Saint Augustine. Soliloquia – Pseudo-Bernard. Tractatus de interiori domo seu de conscientia aedificanda – St Anselmus. Orationes | Italy | 1375

240 x 170 mm, illuminated manuscript on paper, containing Saint Augustine, Soliloquia, Pseudo-Bernard Tractatus de interiori domo seu de conscientia aedificanda, and St Anselmus’ Orationes, Italy, dated 1375; 78 leaves, modern foliation, complete, in gatherings of mostly 8 leaves, 2 leaves (paper) + i8 (first leaf inserted), ii-ix8, x6 (likely a single leaf and a quire of 6, with last leaf lacking) + 3 leaves (paper), catchwords in finely drawn penwork cartouches, written in brown ink in a crisp Italian gothic bookhand, on 29 long lines (written space 136 x 89 mm.), ruled lightly in plummet, prickings visible throughout, rubrics in red, numerous 3-line initials in red and blue with exquisitely executed pen flourishes in purple and red, usually abstract but sometimes incorporating foliage and birds, one 8-line decorated initial in blue, green, orange and rose on a burnished gold background, two full and one partial border in the same colours, two large historiated initials and one half-page miniature with author portraits; some abrasion to gold on f.1, scant wormholes through final 18 folios, a bit of soiling at outer margins, otherwise in excellent condition; bound in crimson velvet, half morocco clamshell case.

WRITTEN, DECORATED, AND ILLUMINATED BY MATTEO DI SER CAMBIO, ONE OF PERUGIA'S LEADING ARTISTS

PROVENANCE

1. An inscription on the last folio (f.78v), written in a larger script but in the same hand as the rest of the text, dates the manuscript to 1375: Sub anno D(omi)ni millo. ccc°. Ixxv. The miniatures, and probably the calligraphy, are by Matteo di ser Cambio of Perugia, but for whom they were executed remains unknown. A shield in the lower border of f. 1 might shed some light on the manuscript's early history; although it has been abraded, the ground is still legible as vert, party per bend or.

2. Charles Weatherby Reynell, a London printer and publisher (1798-1892). His engraved bookplate inside front cover.

3. Charles Fairfax Murray (1849-1919), English Pre-Raphaelite painter and book collector.

4. C.W. Dyson Perrins, an English businessman, bibliophile and philanthropist; (25 May 1864-1958) with usual bookplates; his sale, part 2, London, Sotheby's, 1 December 1959, lot 65;

5. H. P. Kraus, New York, Catalogue 95, no.17.

6. Raphael Esmerian (died 1972), bibliophile, his bookplate inside front cover.

7. H. P. Kraus, New York, Monumenta Codicum Manu Scriptorum, 1974, no.16.

8. Les Enluminures.

9. Private Collection, USA.

COMMENTARY

This impressive manuscript brings together three theological-philosophical works: St Augustine’s Soliloquia, Pseudo-Bernard’s Tractatus de interiori domo seu de conscientia aedificanda, and St Anselm’s Orationes.

Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD) was one of the central philosopher-theologians of the Christian West. Among his most widely read works are The City of God, On Christian Doctrine, and Confessions. His understanding and engagement with fundamental questions on the matter of free will, time and eternity, the problem of Evil, and his theory of just war have influenced generations of philosophers, ranging from Descartes to Leibniz, Wittgenstein, and Russel.

Like Augustine, St Anselm of Canterbury (1033/4–1109) engaged with a diverse range of topics, including the nature of truth, the reality and significance of human freedom, and the evaluation of human behaviour. It is in these topics that having both Augustine and St Anselm side by side proves significant and productive. In adding Pseudo-Bernard’s treatise on Conscience, which was ascribed to Bernard of Clairvaux (1090–1153), the manuscript at hand unites works written by or attributed to some of the leading figures of the European Middle Ages, offering a range of perspectives into the fundamental questions of human life.

In Augustine’s Soliloquia, presented in the form of an internal dialogue, the narrator encounters Reason personified, while Pseudo-Bernard engages with the allegorical Conscience, enquiring into different types of conscience which he understands as the soul's inclination to either good or evil.

Despite their intrinsic ‘medievalness’, the works feel surprisingly modern as they grapple with fundamental questions of human life: the nature of evil, conscience, and freedom, a fact that might also be a result of the author’s lives. Both Augustine as well as Anselm were deeply involved in worldly affairs and did not write from the reclusion of a monastery but were active parts of their respective communities.

DECORATION

Dated 1375, the present manuscript is remarkable not only for its illustrious provenance but for its visual coherence, having been written, illustrated and decorated by Matteo di ser Cambio. Especially noteworthy are the beautifully executed author portraits and the vivid Umbrian palette. Based on the text selection and the high quality of the script and decoration, the manuscript was most likely executed for a high-profile and likely private patron.

Matteo di Ser Cambio (ca.1370–1424) was one of the most renowned Perugian illuminators of the late 14th century. While his contributions to goldsmithing are mostly lost to us, his work as an illuminator is relatively well documented. Matte di Ser Cambio can be traced in the guild registry of the goldsmiths of Perugia in 1351, with his activity extending into the 1420s. He occupied multiple offices for the Arte degli Orafi (Guild of Goldsmiths), he served as Camerlengo in 1401 and 1412, and as Priore in 1403, 1410, and 1414. In 1414, he also acted as legal representative for the Jewish community of Perugia. The extant records paint a picture of an artist well and truly integrated in Perugia’s economic and social networks and demonstrate the high esteem in which his works were held.

Matteo’s style was influenced through contact with Sienese artists and their works, especially Lippo Vanni (lot 4 in this sale) and Niccolò di ser Sozzo, while also showing an awareness of Luca di Tommè. His later works exhibit more naturalistic tendencies, which mirror developments in late Gothic art that emerged in the vicinity of Perugia.

The same hand can be detected in both the Matricola della merce (Perugia, Collegio della merce, II) from 1377, which has been attributed to ser Cambio by De Benedictis and Santanicchia (De Benedictis, p. 282; Santanicchia, 2008, pp. 402 ff.). In the same year, Matteo signed the statutes of the Collegio del Cambio of Perugia “Io Mateo di Ser Cambio orfo / che qui col sesto in mano me fegurai / quisto libro scrissi dipensi e miniai” which is also accompanied by a self-portrait. Based on this De Benedictis and Santanicchia concluded that Matteo was responsible for the production of the complete manuscript. (De Benedictis, pp. 282 ff.; Santanicchia, 2001, pp. 85 ff.).

LITERATURE

Burlington Fine Arts Club, Exhibition of Illuminated Manuscripts, London, 1908, no. 179, pl. 12.1 De Polo, Claudio. “Un codice umbro della seconda meta del Trecento,” in La miniatura in eta romanica e gotica, atti del I congresso di storia della miniatura italiana, Florence, 1979, pp. 543-51.

De Benedictis, Cristina, Matteo di Cambio, in Francesco d’Assisi. Documenti e archivi. Codici e biblioteche. Miniature (catal., Perugia), Milano 1982, pp.274-291.

De Polo, C., Un codice umbro della seconda metà del Trecento, in La miniatura in età romanica e gotica. Atti del Congresso di storia della miniatura italiana, Cortona… 1978, a cura di G. Vailati, Firenze 1979, pp.543-551.

Lollini, Fabrizio. “Matteo di ser Cambio,” in Dizionario biographico dei miniatori italiani secoli I X - XVI , ed. Milvia Bollati, Milan, Edizioni Sylvestre Bonnard, 2004, pp. 752-53 (citing the present manuscript on p. 753).

Lollini, F. in Dipinti e disegni della Pinacoteca Civica di Pesaro, ed. C. Giardini, E. Negro and M. Pirondini, Modena 1993, pp. 382–383, cat.382.

Santanicchia, M. in «Per buono stato de la citade»: le matricole delle arti di Perugia (catal.), Perugia 2001, pp.72ff. and 85ff.

Todini, F. La pittura umbra dal Duecento al primo Cinquecento , Milan, 1989. Warner, George. Descriptive Catalogue of Illuminated Manuscripts in the Collection of C. W. Dyson Perrins, Oxford, 1920, no. 56, pl. LXI.

FURTHER READING

Alidori, L., in Fioritura tardogotica nelle Marche, exhibition catalogue, ed. P. Dal Poggetto, Milan 1998, pp. 104–106, cats. 21–22.

Avezza, L., in Miniature a Brera 1100–1422, exhibition catalogue, ed. M. Boskovits with Valagussa, G. and Bollati, M., Milan 1997, pp. 186–189, cat. 27.

De Benedictis, C., Matteo di Cambio, in Francesco d’Assisi. Documenti e archivi. Codici e biblioteche. Miniature, exhibition catalogue, Milan 1982, pp. 274–291, with previous bibliography.

Narkiss, B., An Illuminated Maimonides Manuscript, in Ariel, 21 (1968), pp. 51–59.

De Polo, C., Un codice umbro della seconda metà del Trecento, in La miniatura in età romanica e gotica, Proceedings of the I Congress of Italian Miniature Studies, Florence 1979, pp. 543–551.

Santanicchia, M., in “Per buono stato de la citade”: le matricole delle Arti di Perugia, exhibition catalogue, ed. M. Roncetti, Perugia 2001, pp. 72–73, 85–86.