A splendidly illuminated document of humanist learning

37 Diploma on the award of a doctorate in law from the University of Perugia conferred on Statilio Paolino

Illuminated manuscript on vellum. Italy, Perugia, dated 29 October 1582.

215 x 158 mm. 26 leaves, bound in regular bifolia, unfoliated. – Written space: 123 x 83 mm,Text in Latin, a neat Italic Humanist book hand in black ink. The opening words of each of the 3 chapters as well as important passages and names highlighted in Capitalis Quadrata in gold, text on all pages set within a plain gold frame. – 3 ornamental initials, one historiated initial, 8 full-page miniatures, 3 notarial signs certifying to the authenticity of the manuscript. – Text and miniatures in fine and fresh condition. – Later brocade paper binding, red and gilt dented edges.

PROVENANCE: 1. Made to the order of Statilio Paolino on the occasion of his award of a doctor’s degree in jurisprudence on 29 October 1582. Statilio, whose father Antonio Maria held a high post in the administration of Osimo (Marche), was a member of the Academia degli Insensati of Perugia where he was given the surname “Academico Lunatico”. His emblem on fol. 26v shows a fish swimming in the sea above which the waxing moon appears in the firmament together with the motto “dealbabor”, which refers to the verse from Psalm 50 “lavabis me, et super nivem dealbabor”. Giovanni Ferro describes this emblem in his Teatro d’imprese, Venice 1623: “Fra gli Insensati di Perugia l’Academico Lunatico per nome Statilio Paulini scrisse sopra il medesimo corpo, e pesce una parola del salmo Dealbabor, dimonstrando la medesima intenzione di schiettezza, e lealtà, e dipendenza”. (Ferro 1623, part II, p. 463). 2. Private collection Switzerland.

TEXT: fol. 3-4: “Dei nomine invocato…” Diploma on the award of a doctor’s degree – fol. 4: “datum Perusie tertio Cal(endis) Novembris M.D.LXXXII.” Legally certified in the lower margin by Mariottus Antenorus de Perusia with notarial sign. – fol. 5-20: “In nomine Domini nostri Iesu Christi Amen…”. Certified by Agabitus G. Antonii de Heruliis de Perusia. – fol. 21-25: “Prior et collegium utr(iusque) iuris doctoru(m) inclitae et augustae civitatis Perusiae…”. Certified by Mariottus Antenorus de Perusia. The text is divided into three passages of varying length each of which has been legally certified by a notary. Gold capital letters emphasize the names of important clerical and worldly dignitaries. The most eminent public figure among the persons cited is the archbishop of Perugia,Vincenzo Ercolani (1517-86), intimate advisor to Pope Gregory XIII.The figure of Hercules holding a coat-of-arms on fol. 1v is probably an allusion to his family name.

ILLUMINATION: fol. 1: Coat-of-arms of Pope Gregory XIII Boncompagni on crimson drapery, decorated with two female busts and two putti heads. At the top are placed the keys of St Peter and the tiara. – fol. 1v: Hercules with the lion’s fur holding the arms of Domenico Ottolini, bishop of Lucca and Protonotario apostolico, and Vincenzo Ercolani, archbishop of Perugia. – fol. 2: Female figure sitting in front of a tree with two cartouches figuring the coat-of-arms of Perugia and Statilio’s native town, Osimo.The hilly landscape with a village in the background presumably also represents Osimo with its Renaissance castle of which only a ruin survives today. – fol. 2v: Four putti framing a blank escutcheon. The two putti at the top hold another small shield featuring a lion. Above them appears a snake winding around a rod and the motto “in utrunque”. A grotesque mask is placed between the two lower putti. – fol. 4v: St Nicholas in episcopal robes. – fol. 20v: St Paul with book and sword. – fol. 26:Allegorical miniature of a nude man climbing a rocky mountain and reaching its peak. Above his head a scroll displays the motto “Tandem”. – fol. 26v:Two allegorical male figures on pedestals, one holding a shield, the other a lute. At their feet two lions flank a cartouche with the same arms as on fol. 2v. A square-shaped slate placed between the two men with verses in Italian. Above it the emblem of Statilio Paolino and an oval-shaped cartouche, held by a putto, with a swarm of black birds.Two further putti occupy the upper corners of the composition. The miniatures of this slim volume doubtlessly rank among the finest works of Italian Cinquecento manuscript painting. The mannerist character is evident in the colourful palette with strong contrasts and the unnatural poses of the figures. At the same time the artist displays a great interest in human anatomy, visible in the depiction of nudes and putti with carefully modelled muscular bodies. Elaborate drapery folds confer an imposing quality to the remaining figures. Furthermore the illuminator reveals a talent for the rendering of landscape. Thus the background on fol. 2 coloured in luminous, hazy shades is juxtaposed on fol. 26v by steep, jagged rocks coloured in various shades of brown and grey. Fine hatches of gold used as highlights give the miniatures a luxurious character, which is further strengthened by the exceptionally fine condition and the original brilliance of the colours. Stylistically related to our artist is the likewise anonymous painter of the miniatures in the Annali decemvirali of the years 1583 to 1585 (Perugia, Archivio di Stato, Consigli e Riformanze, 146 (1583), c. 22r; (1584); c. 82v; (1585), c. 166r; cf. Mancini 1987, pl. 7-11). The heraldic compositions with putti and allegorical figures and the illuminator’s interest in anatomic studies clearly indicate his familiarity with the art of Michelangelo.

LITERATURE: The manuscript is hitherto unpublished. Ferro 1623; Mancini 1987.