- - La Bibbia di Borso d'Este - 1961

Borso d'Este Bible. Complete reproduction. Banca Popolare di Bergamo and Poligrafiche Bolis, Bergamo, 1961-1963. 2 volumes, 41 x 29 cm, leather bindings, front covers with studs featuring the Estensi arms, spine with cords, embellishments, and gold title, silk damask endpapers with gold coats of arms, gilded top edges, cases. Color and gold reproduction of 48 illuminated plates and 1206 black and white plates. In excellent condition — minimal signs of aging on bindings and cases. Offered at auction without reserve.


The Borso d'Este Bible is an illuminated manuscript in two volumes; the miniatures, created by Taddeo Crivelli and others, were produced between 1455 and 1461. The work is preserved in the Biblioteca Estense in Modena, under the call number Ms. Lat. 422-423. In 1937, the Borso d'Este Bible was reproduced in a limited edition by Bestetti Edizioni d'Arte.

Story
The Borso d'Este Bible, one of the most mature expressions of Renaissance miniature painting, was created on parchment over six years by a team of artists led by Taddeo Crivelli and Franco dei Russi. Following the fortunes of the House, it was taken from Ferrara to Modena in 1598, where it remained until the end of the duchy in 1859. On that occasion, it was seized by Francesco V d'Asburgo-Este on his way into exile, along with the most precious treasures of the house. Taken to Austria, it was later recovered after World War I.

Indeed, in 1922, upon the death of Charles I of Austria, the widow Zita of Bourbon-Parma decided to sell it, entrusting the task to the Parisian antiquarian Gilbert Romeuf. Giovanni Treccani, an entrepreneur and patron, was the one who saved the Bible from dispersion. Informed of the sale by Giovanni Gentile (then Minister of Public Education) during a meeting at Palazzo della Minerva, Treccani traveled to Paris and on May 1, 1923, purchased the Bible for 3.3 million French francs (5 million lire at the time), through the antiquarian bookseller Tammaro De Marinis.

Description and style
Every page of the Bible is decorated with an elegant frame of scrollwork and other ornaments, with the text arranged in two columns. Within the frame, there are figurative scenes, especially at the bottom, where settings in perspective are often visible, updated to the achievements of contemporary painting. Scenes can also be found between the columns of text, perhaps next to the figurative or historical capital letters.

In the volutes at the corners, animals are often found, depicted with lively observation, reminiscent of courteous taste, often linked to heraldic references to Borso and his house. In the panels, 'echoes of the art of Pisanello, Donatello, Mantegna, and Piero della Francesca can be recognized, but also and above all, the influence of the major Ferrara painters of the period, such as Cosmè Tura, Michele Pannonio, and Francesco del Cossa, who contributed to defining the artistic language of the Lombard Renaissance'.

By initiative and on behalf of the same donor Giovanni Treccani, reproductions of the Borso d'Este Bible— which in 1924 was assigned to the Biblioteca Estense— were made. These were limited edition, numbered reproductions produced by Bestetti Edizioni d'Arte in Milan in 1937, in collaboration with publisher Emilio Bestetti. They have become one of the most valuable collectible works of Italian typography. A subsequent reprint of 100 copies was promoted by Banca Popolare di Bergamo in 1961 on the occasion of the 80th anniversary of Pope John XXIII's birth. In 1996, a full facsimile reproduction of only 750 numbered copies was produced by Franco Cosimo Panini Editore, a publisher specializing in fine editions, in collaboration with the Institute of the Italian Encyclopedia.

Today, the two volumes of Borso d'Este's Bible are available online on the Estense Library website.
Taddeo Crivelli (Ferrara, 1425 – Bologna, 1479) was an Italian painter active in the field of miniature painting.

Biography
He belongs to the first Renaissance and was active mainly in Ferrara, his hometown. Although he was a pupil of Pisanello, his works are updated to the Renaissance style, mainly inspired by Andrea Mantegna.

His early works date from the mid-15th century, and his most important work was the Bible of Borso d'Este, two illuminated vellum volumes created over a six-year period (1455-1461) by a team of artists he directed, along with another illuminator, Franco di Giovanni De Russi. The Bible is kept in the Biblioteca Estense di Modena.

He had as an assistant Girolamo da Cremona, who in 1465 completed the missal of the Cathedral of San Pietro in Mantua, known as the Missal of Barbara of Brandenburg, kept in the Diocesan Museum Francesco Gonzaga.

In 1471, after the death of Borso d'Este, he left Ferrara and moved to Bologna, where he continued his work as a miniaturist until his death.

He also created the first printed map of Italy, published in 1477.

Opere
Borso d'Este Bible, 1455-1461, Estense Library, Modena
Book of Hours, executed for the Faletti family (1460-1465), Morgan Library & Museum, New York
Gualenghi-d'Este Book of Hours, 1469, Getty Museum, Los Angeles, created together with Guglielmo Giraldi
Miniature edition of the Golden Legend, 1470
Commentary on the Gospel of John by Saint Augustine, Malatestiana Library, Cesena.
Borso d'Este (August 24, 1413 – August 20, 1471) was an illegitimate son of Niccolò III d'Este and his favorite Stella de' Tolomei, also known as Stella dell'Assassino. He was the last Marquis of Ferrara and the first Duke of Ferrara, Modena, and Reggio.

He succeeded his brother Leonello d'Este as the lord of Ferrara on October 1, 1450.

In 1453, he was appointed Count of Rovigo by Emperor Frederick III of Habsburg.

Biography
Duke of Modena and Reggio

Francesco del Cossa, Portrait of Duke Borso d'Este, detail, (1469-1470), Ferrara, April, Hall of the Months, Palazzo Schifanoia
Borso received the title of Duke of Modena and Reggio from Emperor Frederick III of Habsburg on May 18, 1452.

The meeting took place during a reception held on the occasion of the wedding between Bartolomeo Pendaglia and Margherita Costabili, which was celebrated in one of the most sumptuous Estense noble residences of that period, Palazzo Pendaglia.

Politics and court life
His policy was always centered on the attempt to expand the Este state and to ennoble the d'Este family. From this perspective, his desire to obtain the ducal title for his possessions should be seen. In foreign policy, he was very close to the Republic of Venice and opposed both Francesco Sforza and the Medici family due to old grudges stemming from Filippo Maria Visconti's attempt, the last duke of Milan from the Visconti family, to succeed an Este in the Lombard city. These disputes led to the vain Battle of Riccardina, which had neither winners nor losers.

The court of Borso was the center of the Ferrara School of Painting, which included Francesco del Cossa, Ercole de' Roberti, Cosmè Tura, and Antonio Marescotti.

In subsequent tradition (as in Ariosto's Orlando Furioso), Borso was seen as a magnanimous and enlightened ruler, especially because he allowed the legitimate branch of the Este family (represented by Ercole I d'Este as the son of Niccolò III and his third wife Ricciarda di Saluzzo) to return to power; in reality, Borso was quite stingy when it came to culture: the famous episode where Francesco del Cossa, one of the authors of the frescoes in the Salone dei Mesi at Palazzo Schifanoia, asked for a higher fee for his painting efforts, and upon being denied by Borso, went to Bologna to establish his own painting school. Borso's reputation as a patron is linked to the famous Bible, illuminated by Taddeo Crivelli, one of the highest works of miniatures of the Italian Renaissance.

Rise to the Duchy of Ferrara and death

Giacomo Zilocchi, Borso d'Este, circa 1927, Ferrara, Piazza della Cattedrale
On April 14, 1471, Pope Paul II appointed him the first Duke of Ferrara, but he was struck by death a few months later, on August 20, 1471.

Lineage
Borso d'Este did not marry and had no children. The successor was his half-brother Ercole I d'Este.