{"id":1811,"date":"2015-02-06T08:00:42","date_gmt":"2015-02-06T08:00:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/primitive\/?p=1811"},"modified":"2015-01-31T21:36:12","modified_gmt":"2015-01-31T21:36:12","slug":"book-review-craftsmans-handbook-il-libro-dellarte","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/userblogs.ganoksin.com\/primitive\/2015\/02\/06\/book-review-craftsmans-handbook-il-libro-dellarte\/","title":{"rendered":"Book Review – “The Craftsman’s Handbook \/ Il Libro dell’Arte”"},"content":{"rendered":"

Book Review \u2013 “The Craftsman’s Handbook \/ Il Libro dell’Arte” \u2013 Cennino d’Andrea Cennini, translated by Daniel V. Thompson, Jr. $\"cennini\"$ <\/a><\/p>\n

On a recent trip to Edinburgh, I looked at some of the 2^{nd<\/sup> hand bookshops in the Grassmarket area. As usual, there wasn’t much of direct interest to the historical metalworker, but I found a copy of Cennini’s book for \u00a34.50.<\/p>\n}

This treatise is aimed at painters, or those who prepare artist’s materials. It has a kinship with Theophilus and Cellini, with a short chapter style, and clearly belongs in the same family of texts. There are hints of the ‘book of secrets’ style, but Cennini always writes with authority and practical concern \u2013 these are not lists of misunderstood recipes. The precise age of the text is unclear, as are the birth and death of the author, but it is usually dated to the 14^{th<\/sup> or 15^{th<\/sup> century.<\/p>\n}}

The translation, published in the 1930’s, is an easy read, and though I can’t vouch for the infomation on painting, it seems to make practical sense most of the time. The notes are a mixture of linguistic and practical details. This isn’t a key text for the historical metalworker, clearly, but it provides one very useful function.<\/p>\n

In amongst the preperations for pigments and advice on colour, there are tantalising hints of the related trade of goldsmithing. Methods for grinding gold and silver powders are discussed, and most exciting of all (your milage may vary), there is a reference to “…cuttle such as the goldsmiths use for casting.” which is surely the cuttlebone that is sold in pet shops, and also used by modern jewellers for one-off castings. I’ve haven’t found a reference in the other texts, and the archaeological record isn’t kind to such fragile objects.<\/p>\n

A free version of the text is available here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"