De Divina Proportione: Geneva Codex

ALTERNATIVE TITLES
De Divina Proportione: Codice di Ginevra; Sulla Proporzione Divina; De Divina Proportione: Geneva Codex; On the Divine Proportion; De Divina Proportione : Codex de Genève; De la Proportion Divine; Über das Göttliche Verhältnis; Sobre la Proporción Divina.
CURRENT LOCATION
Switzerland, Geneva, Bibliothèque de Genève, Ms. l. e. 210.
FACSIMILE EDITION
De Divina Proportione: Aboca Museum (Sansepolcro, 2010). Full-size color reproduction of the entire original document: the facsimile reproduces as close as possible the codicological characteristics of the original document; the binding might not correspond to that of the original document as it appears at the present moment. Limited edition: 550 copies. Commentary: Italian (by Contin Duilio, Odifreddi Piergiorgio, Pieretti Antonio, Roth-Lochner Barbara). Slipcase. Other facsimile editions of the same document have been published: Aboca Museum (Sansepolcro, 2010 – not limited edition).
Copyright photos: Illuminated Facsimiles, Aboca Museum

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Illuminated Facsimiles


De Divina Proportione: Geneva Codex

ALTERNATIVE TITLES
De Divina Proportione: Codice di Ginevra; Sulla Proporzione Divina; De Divina Proportione: Geneva Codex; On the Divine Proportion; De Divina Proportione : Codex de Genève; De la Proportion Divine; Über das Göttliche Verhältnis; Sobre la Proporción Divina.
CURRENT LOCATION
Switzerland, Geneva, Bibliothèque de Genève, Ms. l. e. 210.
FACSIMILE EDITION
De Divina Proportione: Aboca Museum (Sansepolcro, 2010). Full-size color reproduction of the entire original document: the facsimile reproduces as close as possible the codicological characteristics of the original document; the binding might not correspond to that of the original document as it appears at the present moment. Limited edition: 550 copies. Commentary: Italian (by Contin Duilio, Odifreddi Piergiorgio, Pieretti Antonio, Roth-Lochner Barbara). Slipcase. Other facsimile editions of the same document have been published: Aboca Museum (Sansepolcro, 2010 – not limited edition).
Copyright photos: Illuminated Facsimiles, Aboca Museum

Category:
FEATURES – Codex on parchment, 285 x 200 mm, 260 pp.
ORIGIN – Italy: Milan.
CHRONOLOGY – 15th century: 1498.
PATRONAGE AND OWNERS – Luca Pacioli (1445-1517) had three handwritten copies of De Divina Proportione made. One of these, dedicated to Piero Soderini (1450-1522), has been lost, the other two are today owned by different libraries. The Milanese codex (Biblioteca Ambrosiana, Ms. 170 sup.) was donated by Pacioli to Galéas de Saint-Séverin (1458-1525), while the Geneva codex, which interests us here, was dedicated to the Duke of Milan Ludovico Maria Sforza, called il Moro (1452-1508).
GENRE – Treatises / Secular books; Art / Drawing; Mathematics / Geometry.
CONTENTS – Mathematical treatise written by Fra Luca Bartolomeo de Pacioli (Luca Pacioli) concerning the applications of the golden ratio. It contains references to the lesson of Piero della Francesca and to the algebraic and geometric knowledge contemporary with Pacioli.
LANGUAGE – The treatise is written in Italian. Each of the 60 polyhedra is accompanied by a key in Latin (placed above the drawing) and one in Greek (placed below).
SCRIPT – Humanist minuscule.
SCRIBE – Giovanni Battista Lorenzi.
DECORATION – A miniature at f. Ir represents Luca Pacioli who, accompanied by a friar, offers his book as a gift to the Duke of Milan, surrounded by some councilors. The same duke’s coat of arms also appears on the same folio. 60 geometric figures drawn in pen (ff. LXLv-CXXr) represent regular polyhedra, shown first in the full form (solidi) and then in the empty form (vacui). See e.g. f. CVIv and f. CVIIr. 40 small size geometric figures. 75 gold initials on a blue or red background.
ARTIST – The 60 polyhedra are usually attributed to the hand of Leonardo da Vinci. However, not all scholars agree on this attribution: some believe that only the idea of the drawings can be ascribed to Leonardo (e.g. Frédéric Elsig of the Université de Genève).
STYLE – Renaissance.
Data sheet: Illuminated Facsimiles

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Aboca Museum