ALTERNATIVE TITLES – Apocalisse Estense – Book of Revelation – Apocalypse de Jean – Apocalipsis de San Juan – Apokalypse des Johannes.
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION – Woodblock-printed book on paper, size 290 x 220 mm, 48 folios (96 pages).
BINDING – The worn out twentieth-century binding in half leather and cardboard has now been substituted by a calfskin binding, especially made for the restoration of the original at the time of the publication of the facsimile edition.
ORIGIN – Dutch-Rhine region (Netherlands / Germany).
DATING – 15th century (1440-1460).
PRESENT LOCATION – Modena, Biblioteca Estense Universitaria.
GENRE – Christianity, Apocalyptic literature / Beatus of Liébana.
LANGUAGE – Latin.
SCRIPT – The block-cut Latin writing, in medium-large letters, is arranged in scrolls or freely outlines the figures, blending together with them perfectly, almost anticipating modern comics.
DECORATION – 48 coloured woodcuts. The images are all hand coloured, therefore this is considered to be a one-of-a-kind book. It consists of 48 sheets, of which 44 are divided into two scenes, while 4 show single scenes. The images are printed and coloured on the recto of the sheet, while the verso is blank. In the 19th century the plates were detached, trimmed and glued to 22 x 29 cm sheets. The order of the plates respects the biblical text and so increases the originality of the work. In many scenes the engraver-painter shows neither respect nor pity for the faults of the clergy, a kind of prelude to the reformed rebellions that were to shake the Germanic world and the whole of Europe.
STYLE – Gothic / Renaissance. It appears similar in style to the Bibliae Pauperum realized in the German area in the same period, and not too distant from the teachings of the Flemish school of the early 1400.
EXTERNAL LINKS – Biblioteca Estense Universitaria (digitized document).

Data sheet: Il Bulino edizioni d’arte

Fine del mondo; End world; Global catastrophic risk; Fin du monde; Giovanni; révélation; revelaciones; offenbarung

FACSIMILE EDITION

Full-size color reproduction of the entire original document – The facsimile reproduces as close as possible the physical characteristics of the original document, with the aim to substitute it in the scientific research and in the libraries of the bibliophile collectors. Trimming and composition of the leaves reproduce the profile and structure of the original document. The binding corresponds to that of the original document as it appears at the present moment.

Publisher – Il Bulino edizioni d’arte (Modena, 1999).
Series – Ars Illuminandi.
Limited edition – This world exclusive edition is limited to 999 certified copies numbered from 1 to 980 and I to XIX.
Binding – Leather binding.
Commentary (Italiano) – Commentary volume in Italian, bound in half leather, 96 pages. Texts by: Milani, Ernesto; Bini, Daniele.
Slipcase – Facsimile, commentary, and certificate of authenticity are issued in a leather slipcase.

Photos courtesy of the Publisher