[Colonna, Francesco].

Hypnerotomachia Poliphili. Venice, Aldus Manutius, December 1499.

First edition and first issue of the most beautiful illustrated book of the Renaissance, presented in a wonderful copy bound by Bozérian le Jeune for the Count of Sutherland.

As an editor of Greek and Latin classics for the academic world, Aldus Manutius was hesitant to be involved with this project. Indeed, his name appears only in the small-type colophon printed at the end and is not present in all copies. However, the final result was a volume of exceptional quality, a luxurious production (a copy cost one Venetian ducat), whose overall elegance of layout, fonts and illustrations continue to be greatly admired today. The work is usually attributed to the Dominican friar Francesco Colonna, whose name is mentioned only in the acrostic formed by the thirty-eight initials that open each chapter: "Poliam frater Franciscus Columna peramavit" ('Brother Francesco Colonna intensely loved Polia'). Polia refers not only to the name of his beloved, but also translates to "all things" in Greek.

The 'Dream of Poliphilus' is considered one of the most bizarre and controversial works of world literature. Firstly, its language is a hybrid mixture of Latin and north Italian vernacular, frequently interspersed with words in Greek and Hebrew. Secondly, the text is full of digressions and obscure allegories telling of the initiation of Poliphilus into sensory and intellectual knowledge. Of the three possible destinies (asceticism, worldly glory and pleasure of love) Poliphilus chooses the last. Introduced to the secrets of love, he marries the woman he loves (Polia) and reaches the island of Venus. The second part of the work, set in a transfigured town which is however recognisable as Treviso in the Veneto, holds the key to deciphering the enigma of the first part and reveals that everything was just a dream. 

The final, and possibly most important, aspect that makes this work unique is its sumptuous iconography. The importance of the woodcut series, variously associated with the names of famous artists of the time, is demonstrated by the fact that the Hypnerotomachia exerted more influence in the history of art than in literary history. Renaissance and Baroque painters such as Giorgione, Tintoretto, Agostino Carracci and Pietro da Cortona drew great inspiration from the book.

Today most scholars agree on attributing the woodcuts to the miniaturist, copyist, woodcutter and designer Benedetto Bordon. The double frame, well-balanced layout, classical themes, use of shading with parallel lines and the clear influence of Mantegna are all unequivocally aspects related to the style of Bordon. Among the many allegorical illustrations is the dolphin with the anchor which Aldus, on Bembo's advice, would later adopt as his device (the subject was taken from a Roman coin of the period of the emperor Titus Vespasian).

Born in Venice Colonna entered the Dominican order at an early age, residing for some years (1462-1467) in Treviso. Later, having moved to Padua, he graduated in theology (1493). In the following years he lived mostly in Venice in the convent of SS. Giovanni e Paolo. Despite expulsion from Venice and various other charges for insubordination he was appointed preacher at San Marco in 1493 and prior of the Scuola di San Marco in 1495. After the publication of what remained his only work, Colonna was allowed to live outside the convent. While continuing to carry out duties for his order, his impatience with religious discipline led him to clash with his superiors on many occasions. In 1516 he was accused of immorality and was confined to Treviso. Subsequently, he returned to Venice and received new charges, but the contrasts in personality persisted until his death, aged 94, in 1527. Although the few sure facts of his tumultuous life are sparse, it seems that they may be reflected in the erotic-pagan character of the Hypnerotomachia.

HC* 5501; GW 7223; BMC V, 561; IGI 3062; Goff C, 767; Renouard p. 21, n. 5; Laurenziana, n. 36; Marciana, n. 36; Ahmanson-Murphy 35; Essling 1198; Lowry, pp. 129-135.