Matteo's Grotesques

Matteo da Milano was a talented Italian illuminator working in the late 15th and early 16th centuries. Originally from Milan, he did most of his work in Rome and Ferrara for the Estes, the Medicis, the Orsini and the della Rovere families. His specialty was illustrating for the wealthy clerics from these ranking families and was noted for the borders which he decorated with grotesques, jewels, cameos and other all'antica features, carefully drawn flora and fauna (see article by Andreina Contessa).

You can see the style in S.Maria.Magg.12, a lovely music manuscript for use by the choir from Advent to Lent, made for Santa Maria Maggiore of Rome and now in the Vatican Library.

It is one of the latest codices digitized in color by the Vatican Library. My full list:

1. Arch.Cap.S.Pietro.H.3.pt.bis, collection of materials on Shroud of Veronica. Curious because title page is got up like that of a printed book, indicating how dominant print style had become by 1616.
   
2. Arch.Cap.S.Pietro.H.62, biographies. Paolo Vian has added a 2014 note at the front saying the catalog item dealing with this codex seems to be partly duff.
3. Borg.ar.265
4. Borgh.216
5. Ott.lat.2862
6. Reg.lat.243, miscellany with Augustine at ff. 1-53 (11th century)
7. Reg.lat.261, 15th-century miscellany of Alcuin, Chrysostom and others
8. Reg.lat.279
9. Reg.lat.281, HT to @ParvaVox who recognizes this as a beautiful 9th-century manuscript of De vita contemplativa by Julianus Pomerius, copied by Agambaldus, monk and scribe.
10. Reg.lat.299
11. Reg.lat.328
12. Reg.lat.339 : another HT to @ParvaVox who noticed a remarkable Carolingian stemma at fol. 7r in this 9th-century codex showing a funny-looking, cartoon-style Charlemagne and Louis the Pious. I will have to do some more digging to figure out where this belongs in stemma history: it's not a history book as such, but mainly a theology compilation.
13. Reg.lat.346
14. Reg.lat.372
15. Reg.lat.435, Martyrologium, plus an interesting legal glossary at ff 41r-44v: Summula seu definitiones de legalibus verbis; 12th or 13th century French.
16. S.Maria.Magg.12, magnificent 15th-century music codex (above)
17. Urb.gr.120
18. Urb.lat.320
19. Urb.lat.859
20. Urb.lat.1065.pt.1
21. Urb.lat.1072.pt.2
22. Urb.lat.1123
23. Urb.lat.1225
24. Urb.lat.1229
25. Urb.lat.1230
26. Urb.lat.1238
27. Urb.lat.1222
28. Urb.lat.1234
29. Urb.lat.1239
30. Urb.lat.1240
31. Urb.lat.1246
32. Urb.lat.1248
33. Urb.lat.1256
34. Urb.lat.1262
35. Urb.lat.1772
36. Vat.gr.86, black and white microfilm only
37. Vat.gr.1702,
38. Vat.lat.1040, eTK index of science manuscripts lists incipits Utrum de corpore mobili ad formam and Circa initium primi libri de generatione
39. Vat.lat.1438, legal Bartholomew of Brixen and Bernardo Bottoni
40. Vat.lat.2151, eTK index of science manuscripts lists incipit Prohemium huius libri continet duas of late medieval logician and metaphysician Walter Burley
41. Vat.lat.6767
42. Vat.sir.343

This is Piggin's Unofficial List number 116. If you have corrections or additions, please use the comments box below. Follow me on Twitter (@JBPiggin) for news of more additions to DigiVatLib.