A Moral Fable-Talk
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Authors
Barnes, R.G.
Freitag, Arnold
Gheeraerts, Marcus
Golding, Arthur
Issue Date
1987
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Type
Book, Whole
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Abstract
One of the finest treasures of my collection. I have had De warachtighe fabulen de dieren (1567) in my hands twice (at Justin Schiller's and at the L of C); I am glad to have so fine a presentation of Gheeraerts' work. De warachtige had 107 plates; Esbatement moral des animaux in 1578 added another 18 by Gheeraerts. The 125 plates here are taken especially from Stanford's copy of a third Gheeraerts fable book, this one in Latin. The paper may be a bit too thin: the following page may distract from the excellent art. As the colophon explains, the reproductions are uneven and sometimes unfortunately dark--but still overall lovely. Among the best of Gheeraerts' wonderful and pioneering etchings are the beaten horse (1), the ape and the imps (7), the lion and the mouse (12), the eagle and the fox (29), the ass and the little dog (31), the frog and the mouse (37), the frog and the ox (38), the fox and the goat (42), the stag and the oxen (49), the wolf in sheepskin (75), the clown and the satyr (83), the countryman and the adder (88), and the husbandman and the dogs (103). The work is well presented here as an emblem-book, with five elements carefully arranged on each pair of pages: story, moral, motto, scripture, and picture. Barnes' conjecture is that Gheeraerts proposed to Golding that he do a translation to utilize Gheeraerts' plates for an English edition. It never came to print. The manuscript has a fascinating history traced here in the extensive introduction. The end of the work presents a helpful array: a genealogy of Golding's fables, the influence of Gheeraerts' illustrations, annotations in the manuscript, helpful notes (especially vis-a-vis Perry), a glossary, and a bibliography. Gheeraerts was proud of the true character of these fables and of his pioneering art work. This book was on a shelf away from (more) Moe's usual fable books. Am I glad that I found it!
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Publisher
Arion Press
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Identifier
1400 (Access ID)