Georgette de Montenay

One Hundred Christian Emblems (Emblematum Christianorum Centuria)
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Maker

Georgette de Montenay (French, 1540 - 1581), author
Pierre Woeiriot (French, 1532 - 1599), engraver

Culture

French

Title

One Hundred Christian Emblems (Emblematum Christianorum Centuria)

Year

1584

Medium

Materials/Techniques

Techniques

Dimensions

197 x 147 mm (197 x 147 mm)

Signature / Inscription / Marks

Inscription: : Inscribed in pencil, UR, last page of book, recto: “xx / 166943 / a-z(4) A-f(4) = 116 / [8], 100, [8] ff. [check mark] / engr. portrait / of author + 100 emblems. / CC/ZM”

Credit / Object Number

Credit

Museum purchase: gift of Ambassador J. W. Middendorf II and Esther Mauran Acquisitions Fund

Object Number

2023.17

Type

Exhibition History

European Galleries
Sep 02, 2017

Label copy

This is an emblem book, a literary genre popular in Europe during the 1500s and 1600s. These volumes featured texts and illustrations designed to communicate moral lessons and stir the reader’s imagination. This example stands out for at least three reasons. It is the first and only written by a woman, Georgette de Montenay, and the first to include intaglio engravings rather than woodcut illustrations. It is also the first Protestant example of the genre, produced during a prolonged civil war between Catholics and Protestants in France. 

Image use

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Tombstone

Georgette de Montenay (French, 1540 - 1581), author
Pierre Woeiriot (French, 1532 - 1599), engraver
One Hundred Christian Emblems (Emblematum Christianorum Centuria), 1584
Letterpress and engraving
197 x 147 mm (197 x 147 mm)
Museum purchase: gift of Ambassador J. W. Middendorf II and Esther Mauran Acquisitions Fund 2023.17

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