NEW LIGHT ON THE 'SFORZIADA' FRONTISPIECES OF GIOVAN PIETRO BIRAGO
M. L. EVANS
D. H. TURNER'S interest in the Milanese miniaturist Giovan Pietro Birago dated from his cataloguing ofthe detached full-page miniature ofthe Adoration ofthe Magi from the renowned Sforza Hours, which entered the British Museum in 1941, published in the Gatalogue of Addittons to the Manuscripts igj6-Tg4§.'^ Many years later. Turner selected both the Sforza Hours and the Grenville Library Sforziada, with its frontispiece by Birago, for the exhibition 'Renaissance Painting in Manuscripts' held in 1983-4.^ During the run of this exhibition a previously unknown calendar leaf from the Sforza Hours was brought to the attention of British Library staff and was purchased by the Department of Manuscripts.^ Turner encouraged the publication of the calendar leaf by the present writer in a recent issue of The British Library Journal (vol. xii (1986), pp. 21-7). He was also instrumental in the preparation of this essay on the Sforziada although, sadly, he did not live to see it completed. Since his emancipation from the name of convenience ^Master ofthe Sforza Hours*, by which he was known prior to 1956, Giovan Pietro Birago has emerged as a leading figure in the last great era of Milanese manuscript illumination.''^Outstanding amongst the series of commissions which Birago executed for members of the Sforza dynasty during the last decade ofthe fifteenth century are three illuminated frontispieces^ in de luxe copies ofthe printed edition of Giovanni Simonetta's life of Francesco Sforza, known as the Sforziada (British Library, London, Bibliotheque Nationale, Paris and Biblioteka Narodowa, Warsaw) (pl. I, figs, i, 2). The miniatures and borders which Birago added to the opening page ofthe first book of these copies of Francesco's biography are of outstanding interest, both as highly accomplished works of art and as fascinating historical documents ofthe political situation in Milan during the crucial period r. 1490-4, which witnessed the final years of the reign of Gian Galeazzo Sforza, his premature death and the seizure of the duchy by his uncle, Ludovico il Moro. A fourth copy, its frontispiece now removed and cut up, can also be identified and is discussed below. The Sforziada or, to give its full title. La Historia delle cose facie dallo invictissimo duca Francesco Sforza, was written in Latin by Giovanni Simonetta, a member of Francesco Sforza's entourage.*^ A printed edition ofthe Latin text was published by Antonio Zarotto of Milan in 1482, with a dedication to Ludovico il Moro, who was a son of Francesco.*^ Simonetta's book was translated into Italian by Cristoforo Landino and an illuminated
232 PLATE V
f^fe?to«aA itnAUsnot)cffll^S€trCttmciw^|tt4etut^ ttj»wvAllmmm'$t'^c tmOttttoucvmed ^cimmt tmuim., etna Bible, mid-thirteenth century. Add. MS. 52778, fol. 386^ PLATE VI The Journey and (below) Adoration of the Magi. Tilliot Hours. Yates Thompson MS. 5, fol. 48^ PLATE VII mmm mttnav mtft tntO falu^ a.u£wT. dC \n oiartm. The Adoration of the Magi. Hours from the Rothschild Bequest. Add. MS. PLATE VIII SOTDAlIo 1VICTISSIMO DVCA FRANCESCO SFORZA SCRIPTA IN LA :, JO DA GIOVANNI SIMONETTA ETTRADOCTA INUNI iVA FIQRENTINA DA CHRJSffOPHORQ LANDINO FTOR FN •afigUuoiadiGirlo Reregnauaiperclieerafuc. :eclutanelregno NeapolitanoaLaiillaoRe fuofra' cello:elquale parti dt uita fansa figliuoli:Alphonfo- le daragonacon grandearmara mouoido di Cata ogna:uenne in SiciIia: Ifola di fao 'ImperiolLa eui- lenuta exato gli huomini del NeapoUtano regho aJ 1 larii fauoriid: a diuerfi confLgludtnon con mouimenti diqiieT regnoJmpero che Giouana Regina^^etmolti'i fubi impudichi amort era caduiain Tdma tnfamia^Et defperandoftcbeler. femina potefli adempiere lofficio del Re:6t adminiflracttam:;rc'gnovfecep a fe manto Iacopo dt N erbona Conte di Marcia:elquale per notalua di faii> gue:& belleza di corpo:nemenoper uirtu era ira Prmcipi di Francia excel'r lente ,-Maaccorgendori in breue che quelio defideraua piu eiTere Re: d mariro:fliqueUanon moltoftimaua:m^oflb dafeminileleuitalorifiutoidc priuo dogni adminiflracioe. Quefto fu cagionecHel fuo regnb:elcuale per* fuanatura e prono.alle difl'enfi.oni-& difc6rdie:arrogendouifi enohonelit coftumi della Regina: ntorno ntHea.TiiiclTe fedioni ii;partialita,:a:conuti) ao ogm giorno piu a fl:a lentifTimoDuca inrmlitaredifciplina: iifpadri egre^ii fatfli habbiamoafcriuereerauenuto alitidiCampa^naiErcogiun' tofi SforTaihaueamofTo guerraatlaRegiha. Maquegh che repu^nauano: aLodouichb:metieuancj ogni jriduftna'; che Alphohfo fufii adoprato in ft! liuolo della Reina: accio che in NayoU fcifil tal Rfc:che^con.IefuefoK?e6;' f 1 mare 6i di terra potefli refiftere allapofla de Franaofi _ Adunque in cbfi^ uehemeteconrentionedebaronu&piu huommidel regno:A!phonfS:cliia.; mato daflaReina m herede &comf agn&del regno:diuenen6 folo.iUtdSfeb" ma anchora hombile: Et el home Catelano elquale tnfmffa queglnempil no era moico noto &i celebre fe non apopoli maritimi:ma mutfo &odiofo:' commcio a crefcere: 6i farfi'chiaro, Ma di da Lodouico d: da Siofza rantol Dgni giorno piu erono opprefTiiel Re & la Regina:che diffidadofi nelle pro' iefbr2e:conduxono3raccio Pcruginaiidqua[ce>ael fecoridoCapitarro: miUua in. Italia m quegU cepi ed moUjehortQreuqli' Giovan Pietro Birago, decorated border, frontispiece in Giovanni Simonetta, Sforziada (Milan, Antonio Zarotto, 1490). British Library, G. 7251. ^NVICTiSSIMOUVCAi-UANGHSCO SfORZA^GlIPTA IN LA 'INQ UA. GIOVANNi- &JMOWEI;TA EI TRADOCTA IN LIN •., .1 iVA FipRaMTINAiUA;Qri&j!£T.afl]iIO.RO, LANDIIKIO FIOREN. ohda figliiicJi dhCarlo Re regnauaiperchfe era fuel .edutanci regno.-bJcapphtacd aiLaxillao Re Tuo fwi parti'dl w,ita.fania..]iigLiu6hiAlpiip*n{o- graode armarainouendo doCackrl iciUait Ifola dl luo IrRperloJLac jtQ glf.huorhmi del Neapoljtauio v!e^i\i: '.a.ni &ii!Orl;.6i a 'ctiuerfi conAgIi;6.'.non con piccoii] Reginalper motti id: ua' rmpuidfcln ii aduTa,i.nfdma!tnfamia,Etderperandor)>'che.[ei.] jernpiere lofficiodeL Rcd^adminifti-ni-e ranio ll era traPrincipi di Franaa excel jacjuello difiderauapiuelTerfcRc: che g edofu cagicmechfel fu6"regn6:elt;iJ3leipei"E ii-nacurii:epVoiio4[le ni6i difGdi-die:aiT0!?Gndbu'ifi cnohoneftk d gm giorCTo piu a fludluare,di u :cua![a'fignoria della dpna-.p ^A!d iall:aftealeiiirpe.da;i-agon'ia;-fi4ni'adbp.catb-dallaRe^ina.Calluipodbauari| la'conFQriidiiMnrt'j/iivtii.terDto fqrtio Ponccfii:c:,fli' di SfoECiAcpend'olo evceii fcnjilTt>n-o-C)ucf!,in.miliraredifcjpI).na: &: padredtFrihcefcofforzkdecoil lofr Sfor2fi:haLU^amofro,giieri'a alia Regina. M pp J Adunque in co ithemefeconiencione debai-oli):&piu hiiomini del regna:Alphbnfo chtat •i:iarddaHaRetna.m herede dicompaeno del regno:diu^ene no fold iHufti-cri tDti'aniGhorflhar^iblIe:-.E[: el home Cacelaiio elquale mfiri6-at^uegli:rempil J'dfibf;b6lfI ^ ''j.f-J?^ ig^i. Giovan Pietro Birago: decorated border, frontispiece in Giovanni Simonetta Sforziada (Milan, Antomo Zarotto, 1490). Paris, Bibliotheque Nationale, Imprimes, Reserve, Velins 724 llNVICTlS'^lMO DVCA FRANCESCO SHORZA SCRIPTA IN LA NO DA GIOVANNI SIMONETTA HTTRADOCTA IN LIN V A FIOREN TIN A DA CHRISTOPHORO LANDINO FIOREN ! TINO. t IE TEMPI CHE LA REGINA GIOVANN A SB EtcondafigliuoIadiOrlo Re rcgnauaiperche era fuc Ijcedutanel regno Neapolitanoa Lati(laoR.e Tuofra l|tello:elc^uale parti di uita fanza righuoti:Alphanfa: daragonacon grandearmata mouendodlOta logna uenne m Sicilia ; Ifola di fuo ImpericLacui uenuta excito gl i huomini det Neapoliiano rcgno a .,..,., _..„ , ^jiiaru fauort:di' a diuerfi configli;(i^ non con piccolt ouimenti ai qiJeTregnoTlmpero che Giouana Regina per molti 6i uaril uoi impudichi amori era caduia m foma tnfamu.Hc defperandofi chela adempiere loflicio del Rci&admmiftrare tanro regno;fece fe manto Iacopo di Ncrbona Gante di Marcia:dquale per nobitita di fan ue:d.'belle:a di corpomemcnoper uirtuera tra Princtpldi FrantUa excd ente . Ma accorgendofi in breue che qucllo defideraua piu elTere Re: che anto:6cque!U non mokoflimauaimolTo da femipileleuiiaio nftuto:di priuo doeniadminiflratice . Queftofu cagionechel fuoregnoretcjualeper I fuanituraepronoalie dtlTenfioni di difcordietarrogendouifi endhoneflr coftumi della Regina: ricorno nelle lniiche fatllioni (Vpartialita:^^ comia CIO ogni giorno piu a fluiftuared:uacillare.Eranoalcun i a quali no drfpuJ ceua la fignoria della donarperchebenchc il nome fuffi in Iei:loronientoch' menocomidauono.Aliri defiderauanoxheLodouicocertio Ducadancmn flijiiuolodi Lodouico e'qualeera nomatoRediPugliarttckuiOlantematail peconforti di Marnno tertto fomo Pontefice:^: di Sforra Atrendolo • iJenrifTimo Duca in militaredifciplina : ii; padrediFrancefcofforzadecml cgrejit faiflf habbtamoa fcnuereerauenuioa litidiCampae;na:Etcdgiuiir| tofi Sforra; hauea molTo guerra alia Regina . Ma quegli che rcpuijnauano: aLodouifhojinetreuanoogni induftria: che Alphonfo fufTi adoptacom igliuolo dei la Rema: acciochein Napoli fafli ral Re;checon lefue forzetfc-1 dl marc Adi terra pocefTireriftere alia pofTadeFrinciofi. Adunque in cofil 1 uehemetecontenttone debaroni:di; piu huomini del regno;Alphonfo i matodailaRema in herede ii:compagnodel regno:diuenend folo illuftrc;! ma anchora hombile: Et el nome Cacelano elquale infmoa que^li rempf DO era moi to noro & celebre fe non apopoli maririmnmainuifoA'odiofo: tomincio a crefcere: & farfi chiaro. Ma tii da Lodouico & da Sforza tanto. | 6gnigiamo piu erono opprefTiiel RedilaRegina.-chediffididofi ntllepro pne forie: conduxono Braccio Perugino : el quale era ei fecondo Capitano dl mtliaa in Itaiu lr que^li tcpico molcchonoreuoli cc Fig. 2. Giovan Pietro Birago: decorated border, frontispiece in Giovanni Simonetta, Sforziada (Milan, Antonio Zarotto, 1490). Warsaw, Biblioteka Narodowa, Inc. F.1347 manuscript of this translation, with corrections in the hand of Simonetta, is preserved in the Biblioteca Ambrosiana in Milan. ^ The opening page ofthe first book ofthe biography bears in this manuscript the profile portrait of Francesco Sforza in the historiated initial which starts the main text (fig. 3). In the decorated borders at the left and bottom ofthe page appear two devices: the horse's bridle and the 'Spazzola' or brush combined with the motto *Merito et Tempore'. Both were popular Sforza devices, utilized by Francesco and his son Galeazzo Maria. ^ The 'Spazzola' and its motto, but not the bridle, were also frequently used by Ludovico il Moro. At the foot ofthe page appears a coat of arms with the Visconti serpent quartered with a wave pattern. The latter was also popular with the Sforza, appearing in the arms of Alessandro Sforza, Francesco's half-brother, as well as in those of Ludovico Sforza. ^^ Whilst there is no doubt that the Ambrosiana manuscript of the Sforziada was commissioned for an important member of the Sforza family, the identity of its original owner remains unclear. Traditionally, the book was believed to have belonged to Galeazzo Maria. ^* However, his early death in 1476 and the absence ofthe Sforza ducal arms, of quartered Visconti serpents and Imperial eagles, does not support this view. Given that Ludovico Sforza was the dedicatee both ofthe 1482 Latin edition and the 1490 Italian translation published by Zarotto, the Ambrosiana Sforziada may also have been his, notwithstanding the difference between its arms and those which he habitually used.^^ Comparison ofthe layout ofthe opening page ofthe Ambrosiana manuscript and that of the printed edition of 1490 indicates that the former provided the model for the latter, although the scribe was only able to accommodate 30 lines of the main text, against the printer's 38. The vernacular Sforziada was simultaneously published in two editions: one printed on paper, the other on vellum with frontispieces decorated by Birago. Whilst the latter edition was tiny, perhaps comprising no more than the four known copies, its significance in the project as a whole was considerable. This is evident from the printer's decision to omit the opening letter ofthe main text, leaving an oblong space corresponding to the historiated initial in the frontispiece ofthe Ambrosiana Sforziada. In the de luxe copies these spaces were similarly filled with portraits of Francesco by Birago. However, it is only in the most general terms of layout that Birago's Sforziada decorations can be said to owe anything at all to the vastly inferior decoration of the Ambrosiana manuscript. Both the Latin and Italian editions of the Sforziada were a species of oflficial publication. The illuminated manuscript of Antonio Minuti's life of Muzio Attendolo Sforza, the father of Francesco, which Ludovico il Moro commissioned in 1491, was ofa similar character. ^^ The contemporary political purpose of these glorifications of earlier Sforza is evident. The regime had been founded as recently as 1450, when Francesco Sforza forced his way into Milan, after three years of campaigning following the death of Filippo Maria, the last Visconti duke. Francesco's claim to the duchy, dependent upon his marriage to Bianca Maria, an illegitimate daughter of FiUppo Maria, was by no means unimpeachable. His son Galeazzo Maria died in 1476, having survived Francesco by only a decade. Thereafter, the dynasty was subject to the perils of a regency, owing to the youth of Gian Galeazzo on his father's death. Although Ludovico ousted Gian Galeazzo's 235 J.c^'.t co4c fdtik tf^ffo f-'ca ,n lotinc Ja qiouiitm, Simoncttii cr tta d E TEMPI CHE LA KEGINA GIOVANNA eft Curio Re tvtm.iurt tpnaie'^m (iuxeaat moitendoJ AtA Cdtnlppnil t itttnric-'lu ?( at fuo lmtie*ie.L'* cm vmum c^cita pti imomirti del Mr^K>limnt> reono a (M rt\ (nuan-Oia duierfT oonfipfi : (imOT di ooftw-n CW aiiaia dqiaeraiu ptii e(?inT Rcicnr^fnflritD;d^ orinUt ITOH molt© /+iinii. ] J r " 7 ' • do ftmiTitU- Itiiita LonfiuKj £i^pnuo aoorri ja>niiti|>ninonc'Qiie' Ki camanc', dvt ftia rtpno^dcpale' pci- (Ii^t Ti •i.^ j iS I ' J. Anonymous Milanese miniaturist: decorated border in Giovanni Simonetta, Sforziada. Milan, Biblioteca Amhrosiana MS. A271, fol. i mother, Bona Sforza, from political power in 1480, the situation remained tense. His decision to seize power himself on his nephew's death in 1494 was partly motivated by the fear of another long minority rule, for Gian Galeazzo's son Francesco was still a child. Before the end ofthe century, the fragility of Sforza control of Milan was demonstrated and Ludovico il Moro was forced to fleebefor e the invading French. Like many a parvenu dynasty, the Sforza went to considerable pains to demonstrate their political legitimacy. Viewed in this light, the publication ofthe Sforziada emerges as part ofa desperate and ultimately unsuccessful publicity campaign. Examination ofthe iconography and armorials ofthe Sforziada frontispieces permits the establishment of their approximate date and the identification of their owners. The London copy bears the portrait of Ludovico il Moro, together with his symbol ofa moor's head and emblematic representations ofthe city of Genoa, of which he was duke, so it was evidently his own copy (pl. l).^"^ It is also decorated with the *Spazzola' and the motto 'Merito et Tempore', mentioned above. The absence of any reference to Ludovico as Duke of Milan, as he became in 1494, and ofthe arms of his wife Beatrice d'Este, whom he married in 1491, indicates a date between 1490 and 1491 or 1494.^^ The date 1494 is also the terminus ante quem ofthe Paris Sforziada, as its frontispiece includes a portrait of Gian Galeazzo, who died in that year (fig. i). At the top of this page appear the quartered arms ofthe Empire and the Visconti, surmounted by a ducal coronet and flanked by gnarled branches from which hang fire-buckets.^*^ These arms were inherited by the Sforza dukes of Milan from the Visconti and may be seen, for example, in a manuscript cutting in the Wallace Collection which includes a portrait of Galeazzo Maria, the father of Gian Galeazzo and brother of Ludovico. ^"^ The device ofa dog under a tree and a hand with a collar which appears at the upper left border, and that ofa phoenix with the motto 'A Bon Droit' to the top left of the portrait of the duke, in the Paris frontispiece may also be found in another manuscript of Gian Galeazzo, a copy of Lascaris Costantino's Grammatica of f. 1475-6 in the Biblioteca Trivulziana.^^ Previously, the same devices had appeared in a two-volume Cicero of 1459 and 1461 in the Bibliotheque Nationale which belonged to Galeazzo Maria. ^^ Like the ducal arms, these devices passed from father to son. The Paris frontispiece lays great stress on Ludovico's tutelage of his nephew. Their entwined initials IOG and L are repeated and the two men are portrayed together no fewer than three times. ^° In the right border Ludovico is portrayed in the guise ofa mulberry tree (in Italian moro), embracing a smaller tree, evidently a personification of Gian Galeazzo, and quite overshadowing two tiny saplings, which presumably symbolize the latter's two children Francesco and Bona. Ludovico pledges his support of Gian Galeazzo in a pair of scrolls which flutter from the trunks ofthe two central trees: 'DVM VIVIS TVTVS ET LETvs VIVO GAVDE FiLi PROTECTOR Tvvs ERO SEMPER*. In the bas de page miniature Gian Galeazzo appears kneeling with his uncle, who points authoritatively upwards towards the portrait of Francesco who, as in the London and Warsaw frontispieces, is prominently labelled 'PATER PATRIAE'. In the background of this scene Gian Galeazzo is depicted standing in a boat crewed by a moor and praying to St Louis of Toulouse. This is 237 evidently a symbol of Ludovico's political supremacy, as his symbol is literally steering Gian Galeazzo's ship of state, whilst the latter prays to his uncle's name saint. The harbour in the left background is an emblematic representation of Ludovico's duchy of Genoa, similar to those which appear in the London Sforziada and on the verso of his portrait medal by Cristoforo Caradosso.^^ Given the political sentiments expressed in the Paris frontispiece, it seems highly probable that this copy ofthe Sforziada was intended as a gift from Ludovico il Moro to his nephew. ^^ The Warsaw Sforziada is a key work in Birago's osuvre, as its frontispiece is signed at the bottom right 'PSBR IO PETR BIRAGVS FT' (fig. 2)." This version, unlike those at London and Paris, has no profile portrait facing the likeness of Francesco Sforza at the upper left. In his pioneering article on the Warsaw leaf, Horodyski plausibly concluded that the arms at the top right were those of Aragon and the city of Milan, from which he deduced that the book had belonged to a child of Gian Galeazzo and Isabella of Aragon, either the disinherited Francesco or his sister Bona. I am indebted to Francois Avril for the correct identification of these arms as those of the Sanseverino family. The illuminated frontispiece of a printed copy of Roberto Valturio's De re militari, dated 1483 and dedicated to Roberto da Sanseverino, includes identical arms, together with the device of three interlocked rings, which also appears in both ofthe vertical borders ofthe Warsaw frontispiece (fig. 4).^ Moreover, the wave pattern, which we have already seen as popular with the Sforza, also appears both in the top-left and bottom-right quarters ofthe coat of arms at the bottom right ofthe Warsaw page and throughout the Valturio frontispiece.^^ Roberto da Sanseverino presumably appropriated this heraldic pattern from Francesco or Ludovico Sforza, under both of whom he served. ^^ However, he was evidently not the owner ofthe Warsaw Sforziada, for he was killed on the Adige in 1487, fighting for Venice against the Austrians.^'' That the book belonged to his son Galeazzo da Sanseverino is evident from the initials GZ emblazoned on the small shields below and to either side of the Sanseverino arms in the right border ofthe Warsaw frontispiece. This identification of the owner coincides with Horodyski's analysis of the bas de page scene which portrays a black child, evidently a personification of Ludovico il Moro, surrounded by children who are presumably meant to represent his courtiers. ^^ The black child points upwards to the portrait of Francesco Sforza, whom he describes as a renowned example to be imitated ('EXEMPLAR INCLITV" IMITAMINI'), and looks to his right at a white boy with a sword arm in arm with a little black girl. The latter pair respond: 'REDEMISTI NOS MEMENTO QVOD SVMVS TVi DNE.' Identifying the girl as Ludovico's daughter Bianca Sforza, Horodyski concluded that the boy must represent Galeazzo da Sanseverino, to whom she was engaged in 1490 and whom she married in 1496.^^ The union of Sforza and Sanseverino would account for the presence of two Sforza devices in the Warsaw frontispiece. The pair of hands holding what appears to be a cloth or sail and the motto 'TALATI QVAL AMI' emblazoned on the shield supported by a pair of putti clad as wild men at the centre ofthe right border may also be seen in the record of Ludovico's donations to Santa Maria dellc Grazie, dated <:.i497, in the Pierpont Morgan Library and on the frontispiece of Ludovico's copy of Minuti's life of Muzio Attendolo 238 OPERA DE FACTl E PRECEPT! VirLlTARI Dl LO EXCELLENTG MISIER ROBERTO VAL TVRlO ARIMINESE GIA INSCRfPTA IN LA TIN A LO ILLVSTRE SiGNoR SIGISMON DO PANDOLPHO MALATfiSTA PRINCIPE DI ARIMINO ET HORA TRADVCTA IN VVLGAR A NOME ET GLORIA DEL MA GNANIMO CAPITANNOESEVirRE FELICE IN LE BAT AGUE SIGNOR ROBERTO DI ARAGONIA DI SAN SEVBRINO GENERAL LOCO TENENTE DEL SERENISSIMO ET lViTISSIMO SENATO VENETiANO •: \ Re Jo ccrUmcnte ne a mi e occul to o gloriofo cinclpto c^pitano S;'gifmondo Pandolpho tanta cilcrdinoftritepilafnuidia ma Jignim etpcruerfita chetnolti g fta mia opera morderanno per chfonelnumero habondantiffi mo di fcripiori latini ct greci qpa _ _^ ^^liaccuratametei pretepiieglior dini di larfe militare Mriho Cctipo cofi temerariamenie ha bia ardito di tanta coCa farni patola. Ma prima chio renda rafone del mio ardir et condefcenda a lopera prcpofta una fc|u3dra di rcpreheufori ordlncro: fra t]ucftori adoncha che la mia Optra legeranno To che fera una ncua et ftrania generation di hotnini cjuali non folamente ami fonno fafii diofi. ma acjuellianlichifonno importuni :aqHali maial chunacofanon fipuofar cum (ante ordincche non para fia faiftafencia atchuno modo cum tjuahfc incommcnce rai a parlare hanno in faftidio tultc le fuc cofe ben chc gli foi fcritti non ardifcanno dar forincmai flianno inconftami Fig. 4, Anonymous North Italian miniaturist: decorated border, frontispiece in Roberto Valturio, De re militari (Verona, Bonino de' Bonini, 1483). Paris, Bibliotheque Nationale, Imprimes, Reserve, R267 Sforza, mentioned above.^o At the top ofthe page is the device ofa dog under a tree and a hand with a collar, previously noted on manuscripts of Galeazzo Maria and Gian Galeazzo. ^^ That the Warsaw Sforziada post-dates Gian Galeazzo's death is suggested by the coat of arms at the bottom ofthe right border. In its top-right and bottom-left quarters there reappears the motif of the ship of state, previously seen in the bas depage miniature ofthe Paris frontispiece. However, in the Warsaw version it has but a single passenger, the moor symbolic of Ludovico. ^^ On the above analysis it seems most likely that the Warsaw Sforziada was a gift from Ludovico to Galeazzo da Sanseverino, presumably made on the occasion of the latter's marriage to Bianca Sforza in 1496. Having re-examined the three intact Sforziada frontispieces, we may turn to a fourth, fragmentary example. This consists ofa group of nine illuminated cuttings stuck down on card (figs. 5, 6).^^ These were pubhshed by Malaguzzi Valeri in 1917 with an attribution to the Master ofthe Sforza Hours, as Birago was then known.^ In 1958 the catalogue ofthe exhibition Arte Lombarda dai Visconti agli Sforza noted that the Uffizi miniatures were very close in style to the frontispieces ofthe London and Paris Sforziadae and pointed out that one of them, that of zputto playing the lyre on a pedestal (no. 843), is actually signed by Birago: 'AVTORE JO PE BIRA'.^^ It was left to Canova in 1969 to infer that the Uffizi cuttings derive from a fourth Sforziada.^^^h\^ is probably identical with the copy printed on vellum and missing the first page ofthe first book, mentioned by Warner in 1903 as in the Vatican Library. ^"^ The Uffizi miniatures remain very little know^n, possibly because they have not been reproduced as a group since 1917. Their true significance, as fragments ofa fourth Sforziada frontispiece, was not apparent to the present waiter when cataloguing the London Sforziada in 1983.^^ It is possible to establish the relative positions of most ofthe Uffizi cuttings beyond all reasonable doubt and they are reproduced here in a photomontage, superimposed upon the relevant page of an undecorated copy ofthe Sforziada in the British Library (fig. 7).^^ It is clear that the portrait of Francesco Sforza (no. 4429) filled the rectangular gap at the top left ofthe main block of text, that the narrow panel with a turbaned figure flankedb y a pair of musical putti (no. 4426) was situated immediately above the title, and that the miniature of Francesco Sforza enthroned amidst famous generals of antiquity (no. 4425) served as a bas de page scene. The semicircular cuts at top and bottom of the three theological virtues (no. 4423) indicate that it appeared immediately between the portrait roundels of Gian Galeazzo Sforza (no. 4424) and Ludovico il Moro (no. 4430). That the former was above and the latter below is evident from the scroll of text which loops around the lower margin ofthe portrait of Gian Galeazzo and links up with the top ofthe long text scroll which separates Charity from Hope and Faith. The intended position of this group of cuttings may be calculated from the London and Paris frontispieces, each of which includes a single roundel portrait facing, but at a slightly lower level than, the likeness of Francesco. This reconstruction leaves room for the cutting ofthe angels with the Sforza arms (no. 4427) at the bottom ofthe right border. Only the locations ofthe musical ^Mffo with Birago's signature (no. 843) and the musical angel (no. 4428), both of which must come from the narrow left border, remain unclear. As the Paris frontispiece includes a 240 rt N GO ta . WM ^ iWM o rtc Hi S i^ "5 H rtc O ^t GO 3 •HD. •S d a c O nti ; OO o M u m u Ha T3 l-cH O KI'-- XJ N B -o rt _ r u im. 1 R C I- ilf ° ^. PI1 § ml s M llifiW]l ^bc fr a bo VH S toi 1 O musical angel at the foot ofthe border and the Warsaw example includes a musical putto adjacent to the portrait of Francesco, an analogous configuration has been adopted in this reconstruction. The composition of the reconstructed Sforziada frontispiece shares many points in common with those ofthe three intact versions. The primary element is, naturally, the portrait of Francesco Sforza, the hero of Simonetta's book. Gian Galeazzo and Ludovico are portrayed much the same as in, respectively, the Paris and London versions, except that their portraits are encircled by identifying margins of text. Gian Galeazzo is labelled IOHANNES GALEAZ MARIA SFOR. VICECO DVX MEDIOLANI VI and LudovicO IOD M Sf VIC DVX BARRHi PATERNE LAVDis INSTAVRATOR ET IMITATOR. Although Gian Galeazzo is given the appropriate place of honour, above his uncle and almost face to face with his grandfather, Ludovico is styled the restorer and imitator of Francesco's praise. This point is taken up in the partly illegible inscription on the monument upon which the two angels bearing the Sforza arms stand: *AVCTORE MAVRO FILIO VT MEMORIA VIVAT BIBLIOTHECAM . . .' The 'Mauro filio' is none other than Ludovico, whose symbol ofa moor's head appears in the centre ofthe narrow panel above the title, as in the London Sforziada. Francesco's glory is expressed in the bas de page miniature, which depicts the first Sforza duke enthroned at a higher level than Fabius, Scipio, Pompey, Caesar, Hannibal, Epaminondas, Themistocles, and an eighth figure whose name is now illegible. By chance or design, the corresponding scene in the Warsaw frontispiece echoes this composition. This presentation of Ludovico as the preserver and heir of Francesco's reputation is reminiscent ofthe tone ofthe bas de page miniatures ofthe Paris and Warsaw Sforziadae, in both of which Ludovico is portrayed directing attention to the image ofthe founder of the dynasty. However, whereas the right border ofthe Paris frontispiece depicts Ludovico as the protector ofthe young duke and his heirs, that ofthe reconstructed page portrays nephew and uncle as equal partners. There, the personification of Charity is simul- taneously suckling two infants, one white and one black, who evidently symbolize Gian Galeazzo and Ludovico il Moro. These children are shaking hands, as if in ratification of the scroll of text surrounding Garitas, which reads: 'FIDES SPES CARITAS ET VNIO NOSTRA NVNQVAM DEFICIET'. At the foot of the right border of the reconstructed frontispiece, the cutting of the monument with two angels bearing the Sforza arms is replete with references to Ludovico. The arms, identical to those on the London Sforziada, are those which customarily appear on Ludovico's manuscripts."^ Above the arms appears a view of Ludovico's city of Genoa, reminiscent of those which appear in both the London and the Paris Sforziada frontispieces. Beneath is the familiar motif of the 'Spazzola', which is repeated twice more at the edges of the monument upon which the angels stand, together with the motto 'Merito et Tempore' and the initial letter of Ludovico's Christian name. Each ofthe angels bears a device: that on the left the cloth or sail with the motto 'TALATI QVALAMI', previously noted on the Warsaw frontispiece and other manuscripts associated with Ludovico, and that on the right the motif of an axe embedded in a branch with a motto so damaged as to be indecipherable. That it probably read 'TVTO FL TOR TO VA NI' is evident 243 LIBRO PRIMO DELLA HISTORIA DELLE COSE FACTE DALLO INVICTISSIMO UVCA }^RANCESCO Sf-URZA SCRIPTA IN LA TINO DA GIOVANNI SIMONETTA bTTRADOCTA IN LIN GVA FIORHNTINA UA CHRISTOPHORO LANDINO FIOREN —^—^^-^—' UNO. E TEMPI CHELA REGINA GIOVANNA SE condafittiLJoladiOrlo Re rej^nauaiperche era fuc ceduiariel re^no Ncapolitanoa LaiinaoRe fuofra tello;elquale parti di uira_fania rig!iuolj:Alp}ionfo Re dara^ona con grande armata mouendo d) Caca logna uenne mSicilia; Ifola dl fuo Imperio,La cut ueriuraexcitogliliuoming i del Neapolicanoregnopg a uarii ffauoruii a diuerrdr i confi^ludfl : non con piccolli niouimcnti di qucl regnoJmpero che Giouina Regina per molci 6i uarii fuoi impudichi amori era caduta in fcmainfamia.be defperandoA che lei fcmina potefTi adempiere ioHkio del Rei&adminiftrare tanio regnoifece a femariro Iacopodi NcrboraConredt Marciaieltjuaie per nobilua di fan :& beileia di forpomerr.enoper uircucra tra Principi di Francia excel lcnte-Ma-accorgendofi in breue che quel^o defideraua pm efTerc Re: cKe manio-.&quella non iT,o!coftimaua;moflb da feminileleuiialonfiuto:8f pTiuo do^ni adminiflrai ic'c. Quefto fa cacionechel fuoregno;c!crualeper fua naturae pronoalle dilTenfioni & difcordierarrogendoLifi enohoneill coftumi della Regina : ntorno ne'.le anuche fadtioni 6i pan:ialiia:(i; comm CIO o^ni giorno piu a Hudtuared; uacillare.Eranoaicuni a cualmo difpia ceua fa funoriadel[adona;pfrchebencKeiI nome fufTimleiiloronieniedi menocomidaLiono.Aliridefiderauano:cheLocouJCoteriroDuca£ianeio: ft^jjiuolodiLodouico elqi.iateeranomatoRediPuglia:didi uio'anremata dellaReaIeflirpedaragonia:fufriadopcatodallaRcgina.Coftuipocoaui[i peconforti dl Marttnotertio f6moPontefice;di;di Sforra Attendolo excel leniifTimoDucainmilitaredifciplina: & padrediFranccfcofforsadecui wre^ii facHi habbiamoa fcriuere era uenuto a liti dl Campagna-.Et cogiun tofi Sfor2a:haueamonb guerraa[laRegina -Mac;ueeli che repti^nauano aLodouichoimetieuano ogm mduftria: che Alphonfo fufTi adoprato in fi huolo della Reiniraccio chc in NapoUfulTi ral ReicheconlefueforietJi f 1 mare di dl terra potefTi refiftcre allapofTa de Fnnciofi, Adunc;ue mflpl uehemctecontentione debaroniidipiu huomini del regno:Alphonfo rhia matodailaReina in herede d;compagnodelregno;diucne no folo ill uftre: ma anchora horribile: Et el nome Catelano equate lnfinoa qutfgli lempi no era moi to noro * celebre fe non a popoli maritimcma inuifo ^odiofo; comincio a Crefcere: & farfi chiaro. Ma & da Lodouico A da Sforza tanto ogni giorno piu erono opprefTitel Re di laReginaschedifTidadori nellepro pr(e forze: conduxono Braccio Perugino : e! quale era ei fecondo Capiiano dl miUcu in lulu m queglt cepi c6 moi te honorcuoli c6(iiuoTU:d: maximc Ftg 7 Giovan Pietro Birago: fragments ofa decorated border (Florence, Uffizi, Inv. 1890, nn. 4426, 843, 4429, 4424, 4423. 4430, 4428, 4425, and 4427) superimposed photographically upon an undecorated frontispiece in Giovanni Simonetta, Sforziada (Milan, Antonio Zarotto, 1490)- British Library, 167.0.9. from the undamaged motto and axe device which appear at the top of the frontispiece of Ludovico's copy of the hfe of Muzio Attendolo Sforza, mentioned above."^^ The reconstructed Sforziada has the same dating range as the London and Paris examples, f.1490-1491/4. To judge from its arms and devices it belonged to Ludovico il Moro, although its precise significance relative to that ofthe London Sforziada, which also belonged to him, is difficult to assess. By comparison with the Paris frontispiece, the reconstructed leaf implies a shift in Ludovico's relationship with his nephew, away from tutelage and towards partnership. It is unlikely that this change in the Milanese political climate occurred overnight, so it would appear that the reconstructed page was decorated some time after the Paris frontispiece. Clearly, the Warsaw Sforztada is several years later in date than the others. The identification of its owner as Galeazzo da Sanseverino disproves the theory that its frontispiece was intended as a vehement attack on Ludovico il Moro.*^ Notwithstanding previous arguments to the contrary, there can be little doubt that Ludovico commissioned all four ofthe de luxe copies ofthe Sforziada, two for his own use, one for his brother, and one for his son-in-law.'''^ Given the perceptible difference in date between the Paris frontispiece and the reconstructed page and between the Warsaw volume and the others, Birago's Sforziada decorations would appear to have been a series of commissions. One wonders if several unbound Sforziadae, printed on vellum, were retained by Ludovico for eventual decoration and presentation to relations and in-laws. If so, more de luxe copies of the Sforziada with frontispieces decorated by Giovan Pietro Birago may yet lie unnoticed amongst the incunable holdings of the world's hbraries. 1 BL, Add. MS. 45722. See British Museum, 8 Milan, Biblioteca Ambrosiana, MS. A271. See Catalogue of Additions to the Manuscripts 1936- Elisabeth Pellegrin, La bibliotheque des Visconti et ig4S (London, 1970), pp. 231-2 and, previously, des Sforza, dues de Milan au XV^ Siecle (Paris, Jacques Rosenthal, Mittelalterliche Mimaturen 1955), p. 369. Landino (1424-98) was a Floren- (Munich, 1Q31), no. 34 and frontispiece. tine humanist. 2 See T. Kren (ed.) Renaissance Painting in Manu- 9 For the identification of the bridle device, see scripts (New York and London, 1983), pp. F. Avril (ed.), Dix siecles d^enluminure italienne 107-22. {VP-XVF siecles), ed. F. Avril (Paris, 1984), 3 BL, Add. MS. 62997. p. 155. For the identification ofthe 'Spazzola' 4 Birago was conclusively identified as the Master and motto, see G. F. Warner, Illuminated Manu- of the Sforza Hours by B. Horodyski, 'Birago, scripts in the British Museum, ser. iv {London, Miniaturiste des Sforza', Scriptorium, x (1956), 1903), Grenville Library, no. 7251. Both devices pp. 251-5. For subsequent bibliography see appear in the two-volume Cicero of Galeazzo Renaissance Painting in Manuscripts. Maria Sforza and in the copy of Domenico 5 See ibid., pp. 107-12. Cavalca, Vite di Santi Padre, presented by 6 Simonetta (d. 1491) wasa member of a Calabrian Francesco Sforza to his daughter Ippolita, both family who entered Francesco's service during of which are in the Bibliotheque Nationale his early days as a condottiere and subsequently (Latin 7703 and 7779 and Italien 1712), and for followed him to Milan. which see Avril, op. cit., pp. 152-5. 7 The book may have been in hand as early as 1479. 10 See Avril, op. cit., p. 147 for the arms on a See Gatalogue of Books Printed in the XVth volume of lyrical poems of Alessandro Sforza, Gentury Now in the British Museum, pt. vi lord of Pesaro (Italien 561). For use of the (London, 1930), p. 718. wave pattern in a work belonging to Ludovieo, 245 see, for example, his arms on the British Library theless, his three sons all served Ludovico. See copy of the Sforziada [Renaissance Painting in L. G. Michaud, Biographie universelle, ancienneet Manuscripts, p. 109). moderne (Paris and Leipzig, n.d.), vol. xxxvii, 11 See n. 8 above. p. 650. 12 For the arms customarily used by Ludovico il 27 See n. 26 above. Moro, sec n. 10 above and Avril, op. cit., p. 158. 28 See Horodyski, op. cit., p. 253. 13 Paris, Bibliotheque Nationale, Italien 372. See n. 29 See n. 28 above. 12 above. 30 The former (Pierpont Morgan M.434) was 14 See Renaissance Painting in Manuscripts, p. 107. illuminated by Francesco Binasco. See W. M. 15 Ludovico's marriage grant of lands to his wife in Voelkle (ed.), Italian Manuscript Painting ijoo- the British Library (Add. MS. 21413) depicts his 1550 (New York, 1984), no. 28 and, for an arms impaled with those of Beatrice d'Este. See illustration, Storia di Milano, VEta. Sforzesca dat Warner, Miniatures and Borders from the Book of 1450 al 1500 (Milan, 1956), p. 825. For the latter Hours of Bona Sforza, Duchess of Alilan, in the see nn. 12 and 13 above. British Museum (London, 1894), pp. xxxii-xxxiii. 31 Including the Paris Sforziada. See nn. 18 and 19 16 For the Paris Sforziada, see Avril, op. cit., above. pp. 159-60 and Renaissance Painting in Manu- 32 See Horodyski, op. cit., p. 255. scripts, pp. iio-ii. 33 I am indebted to Silvia Meloni, both for photo- 17 For this device, which apparently dates back to graphs of these cuttings (Uffizi, Inv. 1890, nn. the time of Giangaleazzo Visconti, see Carl- 4423-30 and 843) and for catalogue data on them Alexander von Volborth, Heraldry Gustoms, Rules from the Uffizi archives. and Styles (Poole, 1981), p. 216. For the Wallace 34 See F. Malaguzzi Valeri, La Gorte di Lodovico it Collection cutting, see J. J. G. Alexander, Cata- Moro: la vita privata e Parte a Milano nella logue of Illuminated Manuscript Cuttings (Lon- seconda metd del quattrocento, vol. 3, GU Artisti don, 1980), pp. 39-41. Lombardi (Milan, 1917), p. 157 and figs. 170-7. 18 Biblioteca Trivulziana, Cod. 2147. See Caterina 35 Milan, Palazzo Reale, Arte lombarda dai Visconti Santoro, / Godici miniati della Biblioteca Trivul- agli Sforza (Milan, 1958), pp. 142-3. ziana (Milan, 1958), cat. no. 28 and tav. nos. xxii 36 See Giordana Mariani Canova, La miniatura and xxiii. veneta del Rinascimento 1450-1500 (Venice, 19 See n. 9 above. 1969), p. 137. 20 See n. 16 above. 37 See n. 9 above. Warner, op. cit.: 'In the Vatican 21 See Renaissance Painting m Manuscripts, p. 107. copy, the first page of the text, which was 22 Notwithstanding the present writer's argument probably decorated with a somewhat similar- to the contrary in ibid., p. 112. border, has been cut out.' 23 See Horodyski, op. cit., p. 251. 38 See Renaissance Painting in Manuscripts, p. 112. 24 Bibliotheque Nationale, Res. R267. See Biblio- The significance of the cuttings was also un- theque Nationale, Gatalogue des Incunables, tome remarked upon in Avril, op. cit., p. 160. ii, fasc. 4, S~Z et Hebraica (Paris, 1985), p. 712. I 39 I am indebted to Eric Broadbent of the Photo- am also indebted to Francois Avril for drawing graphic Section of the National Museum of my attention to a further example of the San- Wales for his assistance in the making of this severino arms, identical to those on the Valturio photomontage. frontispiece and the Warsaw Sforziada, on the 40 See n. 12 above. After his marriage to Beatrice reyerse of a pair of panels of St John the Baptist d'Este in 1491, Ludovico's arms sometimes and St Anthony Abbot by Andrea Solario in the appear impaled with those of his wife. See n. 15 Museo Poldi Pezzoli, for which see Luisa Cogliati above. Arano, Andrea Solario (Milan, 1966), p. 71. 41 See nn. 12 and 13 above. 25 See n. 10 above. 42 As argued by Horodyski, op. cit., pp. 254-5. 26 From a Neapolitan family, Roberto was given a 43 Tbe argument of the present writer, that the command by Francesco which he retained under London and Paris copies of the Sforziada were Galeazzo Maria and, after the latter's death, commissioned by Gian Galeazzo, the former for Ludovico il Moro. In 1481 he left the service of presentation to his uncle and the latter for his own Milan and served Venice and the Papacy. Never- use, and that the Warsaw copy was commissioned 246 after his death by a member of his family, for Warsaw Sforziada was commissioned for one of which see n. 22 above, laid undue stress upon the children of Gian Galeazzo after his death, is the traditional provenance of the Ambrosiana conclusively disproven by the identification of Sforziada manuscript from the collection of Galeazzo da Sanseverino as the owner of the GaleazzoMariaSforza, for which see nn. 8 and 11 Warsaw iT/orsi/fliffl, for which see nn. 24-9 and 42 above. This theory, in line with the mistaken above, belief of Horodyski, op. cit., p. 255, that the NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS JANET BACKHOUSE: Western Manuscripts, Special Collections. M. L. EVANS: Assistant Keeper, Department of Art, National Museum of Wales. CHRISTOPHER DE HAMEL: Head of the Department of Western Medieval and Oriental Manuscripts and Miniatures, Sotheby's, London. SHELLEY JONES: Western Manuscripts, Special Collections. NIGEL MORGAN: Director, the Index of Christian Art, Princeton University. ANDREW PRESCOTT: Western Manuscripts, Special Collections. 247