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

Vecchietta, 1464; possibly 19th century copy

Download1686 × 2353 px View on a wall Edit

Artist: Vecchietta (Italian)
Medium: Manuscript cutting in tempera and gold leaf on parchment
Size: 31 × 22.3 cm (12 1/4 × 8 13/16 in.)
Museum: Art Institute of Chicago
Rights: CC0 — no rights reserved

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.

Text: Art Institute of Chicago, CC BY 4.0.