[Alphabeto]

Paulini, I., fl. 1570 · 1570 · [Italy : s.n.] · 16 pictures

An Italian alphabet book of 1570 by I. Paulini, one of sixteen engraved letter plates in which each initial is built from figures out of classical mythology. Each plate pairs a large decorated letter with a small narrative scene set in a framed cartouche with caryatid-like figures at the sides. A designer could take from them the habit of constructing a letterform from human bodies and landscape, with the scene framed by ornate scrollwork.

Alphabets · Mythology, Classical · Alphabets -- Early works to 1800

Internet Archive · Getty Research Institute · Public domain (published before 1931) · More from this library