IcoNet · Iconographic Networks: Unveiling Exchanges and Connections between Illuminated Manuscripts in Late Medieval Italy (1260-1510)

Brunetto Latini’s Tresor and Tesoretto, Francesco da Barberino’s Documenti d’Amore, Dante Alighieri’s Commedia, and Francesco Petrarca’s Trionfi are four closely interconnected literary works composed in, or strictly related to, Tuscany between the 13th and 14th centuries. These texts share a central focus on visual component, inspirational sources, and historical and material contexts. While these interconnections have received notable scholarly attention from a literary perspective, a comprehensive and detailed examination of their convergences in terms of material and illustrated traditions has never been conducted. To address this gap, IcoNet will systematically compare the full range of iconographic representations produced for each work, from their composition to their latest figurative transpositions in manuscript books (ca. 1260 to ca. 1510). IcoNet will operate on two complementary levels: (1) examining each manuscript tradition individually, focusing on internal iconographic links; and (2) analyzing each tradition in relation to every other one, particularly through common iconographic choices for shared subjects or figurative modules. The primary objective is to map and delineate the unexplored iconographic network that deeply connects these works. By introducing an innovative highly interdisciplinary methodology, that integrates traditional stylistic and geographical classification criteria with extensive analysis of iconographies and compositional modules, IcoNet aims to reconstruct one of the most significant and intricate networks of cultural exchanges spanning two centuries of Italian and European civilization. This foundational iconographic network case study, crucial for its role in the Italian vernacular literature, will establish a new, robust system of classification criteria for grouping and comparing similar illuminated manuscripts. This system is designed to be extendable to other traditions and across different centuries.