(Cross-posted to CAAH and ARLIS-L)
Does anyone know of a painting, print, or other "two dimensional graphic
material" where the date of creation is somehow disguised in the picture
or encoded in the inscription? I have a vague recollection of a
Renaissance painting where the current year could be figured out by how
many candles in a chandelier were lit, but maybe I've just conflated
that with the binary clock you can buy at ThinkGeek.
Even better, does anyone know of a print where the date is indicated
with a chronogram? For example, the pattern of capitals in "Ipso anno
tertIo saeCVLarI typographIae DIVIno aVXILIo a gerManIs InVentae"
indicates "1740" because when you add those Roman numerals together, you
get 1740 (or so I'm told... I didn't work it out for myself).
This is all in aid of putting an example in Descriptive Cataloging of
Rare Materials (Graphics), the forthcoming instruction manual on
cataloging graphic materials in special collections libraries.
Many thanks!
EB.
--------------------------------------------------
Erin C. Blake, Ph.D. | Curator of Art & Special Collections | Folger
Shakespeare Library | 201 E. Capitol St. SE | Washington, DC
20003-1004 | office tel. (202) 675-0323 | fax: (202) 675-0328 |
[log in to unmask] | www.folger.edu
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