GRASSI, Giovannino de'

The marble dossal in San’Eustorgio is attributed to Giovannino de’ Grassi and Matteo Campione. The altar was probably donated by Gian Galeazzo Visconti (1351-1402), the first duke of Milan.

The marble dossal in San’Eustorgio is attributed to Giovannino de’ Grassi and Matteo Campione. The altar was probably donated by Gian Galeazzo Visconti (1351-1402), the first duke of Milan.

The model book of Giovannino de’ Grassi was produced at the court of the Visconti at the end of the 14th century. Model books were an indispensable resource in every artist’s workshops and anyone who had to depict wild beasts such as leopards or lions reached for them in search of prototypes.

This model book also contains a renowned figure alphabet and is an important example of late Gothic Italian art.

The coloured pen and ink drawing depicts the Gothic letters h to l and p to r. The q with two horsemen was later copied again in the engraved alphabet of the German artist Master E.S., in the 1460s, suggesting the long popularity of these inventive designs.

Hairy wildmen, a popular theme in secular art, make up the letter k, fighting knights create a q, and r is an amazing agglomeration of animals and even insects! It is significant that the animal and the human do not commingle. Their bodies, although fantastically and acrobatically intertwined, are clearly separate. This keeps these delicate drawings within the realm of the natural and in line with courtly decorum.

At the top, a pack of hunting dogs viciously attacks a wild boar which itself seems to have mortally wounded a hound whose muzzle is thrown back in agony at the top of the group. On the lower half of the page, in contrast, a leopard set in a garden and chained to a radiant circle is a heraldic design and therefore much calmer and more stylised.

The noble animal (a stag) is depicted as seen from one side, it only turns its head, sorrowful in an almost human way, towards the spectator. In this case de’Grassi abstained, perhaps, from a strictly profile representation, in order to display the decorative shape of the antlers more fully. At first sight the picture appears to be extraordinarily true to life, but if we examine it more closely we cannot fail to see that it would not be a perfect illustration in a zoological book. The different parts of the stag point to very exact observation, all the same the whole of the body seems to be somewhat rigid, lifeless and even out of proportion. The artist was so engrossed in interpreting the different details accurately that he did not pay much attention to their relationship to one another. Thus the head is too small in proportion to the body and the right hind leg is not quite correctly fitted to the haunch. The other shortcoming is the fact that the fur, conveyed with exceeding delicacy, so that it seems almost tactile, covers a body almost lacking muscles and bones-in a way similar to that in which the draperies painted with meticulous care at that period conceal the human body beneath them. For the same reason the position of the right hind leg is incomprehensible, which is why we pay attention, first and foremost, to the miraculously painted fur, and to the manner in which the tiny strokes of the brush cover the whole body.

A tacuinum is a kind of encyclopaedia of natural sciences in which plants, animals and minerals are described in alphabetic order by sections, with particular reference to their healing properties. In this manuscript, watercolour drawings in the upper part of each page illustrate the text which is laid out in two columns in the lower register. At the beginning of each section, the initial letter encloses a half-length human figure and a sumptuous border of flowers and leaves, often embellished with elegant architectural motifs, human figures or animals. The entire decorative scheme is attributed to Giovannino de’ Grassi and his assistants.

The manuscript was made for Emperor Wenceslas of Luxembourg (reigned 1378-1400). The manuscript later entered the library of Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary, one of the richest and most outstanding collections of the second half of the fifteenth century, which was broken up on the death of the King.

The picture shows the illumination on folio 33v.

A tacuinum is a kind of encyclopaedia of natural sciences in which plants, animals and minerals are described in alphabetic order by sections, with particular reference to their healing properties. In this manuscript, watercolour drawings in the upper part of each page illustrate the text which is laid out in two columns in the lower register. At the beginning of each section, the initial letter encloses a half-length human figure and a sumptuous border of flowers and leaves, often embellished with elegant architectural motifs, human figures or animals, such as that on folio 36. The entire decorative scheme is attributed to Giovannino de’ Grassi and his assistants.

The manuscript was made for Emperor Wenceslas of Luxembourg (reigned 1378-1400). The manuscript later entered the library of Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary, one of the richest and most outstanding collections of the second half of the fifteenth century, which was broken up on the death of the King.

The text of this manuscript is attributed to the Arabic doctor Ububchasym de Baldach. It can be classified as a Tacuinum sanitatis, that is a medical manual. The text is illustrated by 208 miniatures arranged on both the recto and verso of each leaf. The miniatures are attributed to the school of Giovannino de’ Grassi. They are particularly interesting for the architecture of the houses and shops, and for the landscapes that act as backgrounds to the scenes of daily life.

The scene on folio 118 shows the shop of a salt seller.

The text of this manuscript is attributed to the Arabic doctor Ububchasym de Baldach. It can be classified as a Tacuinum sanitatis, that is a medical manual. The text is illustrated by 208 miniatures arranged on both the recto and verso of each leaf. The miniatures are attributed to the school of Giovannino de’ Grassi. They are particularly interesting for the architecture of the houses and shops, and for the landscapes that act as backgrounds to the scenes of daily life.

The scene on folio 100 shows the shop of a drug seller.

The text of this manuscript is attributed to the Arabic doctor Ububchasym de Baldach. It can be classified as a Tacuinum sanitatis, that is a medical manual. The text is illustrated by 208 miniatures arranged on both the recto and verso of each leaf. The miniatures are attributed to the school of Giovannino de’ Grassi. They are particularly interesting for the architecture of the houses and shops, and for the landscapes that act as backgrounds to the scenes of daily life.

The scene on folio 157 represents fishing.

The book of hours, known as the Visconti Hours or Offiziolo (Book of the Offices) denotes two manuscripts in the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, Florence: the first part is Ms. Banco Rari 397, the second part is to be found in Ms. Landau Finaly 22. This Book of Hours was originally divided into two parts which were bound separately from the beginning.

The manuscript was made for Gian Galeazzo Visconti (1351-1402), the ruler of Milan from 1385. The two volumes was written by brother Amadeus. They are of the same size and are laid out and decorated in the same way. The first volume was decorated by Giovannino de’ Grassi and it was completed by 1389, the decoration of the second volume began at the turn of the fifteenth century in the Grassi workshop and was executed by Salomone de’ Grassi, the son of Giovannino, Belbello da Pavia, and other artists in the workshop. It was completed c. 1430.

Because of its exceptional decoration, the Visconti Hours is considered to be one of the masterpieces of Lombard miniature.

The miniature on folio 117v, shown here, depicts David enthroned.

Folio 115 in the Visconti Book of Hours contains Psalm 118.

Manuscript illuminators led the way in promoting and popularising the conventions of International Gothic style. One of its earliest exponents in Lombardy was Giovannino de’ Grassi, a multi-talented illuminator and painter who provided designs for Milan Cathedral. Around 1389 he produced a prayer book for Giangaleazzo Visconti, whose portrait, surrounded by the blazing device of the Visconti family, appears with a text from Psalm 118 on this page.

Typical of the International Gothic style and of manuscript illumination in this period, the page includes a variety of artistic modes: some highly conventionalised, others strikingly naturalistic. Giangaleazzo’s portrait, for example, is precisely rendered in profile. Derived from the tradition of Roman coins and medals, this formal pose allowed the ruler’s distinctive features to be recognized easily by his subjects.

The illumination in the centre of the text represents King David, traditionally regarded as the author of the psalms. The setting is illusionistic enough to suggest a shallow cavity of space within the initial, but linear and decorative enough to respect the graphic demands of the letter it is enhancing.

The book of hours, known as the Visconti Hours or Offiziolo (Book of the Offices) denotes two manuscripts in the Biblioteca Nazionale Centrale, Florence: the first part is Ms. Banco Rari 397, the second part is to be found in Ms. Landau Finaly 22. This Book of Hours was divided into two parts which were bound separately from the beginning.

The manuscript was made for Gian Galeazzo Visconti (1351-1402), the ruler of Milan from 1385. The two volumes was written by brother Amadeus. They are of the same size and are laid out and decorated in the same way. The first volume was decorated by Giovannino de’ Grassi and it was completed by 1389, the decoration of the second volume began at the turn of the fifteenth century in the Grassi workshop and was executed by Salomone de’ Grassi, the son of Giovannino, Belbello da Pavia, and other artists in the workshop. It was completed c. 1430.

Because of its exceptional decoration, the Visconti Hours is considered to be one of the masterpieces of Lombard miniature.

Folio 70 shows the murder of Cain by his great-nephew Lamech. According to the Historia Scolastica of Peter Comestor (2nd half of the 12th century), the blind Lamech went out hunting guided by a young man. The boy, however, mistook Cain for some prey and Lamech shot his great -uncle with an arrow. Once he realized his error he took his revenge by killing his guide.