Vita Aesopi
March 27, 1492
Medium
Printed book with woodcut illustrations.
Classification
Books
Department
Drawings and Prints
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Rogers Fund, 1920
Accession Number
20.89.1
Tags
Art Historical Context
This 1492 printed edition of *Vita Aesopi* brings the ancient Greek storyteller’s life to Renaissance readers through the emerging technology of the printing press. Created by Francesco Del Tuppo and printed by Manfredus de Bonellis, the book combines text with lively woodcut illustrations that depict dramatic scenes of battles, men and women, male nudes, and horses. As an incunable—one of the earliest books printed with movable type—it marks a pivotal moment when classical literature moved from handwritten manuscripts into the hands of a wider audience. The woodcuts serve both decorative and...
About the Artist
Francesco Del Tuppo|Manfredus de Bonellis|Aesop (Greek|Italian|Italian) · -0620 |1443 | –-0560 |1501 |
Greek, ca. 620–560 BCE|Italian, 1443/44–1501|