Creative Commons License
Love is Blind
(Manuscripts and Rare Books)
Emblem books were a popular source of amusement during the late medieval period. They offered mysterious images whose meaning had to be puzzled out through a combination of contemplating the illustration and reading the accompanying text. These emblems offered a moral to be pondered, and often the message was related to love. Here, a blindfolded man precariously teeters at the top of a cliff and, unaware of the danger, takes a step forward. The moral: love is blind.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Olschki [date and mode of acquisition unknown]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, ca. 1905, by purchase; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.
Exhibitions
| 2010 | Checkmate! Medieval People at Play. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
Geographies
Italy (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 9 1/8 x W: 6 11/16 in. (23.2 x 17 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, ca. 1905
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.476.3R
