Alchemical Hands in the Hypnerotomachia Poliphili

Why It Matters for the Hypnerotomachia

In the HP's original layout, most woodcuts appear on the recto. The recto is the side that would have been printed first in the press, and its prominence means that recto-placed woodcuts received more sustained attention from annotators.

Why It Matters in Scholarship

Russell's folio references use 'r' for recto (e.g., a1r). The distinction between recto and verso placement is significant for understanding annotation patterns: annotators often wrote on the verso facing a recto woodcut.

Key Passages / Evidence

• ... endeavoured to give the original Italian woodcuts a greater elegance, but also occasionally improved upon fidelity in the illustration of the text. Thus in the Italian woodcut of the pyramidal... [Word_Image_1998_jan_vol_14_iss_1_2_Bury_John_Chapter_III_of_the_Hypnerotomachia]
• ... a handful of woodcut illustrations, and I am unaware of any detailed comparisons of the two editions. Here are some preliminary observations I have made. While the 1545 edition follows the format... [Word_Image_2015_apr_03_vol_31_iss_2_Farrington_Lynne_Though_I_could_lead_a_quiet]
• ... da Syro re constructi.8 Per la quale cosa rectamente iudicai che non da altro, ma solo da divino artifice fue cusi exquisitis­ simo cogitamento ad contemplatione dill’alma dea dilla natura ad... [Avesani et al. (Colonna studies)]

Source Documents

Avesani et al. (Colonna studies); Canone & Spruit (emblematics); O'Neill (Durham thesis); Priki 2009 (reception); Russell 2014 (PhD thesis); Word_Image_1998_jan_vol_14_iss_1_2_Bury_John_Chapter_III_of_the_Hypnerotomachia; Word_Image_2015_apr_03_vol_31_iss_2_Farrington_Lynne_Though_I_could_lead_a_quiet