen Christina of Sweden, and upon her death in 1686, Pope Alexander VIII bought them (including the famous Map of Hell), adding them to the collection of the Vatican Library. All of the drawings were reassembled in occasion of specific exhibitions, but they currently remain in their respective collections.

Humanistic Script

The script of the Divine Comedy by Sandro Botticelli belongs to the fifteenth century humanistic script (littera humanistica rotunda). Handsomely simple in its appearance, it was favored in contrast to the Gothic script. In an attempt to restore clarity, the littera humanistica antiqua or rotunda features less abbreviations, but several ligatures.

We have 2 facsimiles of the manuscript "Divine Comedy by Sandro Botticelli":

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Manuscript book description compiled by the publisher.
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#1 Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli

Rome: Canesi, 1964

+ 17

Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Reg. Lat. 1896
Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett in the Staatlichen Museen, Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, partial facsimile by Canesi.
Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, partial facsimile by Canesi.

+ 17

Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Reg. Lat. 1896
Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett in the Staatlichen Museen, Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, partial facsimile by Canesi.
Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, partial facsimile by Canesi.

+ 17

Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Reg. Lat. 1896
Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett in the Staatlichen Museen, Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, partial facsimile by Canesi.
Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, partial facsimile by Canesi.

+ 17

Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Reg. Lat. 1896
Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett in the Staatlichen Museen, Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, partial facsimile by Canesi.
Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, partial facsimile by Canesi.

+ 17

Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Reg. Lat. 1896
Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett in the Staatlichen Museen, Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, partial facsimile by Canesi.
Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, partial facsimile by Canesi.

+ 17

Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Reg. Lat. 1896
Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett in the Staatlichen Museen, Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, partial facsimile by Canesi.
Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, partial facsimile by Canesi.

+ 17

Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Reg. Lat. 1896
Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett in the Staatlichen Museen, Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, partial facsimile by Canesi.
Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, partial facsimile by Canesi.

+ 17

Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Reg. Lat. 1896
Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett in the Staatlichen Museen, Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, partial facsimile by Canesi.
Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, partial facsimile by Canesi.

+ 17

Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Reg. Lat. 1896
Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett in the Staatlichen Museen, Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, partial facsimile by Canesi.
Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, partial facsimile by Canesi.

+ 17

Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Reg. Lat. 1896
Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett in the Staatlichen Museen, Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, partial facsimile by Canesi.
Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, partial facsimile by Canesi.

+ 17

Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Reg. Lat. 1896
Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett in the Staatlichen Museen, Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, partial facsimile by Canesi.
Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, partial facsimile by Canesi.

+ 17

Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Reg. Lat. 1896
Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett in the Staatlichen Museen, Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, partial facsimile by Canesi.
Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, partial facsimile by Canesi.

+ 17

Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Reg. Lat. 1896
Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett in the Staatlichen Museen, Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, partial facsimile by Canesi.
Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, partial facsimile by Canesi.

+ 17

Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Reg. Lat. 1896
Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett in the Staatlichen Museen, Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, partial facsimile by Canesi.
Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, partial facsimile by Canesi.

+ 17

Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Reg. Lat. 1896
Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett in the Staatlichen Museen, Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, partial facsimile by Canesi.
Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, partial facsimile by Canesi.

+ 17

Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Reg. Lat. 1896
Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett in the Staatlichen Museen, Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, partial facsimile by Canesi.
Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, partial facsimile by Canesi.

+ 17

Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Reg. Lat. 1896
Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett in the Staatlichen Museen, Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, partial facsimile by Canesi.
Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, partial facsimile by Canesi.

+ 17

Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Reg. Lat. 1896
Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett in the Staatlichen Museen, Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, partial facsimile by Canesi.
Divina Commedia Illustrata da Sandro Botticelli, partial facsimile by Canesi.
  • Commentary (Italian) by Battaglia, Salvatore; Donati, Lamberto; Guzzi, Virgilio
  • This is a partial facsimile of one or more portions of the original document, Divine Comedy by Sandro Botticelli: the facsimile might represent only a part, or doesn't attempt to replicate the format, or doesn't imitate the look-and-feel of the original document.

The text of Dante's Divine Comedy is accompanied by black and white and reduced reproductions of Botticelli's illustrations. The volume comes in a leather case with side extraction. 

Binding

Leather with a textile insert.

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#2 Dantes Divina Commedia mit den Illustrationen von Sandro Botticelli

Zurich: Belser Verlag, 1986

+ 1

Dantes Divina Commedia mit den Illustrationen von Sandro Bottice, Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Reg. Lat. 1896
Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett in the Staatlichen Museen, Divine Comedy by Sandro Botticelli facsimile edition by Belser Verlag.
Divine Comedy by Sandro Botticelli facsimile edition by Belser Verlag.

+ 1

Dantes Divina Commedia mit den Illustrationen von Sandro Bottice, Vatican City, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, Reg. Lat. 1896
Berlin, Kupferstichkabinett in the Staatlichen Museen, Divine Comedy by Sandro Botticelli facsimile edition by Belser Verlag.
Divine Comedy by Sandro Botticelli facsimile edition by Belser Verlag.
  • Commentary (German) by Dreyer, Peter
  • Limited Edition: 500 copies
  • Full-size color reproduction of one or more portions of the original document, Divine Comedy by Sandro Botticelli: the facsimile attempts to replicate the look-and-feel and physical features of the original document; pages are trimmed according to the original format; the binding might not be consistent with the current document binding.

Our Price

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