Art Institute of Chicago

Pope Pius II, frontispiece to a Constitution of the Sienese Church of the Year 1464

Italian (Siena)

Date

1464; possibly 19th century copy

Medium

Manuscript cutting in tempera and gold leaf on parchment

Culture

Italy

Department

Prints and Drawings

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

This illuminated frontispiece features Pope Pius II, who reigned from 1458 to 1464, above a view of his hometown of Siena and eight Sienese coats of arms. Pius II had an unusual past for a pope, having served as the imperial poet laureate in 1442 at Frederick III’s court. While poet laureate, he wrote what would become a best seller of its time, The Tale of the Two Lovers , a courtly romance. This manuscript cutting is probably a 19th-century copy that was produced for an art market infatuated with the Italian Renaissance.

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