© The British Library (Royal 14 CIII) / Eusebius Chronicle c.1488
The Enduring Fascination of Bartolomeo Sanvito, Renaissance Scribe
June 7, 2023
10:00 am PDT
This is a free, on-line lecture via Zoom.
The lecture is limited to 500 participants.
Bartolomeo Sanvito (1435–c.1517) is arguably the most famous Renaissance calligrapher. Today his fame rivals, and even possibly eclipses, that of the great trio of writing masters Arrighi, Tagliente and Palatino who have dominated the modern calligraphic imagination for over a century. This change in reputation is an astonishing one since Sanvito’s name was a mystery in the paleographical world prior to the early 1950s. Although he signed only a handful of manuscripts, Sanvito is now credited with having written out over 120 complete manuscripts and partially written or rubricated another 75 or more.
Paul Shaw will discuss how and why Sanvito has become a modern calligraphic sensation. He will describe his own conversion experience and examine how Sanvito differs from talented contemporaries such as Antonio Sinibaldi.
Paul Shaw is a calligrapher, typographer, graphic designer, and design historian. Among his areas of interest has been the work of Paduan calligrapher Bartolomeo Sanvito which he researched in detail in 2002 as a fellow of the American Academy in Rome. Paul has been a member of numerous calligraphic organizations since 1977, including the Friends of Calligraphy, for whom he served as editor/designer of Alphabet for two years.
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Contact: Raoul Martinez
Registration for this lecture will open on Monday, May 15th.
Register for this lecture on Eventbrite.