Virgil of Riccardium/Renata's Prayer Book - ArtCodex

Known as the Riccardian Virgil, the manuscript bears in the colophon the signature of the well-known copyist Niccolò Riccio, known as Spinoso, active in the workshop of Vespasiano da Bisticci.

The story of Aeneas' journey unfolds in the 88 miniature tables placed in the lower margin of the cards, attributed to Apollonio di Giovanni and his workshop, with clear references to Florentine painting and above all to the Chapel of the Magi, frescoed by Benozzo Gozzoli in Palazzo Medici in 1459.

The influence of the Council of Florence in 1439 and the fall of Byzantium in 1453 is evident in the citations of monuments and the extraordinary oriental-style clothing, as well as specific references to contemporary chronicles. The decoration thus constitutes a figurative narrative rich in allusions and allegories yet deeply rooted in contemporary events.

The Bucolics and Georgics feature a single miniature at the beginning of each work, while in the Aeneid the illuminated decoration ends at the end of Book III. The miniatures on pages 93-98, only partially colored, and those on pages 101-104, only drawn, document the working procedures within the industrious workshops.

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