Description
Illuminated folio, with text and illustration of Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered. France, 18th-19th c. Fighting knights under the walls of a city. Gouache over brown ink, gold highlights; floral border. On the back, chapters LXXXV to XC from Tasse's Jerusalem Delivered (black ink on two columns, six gold initials on blue background, thirty-six red initials, line ends). Parchment leaf (25 x 18 cm); under a passe-partout with gilded listel (late 19th c.) This folio illustrates a passage from Jerusalem Delivered, the famous masterpiece by Torquato Tasso (1544-1595) first published in Genoa in 1580-1581. The artist, who was certainly French, began his work by tracing in ink the outlines of the scene's main horses, riders and fortifications; the colors were then applied in a limited range: blue (for the skies), green (for the landscapes), orange-pink and yellow (for the caparisons), brown (for the buildings) and finally gray (for the armor), all delicately enhanced with gold. The floral border is inspired by 15th-century illuminations. The scene, violent in the foreground (cavalry clash, knight falling from horseback, ground fight), gradually calms down: in the background, ranks of infantrymen led by their leaders on horseback, enter the town; in the third plane, the town sinks into the distance; lush, wooded landscapes, dominated by serene skies with floating clouds. This scene belongs to the group of historicist illustrations that were very popular from the 18th to the end of the 19th century. Two leaves from the same workshop can be found in an old Swiss collection. Some paint lifting and chipping, with slight missing parts. Restorations to be considered: fixing the paint layer; filling in missing areas. If framed: new passepartout (PH neutral), anti-UV glass. (Expert : Roch de Coligny)
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Illuminated folio, with text and illustration of Tasso's Jerusalem Delivered. France, 18th-19th c. Fighting knights under the walls of a city. Gouache over brown ink, gold highlights; floral border. On the back, chapters LXXXV to XC from Tasse's Jerusalem Delivered (black ink on two columns, six gold initials on blue background, thirty-six red initials, line ends). Parchment leaf (25 x 18 cm); under a passe-partout with gilded listel (late 19th c.) This folio illustrates a passage from Jerusalem Delivered, the famous masterpiece by Torquato Tasso (1544-1595) first published in Genoa in 1580-1581. The artist, who was certainly French, began his work by tracing in ink the outlines of the scene's main horses, riders and fortifications; the colors were then applied in a limited range: blue (for the skies), green (for the landscapes), orange-pink and yellow (for the caparisons), brown (for the buildings) and finally gray (for the armor), all delicately enhanced with gold. The floral border is inspired by 15th-century illuminations. The scene, violent in the foreground (cavalry clash, knight falling from horseback, ground fight), gradually calms down: in the background, ranks of infantrymen led by their leaders on horseback, enter the town; in the third plane, the town sinks into the distance; lush, wooded landscapes, dominated by serene skies with floating clouds. This scene belongs to the group of historicist illustrations that were very popular from the 18th to the end of the 19th century. Two leaves from the same workshop can be found in an old Swiss collection. Some paint lifting and chipping, with slight missing parts. Restorations to be considered: fixing the paint layer; filling in missing areas. If framed: new passepartout (PH neutral), anti-UV glass. (Expert : Roch de Coligny)
