ArtCodex Company Profile

ArtCodex ®
l’Atelier del Codice Miniato

ArtCodex®
Atelier of the illuminated manuscript
patrimony of Italian art
Italian art has always been admired in the world.
The greatest masterpieces of pictorial and sculptural
art are the fruit of Italian genius, which flourished
between the Middle Ages and the Rennaisance, an
era in which the figurative and literary arts were a
means for experimenting with a knowledge of the
world. Artists such as Michelangelo, Leonardo, and
Botticelli have left an extraordinary testimony to
this genius, achieving and establishing canons of
beauty that have endured in history. Yet besides
the golden-haired Venere and the David of perfect
proportions, Italy conceals other masterpieces that
cannot be easily accessed, pieces unique in all the
world, of extreme delicacy and inestimable value: the
illuminated manuscripts.
During the centuries preceding the advent of
printing at the end of the 1400s, the art of the
amanuensis developed an immense patrimony
for European culture. The greatest works of the
ancient poets and philosophers, up until those
of the renowned 15th-century humanists, were
hand-copied by monks or master illuminators with
exceptional artistic abilities. They decorated the
pages with elegant illuminations that, by means
of the figures, narrated the text copied on the
parchment.
Leonardo da Vinci, Dama con l’ermellino (Lady with an Ermine),
Krakow, Czartoryski Muzeum
Michelangelo Buonarroti, David, Florence, The Accademia Gallery
Sandro Botticelli, Nascita di Venere (The Birth of Venus),
Florence, Uffizi Gallery
Virgilio Riccardiano, reproduction of the ms Ricc. 492 of the Biblioteca Riccardiana of Florence, f. 80r, the Trojan horse
4
5

ArtCodex®
Atelier of the illuminated manuscript
patrimony of Italian art
The adept scribes used instruments of great
precision in order to perfect even the smallest detail,
adopting precious hues along with gold foil and
gold leaf, thus achieving the creation of authentic
masterpieces.
Being exemplars unique in all the world and
composed of very fragile material—parchment—that
sustains with difficulty the wear and tear of time,
these artistic handmade specimens are preserved in
Italian and European libraries, with extreme care and
attention. As a result, these important pieces of our
history prove to be of difficult consultation.
For this reason, the project of the ArtCodex®
facsimile editions is that of giving birth to a
new original. The project arises from the desire
to bring to light book treasures that would
otherwise be destined to lie in the archives,
remaining unknown to those who cannot count
themselves among the few privileged scholars
admitted to view them.
Raffaello Sanzio, Dama col liocorno (Woman with Unicorn)
(presumably a portrait of Giulia Farnese), Rome, Borghese Gallery
Michelangelo Buonarroti, Pietà,
Vatican City, St. Peter’s Basilica
Regia Carmina di Convenevole da Prato, reproduction of the ms. Royal 6 E IX, f. 4v, Christ enthroned, blessing
Dante Urbinate, reproduction of the ms. Urb.Lat.365 of the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana, f. 1r, incipit of the Divina Commedia
6
7

who we are
The ArtCodex® Atelier is embedded in the fascinating
setting of Castelvetro di Modena, an ancient
medieval village situated in the heart of Emilia
Romagna, a center of craft traditions and very fine
artistic-cultural productions.
Within this ambience, ArtCodex® brings the past
back to life by means of elegant illuminations
in bright colors and fine gold, with leather, silk
velvet, and gemstones covering the precious
cartaPergamena® parchment paper that reproduces
the ancient fascination of the animal parchment
on which the skillful amanuenses imprinted their
characteristic art.
Originating from the dedicated research of its
founder Luciano Malagoli, ArtCodex® is an art
studio devoted to reviving the most important
illuminated manuscripts of the past, by means of
highly accurate artistic reproductions. Many years
of experimentation have made it possible to create
a series of work processes that, by combining the
illuminators’ ancient techniques with the most
advanced technology, confer upon the ancient
splendor of the illuminations a new life in the form
of precious facsimile reproductions.
the ArtCodex studio, in the historical village of Castelvetro
celebration of the “Dama Vivente” in the historical center of
Castelvetro di Modena
Foto Marco/Luciano
Castelvetro di Modena, view of the historical village
the founder of ArtCodex Luciano Malagoli with his son Marco
8
9

who we are
The new original substitutes in all respects
the codex preserved in the Library. ArtCodex®
replicates in its own editions all the characteristics
of the manuscript that make it unique: by
means of a patented system of treatments, the
parchment is reproduced on paper, denominated
cartaPergamena®. The colors, metals, and gold are
spread and applied with the ancient techniques of
the amanuenses, and the binding of the manuscript
is reproduced integrally. In so doing, ArtCodex®
achieves an original that allows one to recapture
the same tactile and visual sensations that are
experienced when viewing a work of art.
The project of the new original ArtCodex® contributes
to the diffusion and safeguarding of a patrimony
of illuminated manuscripts that, reproduced in
prestigious exemplars, are able to substitute the
original in scientific research, while at the same time
becoming collectors’ treasures designed for those
who wish to appreciate their beauty.
The realization of a manuscript is an artistic project
that requires years of study and research, thanks to
which the achievement of absolute faithfulness to
the original does not remain just an aspiration, but
becomes a precious reality.
Dante Urbinate, reproduction of the ms Urb.Lat.365, of the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana

the search for the
manuscripts
the photographic
technique
The choice of the manuscripts to reproduce in
facsimile edition is the fruit of an attentive and
passionate research by ArtCodex® in the ancient,
medieval, and Renaissance collections of the most
important libraries in Italy and the rest of the world.
Whether the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana or the
British Library of London, the Biblioteca Riccardiana
of Florence or the Morgan Library of New York,
the Marciana of Venice or the Nazionale Reale of
Naples, each of these places preserves treasures of
inestimable value, fruit of the ancient expertise
of the amanuenses, who with their illuminated
masterpieces transmitted the knowledge to future
generations.
After inspecting the manuscript collection of a
Library, one chooses a codex that has the relevant
characteristics, such as the elegance and richness
of the illuminations, the prestigious patronage, the
particularly significant text and content, the state
of conservation: these are some of the criteria that
lead one to choose the manuscript to be reproduced.
Even though the first and most important detail is
the immediate fascination felt by the observer when
viewing a particular codex.
The illuminated manuscript is an extremely fragile
work of art. One need only think of the wear and
tear that the centuries deposit on the parchments,
colors, and binding of a manuscript. Handling
an ancient codex in order to photograph it is an
operation that requires an extraordinary delicacy and
the greatest attention. For this reason
ArtCodex®, after years of experience and study in
the field, has patented a book stand, denominated
Cartesio®, with an extremely light structure, whose
mechanism is based upon panels that join together
and form the base on which the codex rests, without
being subjected to too much stress.
The pages are not pulled any more than necessary,
and the opening of the manuscript is never greater
than 45 degrees, in order to avoid that the binding,
especially when very tight, can be adversely affected.
The photographic techniques used with the
manuscripts are absolutely avant-garde.
The use of digital instrumentation, cold lights, and
low-penetration flash allows one to obtain the
maximum photographic quality possible, without
the original manuscript being affected by possible
bursts of light or heat. With the photographic
instrumentation of ArtCodex®,
it is possible to capture all of the page’s smallest
details, from its porosity to the degree of the color’s
penetration in the parchment itself.
12
13

cartaPergamena®
The recreated paper, denominated cartaPergamena®
(parchment paper) following the patent developed
by ArtCodex® after many years of research, is
produced by expert paper-manufacturers and
elaborated according to the characteristics of the
codex. Each folio is then aged manually so as to
present the two different sides of the parchment
( the “flesh side” and the “hair side”). The high
quality attained up to this stage of the process is
lastly enriched with the single very precious detail
that until now it was not possible to propose in
high quality reproductions: each golden detail of
the ancient manuscript, thanks to the patented
technique ArtCodex®, is rendered in 23-carat gold,
as in the original decorations.
the binding
The binding, executed in manufacturing workshops
that still use the ancient hand press, is composed
of the sewing by hand of the endband and folios,
in the absolute respect of the codex’s border and
foliation.
Of inestimable value both for the uniqueness that
characterizes it and for the maximum care that
the illuminators dedicated to it during years of
constant and meticulous work, the illuminated
manuscript is a treasure of rare beauty, which must
be reproposed in every one of its details. With this
objective, the skills of the ancient amanuenses
have been studied at length and subsequently
actuated in the reproduction, employing the
sophisticated technologies that are available in our
time, recuperating the craftsmanlike wisdom of the
past, and inventing ad hoc patents that permit an
elevation to the perfection of the original codex.
14
15

23-kt pure gold
The ArtCodex® patented technique for the
application of gold consists in the employment
of gold leaf, as was customary in the medieval
scriptoria. This allows one to replicate the gold relief,
as though the manuscripts had undergone the aging
of the parchment that the centuries have given rise
to.
Every detail is faithfully reproduced, from those
created with the burin (a kind of chisel used for
engraving) to the designs on the gold; from the
decorative splendors created by brushwork with the
gold powder, to the gilding with pure gold leaf;
to the point of obtaining the effect of a harmonic
chromatic fusion between the golden details and the
iconographic elements of the manuscript.
the chromatic
reproduction
Once the codex has been entirely photographed, the
next step is the digitalization of the file. A thorough
analysis of each exposure by means of the tone
control then leads to the creation of the printing
setup. In this field as well, ArtCodex® has attained
the maximum levels of quality and efficiency,
making use of avant-garde equipment that prints
with millimetric precision and with a chromatic
definition that allows one to achieve excellent results
that are absolutely identical to the original.
16
17

Vatican City
places of culture
Biblioteca
Apostolica Vaticana
Vatican City, view of St. Peter’s square
inner hall of the Vatican Apostolic Library
The Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana is the library
of the Holy See and is situated in the Cortile del
Belvedere in Vatican City.
Founded by Pope Sixtus IV in June 1475, it is one of
the oldest and most valuable library collections in the
world.
It collects manuscripts, incunabula, printed books,
papers, coins and medals, and numerous art objects,
dated from the 4th century A.D. up to the present
time.
The inestimable patrimony that it preserves makes it
a place of enormous interest for the scholars of all
the world.
The current Cardinal Librarian of the Holy Roman
Church is H. Em. Raffaele Farina; the prefect of the
Biblioteca Apostolica is Msgr. Cesare Pasini; while
the vice prefect as well as person in charge of the
manuscripts is Dr. Ambrogio M. Piazzoni.
ArtCodex® has for years collaborated in close
contact with the staff of the Biblioteca Apostolica
Vaticana (Vatican Apostolic Library). Of its collection
of manuscripts it has reproduced the Pontificale
di Bonifacio IX (Pontifical Mass of Boniface IX),
a manuscript of great elegance, and it holds the
reproduction rights for several of the most beautiful
works in the world. Among them we should mention
the famous Dante Urbinate, the Divina Commedia
that was elegantly illuminated between the end of
the 15th and beginning of the 16th century, and was
part of the personal library of the Duke of Urbino,
Federico da Montefeltro.
Pope Benedict XVI
18
19
Pontificale di Bonifacio IX (Pontifical Mass of Boniface IX),
reproduction of ms Vat.Lat.3747

places of culture
Florence
Biblioteca Riccardiana
view of the city of Florence
theVirgilio Riccardiano, reproduction of the ms Ricc.492
The Biblioteca Riccardiana (Riccardiana Library) is
located in the heart of Medicean Florence, in the
Medici-Riccardi building. Founded in 1600 by the
marquis Riccardo Riccardi, it boasts a rich patrimony
of volumes and manuscripts, among which can be
found many unpublished exemplars that are the
object of continual new discoveries. The manuscripts
preserved in the Library can be dated from the
10th century A.D., with important testimony of
our artistic-literary history, especially concerning
the literature of the great poets, such as Boccaccio
and Petrarca, and the humanistic Florentine works
bridging the 15th and 16th centuries.
The Director and person responsible for the
manuscripts of the Riccardiana Library is dr.ssa
Giovanna Lazzi, a great expert on illumination and a
scholar of the history of art.
ArtCodex maintains a continual collaboration
with dr.ssa Lazzi concerning the manuscript
reproductions of the Library collection, among
which are prominent the Virgilio Riccardiano,
work of the master illuminator Apollonio di
Giovanni, and Le leggende di S. Margaret and
S. Agnes, codex of the 13th century A.D. This
relationship, by now of great friendship and
mutual esteem, extends also to the events
that ArtCodex® organizes in all of Italy: at the
ArtCodex® presentations, dr.ssa Lazzi is in fact
always welcome and appreciated as a speaker for
her ability to cover the most varied and interesting
subjects of the history of art and illumination, with
the great simplicity of a true expert.
Le Leggende di Santa Margherita e Sant’Agnese (The Legends of St.
Margaret and St. Agnes), reproduction of the ms Ricc.453
20
21
the reading room of the Biblioteca Riccardiana

Florence
places of culture
Biblioteca
Medicea Laurenziana
Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, the Reading Room designed and built by Michelangelo Buonarroti
San Francesco d’Assisi - la vita e le opere,
reproduction of the ms. Gaddi 112
Francesco Petrarca - I Trionfi,
reproduction of the ms. Strozzi 174
the cloister of the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana
The Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana (Medici Laurentian
Library) is one of the largest collections of manuscripts
in the world, and is located in downtown Florence,
next to the church of San Lorenzo.
It is an extraordinary architectural achievement,
designed by Michelangelo Buonarroti between 1519
and 1534. Among the most interesting spaces of
the work as a whole, one of the most impressive is
Michelangelo’s Reading Room, a spacious hallway
with reading desks of choice wood, large windows
that fill the area with light, and heraldic decorations
on the ceiling and floor. There is also Michelangelo’s
celebrated Staircase, situated in the Vestibule in front
of the entrance to the Reading Room. It is a tripartite
stairway, initially designed in walnut, but then realized
in pietra serena (grey sandstone) in accordance with
the wishes of Cosimo I de’ Medici.
The Library prides itself on preserving the most
valuable collections of known manuscripts, among
which the Fondo Mediceo (Medici Collection), which
had belonged to the Medici family; the Mediceo
Palatino, from the library of Palazzo Pitti; private and
ecclesiastic collections; oriental manuscripts, and the
famous Ashburnam collection of manuscripts that had
belonged to Lord Bertram.
The Director of the Library is dr.ssa Vera Valitutto,
while the person responsible for the manuscripts is
dr.ssa Ida Giovanna Rao, one of the greatest experts
of illuminated manuscripts. ArtCodex® can boast the
support of the Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana for
numerous reproduction projects, among which the
works of San Francesco d’Assisi and Sant’Antonio
Abate, in addition to the codex of the Trionfi del
Petrarca (Triumphs of Petrach), illuminated by the
master Apollonio di Giovanni.
Sant’Antonio Abate - la vita e le opere,
reproduction of the ms. Med Pal.143
22
23

places of culture
Ravenna
Biblioteca Classense
the reading room of the Classense Library
the collection of Classense manuscripts
24
The Biblioteca Classense (Classense Library) of
Ravenna, a historical manuscript collection of the
Romagnole city, takes its name from the Abbey
of Classe, seat of the monks belonging to the
Camaldolese Congregation.
It was founded in 1700 by the Abbot Pietro Canneti,
who gathered in this collection all the volumes and
manuscripts from the most replete libraries of the
nearby monasteries.
The Library proudly hosts a very diversified patrimony,
which includes ancient manuscripts, precious
incunabula, ancient cartography and maps, period
photographs, and beautiful engravings.
The stupendous Baroque space of the Canneti
Library is one of the most suggestive among the
Italian libraries, with its abundant supply of statues,
stuccoes, and elegantly carved wooden book shelves,
as well as its decorative frescoes and paintings.
The Director of the Biblioteca Classense is dott.
Donatino Domini, and the person responsible for the
manuscripts is dott.ssa Claudia Giuliani.
ArtCodex® has collaborated with the Biblioteca
Classense for the edition of the Libro d’Ore di
Maria Stuarda (Book of Hours of Mary Stuart), a
reproduction of manuscript 62 of the Classense
collection, which had belonged to the Queen of
Scotland Mary Stuart. Before mounting the gallows
where she was executed, as decreed by her cousin
Queen Elizabeth I, she consigned her precious little
book of prayers to her confessor priest, a monk of the
Classe Abbey, who brought it back with him to Italy.
25
Libro d’Ore di Maria Stuarda (Book of Hours of Mary Stuart),
reproduction of the ms. 62
Libro d’Ore di Maria Stuarda (Book of Hours of Mary Stuart),
ms. 62 that had belonged to Mary Stuart, Queen of Scots

places of culture
London
British Library
view of the city of London
the manuscript reading room of the British Library
The British Library is the national library of the
United Kingdom, and was part of the British Museum
up until 1973, when the two institutions were
definitively separated and made independent from
each other. Situated in the center of London, it
contains an immense cultural patrimony, among the
finest in the world, with historical items that date
back as far as 300 B.C. The manuscript collection is
very substantial and derived for the most part from
the Royal Library and the King’s Library. On the
international panorama, the Library has distinguished
itself for the advanced technology utilized in the
preservation of the manuscripts. They are kept
behind an enormous glass, where library visitors
can view them in their continual movement; that is
sustained by a system of internal pulleys, in spaces
with rarefied air that is able to maintain over time the
thermic stability necessary to avoid jeopardizing the
ancient leather and parchment. The head librarian
of the British Library is Dame Lynne Janie Brindley,
and the person in charge of the manuscripts and
collections is Dott. David Way. ArtCodex® began its
collaboration with the British Library several years ago,
when developing the project for the reproduction of
a manuscript that had belonged to the English Royal
family, but was of ancient Italian origin: the Regia
Carmina of Convenevole da Prato, a 14th-century
poem dedicated to Roberto d’Angiò, king of Naples
and of the two Sicilies. It is a volume of rare beauty
and strong impact, due to its impressive dimensions
for which the illuminations are to all effects and
purposes 14th century paintings.
Regia Carmina di Convenevole da Prato, reproduction of the
ms. Royal 6 E IX
26
27
Regia Carmina di Convenevole da Prato, detail

places of culture
New York
Morgan Library
view of the city of New York
The Morgan Library of New York is certainly one of
the best-known libraries in the world. It originated
from the private collection of the banker J. Pierpont
Morgan and became a public institution in 1924
thanks to J. Pierpont Morgan Jr., who wished to
share with the entire world his father’s marvelous
patrimony of manuscripts, incunabola, paintings, and
prints. The library collection contains volumes from
various periods and origins, among which there are
precious books of the hours,16th-century Bibles, and
paintings of the greatest Italian Renaissance painters,
among whom Michelangelo and Leonardo; as well
as musical scores of great composers, such as Verdi,
Beethoven, and Mozart.
The elegant spaces of the Library and adjacent
Museum comprise the Renaissance structures of the
manuscript room and the famous architecture of the
hall designed by Renzo Piano. The Director of the
Library is the art expert Mr. William M. Griswold, while
the person in charge of the manuscript section is Mr.
Roger S. Wieck.
ArtCodex® established an initial collaboration with the
Morgan Library in 2010, since which time numerous
projects are being developed regarding the fine
collection of medieval and Renaissance manuscripts
preserved there.
the manuscript collection of the Morgan Library
the entrance to the Morgan Library
the hall of the Morgan Library designed by Renzo Piano
28
29

events and manifestations
Modena
Modena Antiquaria
ArtCodex® participates in the
exclusive luxury and art fair
ModenAntiquaria, which is
held each year in the Fine
Art Expo fairground area of
Modena.
The ArtCodex® illuminated
manuscripts are displayed side
by side with works of art and
precious antique items.
the elegance of gold in art throughout
the centuries: antique artistic items and
the ArtCodex illuminated manuscripts
exhibited at the ModenAntiquaria fair
ArtCodex® participates each year with its exhibit at
the ModenAntiquaria fair, a part of the Unica Expo
manifestation that takes place in the Modenese
fairground area. As an important representative of
the highly esteemed local workmanship, ArtCodex®
is among the most requested and appreciated
exhibitors, and takes the opportunity of the yearly
event to present to a wide public the new works
that have enriched its extensive catalogue.
Modena, image of the Cathedral and Ghirlandina bell tower
30
31
the ArtCodex exhibition space at the ModenAntiquaria fair

events and manifestations
Bologna
ArteLibro
ArtCodex® participates each
year in ArteLibro, the exclusive
art-book fair, which takes place
in the historical Palazzo Re
Enzo, at piazza del Nettuno in
Bologna.
The participation of ArtCodex® in the Bologna
ArteLibro (ArtBook) fair is for the Publisher a regular
appointment with the most affectionate clients of
the area. The book festival that is held each year
during the autumn in Bologna at the Palazzo Re
Enzo offers the broadest perspective on the artbook
market, a field in which ArtCodex® has found
its precise space and is recognized by the large
publishers and distributors both in Italy and abroad.
interior of the ArteLibro manifestation
view of the city of Bologna
the ArtCodex exhibit at ArteLibro, september 2008
32
33

events and manifestations
Frankfurt
Book Fair
ArtCodex®
displays its works at the Frankfurt
book fair, the most important
manifestation of the sector
at an international level, with
the participation of the largest
publishers in all the world.
ArtCodex® has participated for years in the
Frankfurt Book Fair, the most important exhibition
event related to the publishing world. Publishing
companies, distributors, and writers from all
countries participate in this event, which occupies
the eight pavilions of the large Frankfurt fairground.
As an ideal opportunity to make new contacts, to
appear on the market and become acquainted with
its latest developments in absolute world preview,
Frankfurt is a fundamental showcase and necessary
stopping place for a publisher interested in
international development. ArtCodex® has its exhibit
space in the area of the art book and its facsimile
edition, within the most interesting pavilion of the
Fair.
interior of the Frankfurt Book Fair
view of the city of Frankfurt am Main
the ArtCodex exhibition space at Frankfurt Book Fair, october 2010
34
35

events and manifestations
Boston
Book Fair
ArtCodex®
on the international scene of the art
book of value: in the United States at
the Boston Book Fair, meeting place
of the most important publishers and
university libraries of America.
In recent years the ArtCodex® reality has expanded
beyond the European borders and arrived in
the United States, where it participated in the
2010 Boston Book Fair. Immersed in the elegant
atmosphere of the university city, in the large
international fairground complex overlooking the
ocean, the Boston Book Fair offers an important
opportunity to make contact with the distributors
and largest publishers of the overseas market.
ArtCodex® participates in the Fair, thanks also to the
close collaboration with their New York partner OMI
(Old Manuscripts and Incunabula).
interior of the Seaport World Trade Center in Boston
interior of the manifestation
view of the city of Boston
the elegant entrance courtyard of the World Trade Center, at the Boston fairground
36
37