Italian (Siena)
after Vecchietta (Lorenzo di Pietro di Giovanni) (Italian, 1410-1480)
Pope Pius II, frontispiece to a Constitution of the Sienese Church of the Year 1464
INV-7110
Italian (Siena)
after Vecchietta (Lorenzo di Pietro di Giovanni) (Italian, 1410-1480)1464; possibly 19th century copy
Pope Pius II, frontispiece to a Constitution of the Sienese Church of the Year 1464
Italian (Siena) after Vecchietta (Lorenzo di Pietro di Giovanni) (Italian, 1410-1480) →medievaltemperamanuscript
Date
1464; possibly 19th century copy
Medium
Manuscript cutting in tempera and gold leaf on parchment
Dimensions
31 × 22.3 cm (12 1/4 × 8 13/16 in.)
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Location
Chicago, IL
Credit
Gift of Charles L. Hutchinson
This illuminated frontispiece features Pope Pius II, who reigned from 1458 to 1464, above a view of his hometown of Siena and eight Sienese coats of arms. Pius II had an unusual past for a pope, having served as the imperial poet laureate in 1442 at Frederick III’s court. While poet laureate, he wrote what would become a best seller of its time, The Tale of the Two Lovers, a courtly romance. This manuscript cutting is probably a 19th-century copy that was produced for an art market infatuated with the Italian Renaissance.
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