Regions: Rome (1 of 2)

In the sixteenth century Rome became a significant center of artistic patronage, where artists such as Raphael and Michelangelo undertook projects of great magnitude. Manuscript illuminators such as Matteo da Milano (active c. 1492–1523), one of the most exceptional Italian illuminators of his day, also saw a considerable rise in patronage. Among his patrons were the Este family of Ferrara, the Medici family of Florence, and the della Rovere family of Urbino. He specialized in illuminated manuscripts for high-ranking clergymen from prominent families, such as Pope Leo X, who was a Medici. A missal made for a member of the Orsini family of Rome features a lavishly illuminated page with an Initial A enclosing King David. The exotic, magnificently painted costume of King David is typical of a style that is ornate, even fanciful, yet also naturalistic. He was especially known for the kind of innovative border decoration that accompanies the Initial A, with its combination of jewels, cameos, astutely observed flora and fauna, and other decoration modeled after antiquity.

Regions: Rome (2 of 2) Regions: Ferrara, Mantua, and the Veneto (2 of 2)