It would be natural to assume that when printed books were introduced in the 15th century, people stopped writing manuscript books by hand.
Wrong. Printed books issued in a great revolution, but they co-existed with the continued production of hand-written manuscripts for decades. In the Walters' latest manuscript show, "Renaissance Books and Manuscripts of the Humanist Age," the viewer can see examples of both from the second half of the 15th century -- sometimes looking remarkably alike in both text and illustrations.
This is an intriguing show, one that tries to cover much ground and does a better job than one would expect of a one-gallery show.
It deals with the rediscovery of the ancient world that fueled the Renaissance, and the re-issuing of ancient texts. As examples, there are late 15th-century versions of the works of Cicero, Suetonius and Virgil, the last a gem-like, tiny volume open to the beginning of "The Aeneid" and showing Aeneas fleeing burning Troy.
The show also deals with the growth of scientific knowledge due to the rediscovery of ancient texts and the result of new research. There's a 1490 edition of Claudius Ptolemy's ancient "Geography," originally written about 160 A.D., which had been rediscovered about 1400 and was influential into the 17th century. And there's a copy of "Anatomy" (1551) by Andreas Vesalius, a 16th-century anatomist whose work revolutionized the subject and swept away ancient ideas.
Additionally, the show explores the development of printed typefaces based on hand-written models. The copy of Cicero, a manuscript, shows the styles of writing that served as models for both Roman and italic typefaces. Another book, an edition of Aristophanes' "Nine Comedies" (1498) in Greek, was printed in Venice by the great printer Aldus Manutius, the first person to develop printing type for the Greek alphabet. We are told that he also developed Roman and italic typefaces used for two centuries.
The use of classical motifs in illustration is also addressed in the show. The border of Naldus Naldi's "Life of Zenobius Julianus de Girolamis" (1499) blithely combines pictures of Christian saints with reproductions of Roman imperial coins.
Finally, the show deals with the development of new designs for printed books. Although early ones often followed manuscript practices, including decorative borders and illuminated capital letters, changes soon followed.
A copy of Francesco Colonna's "The Dream of Poliphilus" (1499) contains black-and-white pictures inserted in the text in much the same fashion modern books follow. The trailblazing design of this book was also the work of our friend Aldus Manutius.
! The guy was good.
MANUSCRIPTS
What: "Renaissance Books and Manuscripts of the Humanist Age"
Where: The Walters Art Gallery, 600 N. Charles St.
When: 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays, through Jan. 29
Admission: $4 adults; $3 seniors; free to students and those 18 and under
$ Call: (410) 547-9000