La bottega veneziana di Erhard Ratdolt (1476-1486): xilografie come apparato decorativo dei testi a stampa

The PhD thesis deals with the analysis of the woodcuts’ decorative display in early printed books edited by Erhard Ratdolt during his period in Venice between 1476 and 1486. The research has been done in some italian and european libraries - Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana and Biblioteca della Fondazione Cini in Venice, Biblioteca Nazionale Braidense in Mailand, Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana in Rome, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek in Munich, Universitäts- und Landesbibliothek Tirol in Innsbruck, British Library in London, University Library in Cambridge, Bodleian Libraries in Oxford, Országos Széchényi Könyvtár in Budapest – to examine personally the 70 incunabula, subject matter of the research. Following the research, the collected data about the copies of the books and the woodcuts in there have been recorded in two catalogues: the first deals with the incunabula and the second with the woodcuts. The last one has a brief description which has been examined in depth in the fourth chapter. The two catalogues are linked: the catalogue of the incunabula has a reference to the records of the woodcuts, and vice versa. The aim of the thesis is to enhance the artistic aspect of Erhard Ratdolt’s venetian creation and his interest to an aesthetic-decorative approach to the early printed books, expressing theories and personal considerations about his education and the use of a specific dating and underlining the stylistic affinities with other works of art of the period.