Creative Commons License
Creative Commons License
Portrait of Petrarch in the Incipit Letter “N”
Nature and garden imagery abound in the poetry of Petrarch (d. 1374), one of the great scholars and authors of the Renaissance. This letter N depicts Petrarch holding branches of a laurel tree, a symbol of poetry and knowledge personified by his beloved deceased Laura, his muse. Laurel crowns denoted military victory in the days of the Roman Empire but came to represent the ideals of knowledge and learning in the age of Petrarch. The poem itself recounts Petrarch's dream vision of six allegorical processions (Love, Chastity, Death, Time, Fame, and Faith).
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.
Sir George Holdford; Sale, Sotheby's, London, 1929, no. 6, pl. 11; B. Quaritch [date and mode of acquisition unknown] [Cat. 1931, p. 98-99]; Harvey Frost [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Sale, London, October 1955 [Maggs Bros. Ltd. as agent]; Walters Art Museum, 1955, by purchase.
Exhibitions
| 2012 | Paradise Imagined: Images of the Garden in the Islamic and Christian World. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
| 2005-2006 | Dressed in Gold: Books of the Italian Renaissance. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
| 2002 | A Renaissance Gem Revealed: Petrarch's Triumphs Disbound. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
| 1994-1995 | Renaissance Books and Manuscripts of the Humanist Age. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1989-1990 | Manuscript Painting in the Renaissance. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
Geographies
Italy, Florence (Place of Origin)
Measurements
8 7/16 x 5 3/8 in. (21.5 x 13.6 cm)
Credit Line
Museum purchase, 1955
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
W.755.2R
