
The Various Arts
(De Diversis Artibus)
Theophilus(Author)
C. R. Dodwell(Editor)
Clarendon Press
Published on 19. February 1987
Book
Hardback
428 pages
978-0-19-822206-4 (ISBN)
Description
As far as is known, Theophilus's was the only treatise on almost all the major arts that was produced during the thousand years of the Middle Ages. In his preface he presents the philosophical attitudes to the visual arts of a thinking man of the time. In his main text, which he divides into three Books, he explains the contemporary techniques of making wall-paintings, manuscripts paintings, stained glass windows, ivory carvings, and various kinds of metalwork. The first references to oil painting and paper occur in the treatise, which also gives the earliest known instructions for making an organ.
Theophilus's treatise has been of interest to scholars for some centuries. It was referred to by Cornelius Agrippa in the sixteenth century, and was the basis of an article by Lessing in the eighteenth. The original autograph manuscript has not survived, but the reconstruction of it by Professor Dodwell is now considered to provide its only definitive text: this comprehensive edition includes an English translation on facing pages and full introductory and textual commentary.
Theophilus's treatise has been of interest to scholars for some centuries. It was referred to by Cornelius Agrippa in the sixteenth century, and was the basis of an article by Lessing in the eighteenth. The original autograph manuscript has not survived, but the reconstruction of it by Professor Dodwell is now considered to provide its only definitive text: this comprehensive edition includes an English translation on facing pages and full introductory and textual commentary.
More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
Oxford
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Oxford University Press
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Dimensions
Height: 225 mm
Width: 142 mm
Thickness: 30 mm
Weight
650 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-19-822206-4 (9780198222064)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Persons
Author
Editor
Head of the History of Art Department, and Director of the Whitworth Art GalleryHead of the History of Art Department, and Director of the Whitworth Art Gallery, University of Manchester