Tag Archives: 15th Century

1629: The Most Trivial Disagreements

Posted on August 15, 2020 by corvusfugit

Such personal correspondence and diaries as survive suggest that social relations from the fifteenth to the seventeenth centuries tended to be cool, even unfriendly. The extraordinary amount of casual interpersonal physical and verbal violence, as recorded in legal and other … Continue reading →

1509: The Most Curious Book in the World

Posted on March 23, 2020 by corvusfugit

The following entry appears in Charles Carroll Bombaugh’s Gleanings from the Harvest Fields of Literature: A Melange of Excerpta, Curious, Humorous, and Instructive (1867): THE MOST CURIOUS BOOK IN THE WORLD The most singular bibliographic curiosity is that which belonged … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 15th Century, 16th Century, 17th Century, 1860's, Belgium, Books, Charles Carroll Bombaugh, Christianity, France, Germany, Hans Memling, King Henry VII, Painting, Pierre Lambinet, Printing, Religion, USA | Leave a comment

1922: Seek the Kingdom of Heaven through Contempt of the World

Posted on December 21, 2019 by corvusfugit

Melchior Lechter’s frontispiece, title page, and first chapter title page for a 1922 edition of Thomas à Kempis’s Imitation of Christ. Written in the early 15th century, the work promotes piety, simplicity, and devotion as the key to a personal … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 15th Century, 1920's, 20th Century, Art, Books, Christianity, Germany, Melchior Lechter, Netherlands, Printmaking, Religion, Thomas à Kempis | Leave a comment

1463: Portrait

Posted on January 23, 2018 by corvusfugit

Luca della Robbia: Portrait of a Young Lady (1463)

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 15th Century, Art, Ceramics, Italy, Luca della Robbia, Portraits, Women | Leave a comment

15th Century: Portrait

Posted on December 20, 2017 by corvusfugit

Bronze portrait: Nigeria, 15th Century; photo from this post on Where’s Malko.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 15th Century, Africa, Art, Nigeria, Portraits, Sculpture | Leave a comment

1499: Wild Men

Posted on December 17, 2017 by corvusfugit

The two archetypal “wild men” that frame Albrecht Dürer’s portrait of Oswolt Krel (1499) were part of a popular theme in the late Medieval period and the early Renaissance. Wild men symbolized lust, fighting spirit, and the power of the primitive. … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 15th Century, Albrecht Dürer, Art, Germany, Mythology, Painting, Portraits | Leave a comment

1457: The Book of the Love-Smitten Heart

Posted on December 16, 2017 by corvusfugit

In the early 15th century, King René of Anjou’s devotion to the courtly arts and literature flourished only after decades of conflict, war, and inter-familial drama. He spent years in prison following a struggle for the throne with his older … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 15th Century, Art, Books, France, Italy, King René of Anjou, War | Leave a comment

1437: Freeing the Poor

Posted on December 15, 2017 by corvusfugit

Sassetta: The Blessed Ranieri Frees the Poor from a Prison in Florence (1437-44) This painting—now in the Louvre—was once part of an elaborate altarpiece in the Church of S. Francesco in Sansepolcro, Tuscany. The altarpiece contained 60 images and was … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 12th Century, 15th Century, Art, Aviation, Italy, Miracles, Painting, Poverty, Rainerius, Ranieri, Saints, Sassetta | Leave a comment

1495: Weighing Souls

Posted on December 5, 2017 by corvusfugit

Juan de la Abadía (the Elder): Saint Michael Weighing Souls (c. 1480-1495) (source) Note the Devil trying to cheat by pushing down the scale; St Michael doesn’t like this and points his spear threateningly.

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 15th Century, Angels, Art, Christianity, Devils, Juan de la Abadía (the Elder), Painting, Religion, Saints, Spain | Leave a comment

1435: The Liberal Arts

Posted on November 16, 2017 by corvusfugit

Giovanni dal Ponte- The Seven Liberal Arts (c. 1435) (source) Each allegorical figure is accompanied by a historical luminary who also represents the discipline: From left to right: 1) Grammar with Donatus (4th century) or Priscian (5th and 6th centuries), … Continue reading →

Posted in Uncategorized | Tagged 15th Century, Aristotle, Art, Astronomy, Cicero, Dialectics, Donatus, Euclid, Geometry, Giovanni dal Ponte, Grammar, Italy, Jubal, Liberal Arts, Math, Music, Painting, Philosophy, Priscian, Ptolomy, Pythagoras, Rhetoric, Tubal-Cain | Leave a comment