[ENLUMINATION]. [VENICE]. [MARIEGOLA]. - Lot 18

[ENLUMINATION]. [VENICE]. [MARIEGOLA]. Leaflet extracted from a Mariegola (register of statutory regulations for members of a guild or confraternity). Paris Bordone (?), presented by Saint Jerome (?), kneeling in prayer before Christ holding a book and pointing to God the Father Four gold cameo putti in the outer corners, inscription in Roman capital letters: "SANCTA TRINITAS UNUS DEUS MISERERE MEI" in a four-lobed medallion in the lower frame. Illuminated folio on parchment, tempera and gold leaf. Attributable to the "Master of T.° Ve." (or "T.° Ve."). (or "T.° Ve. Master"), active in Venice between 1520 and 1570. Italy, Venice, circa 1560. Dimensions: 232 x 160 mm Unframed leaf, good overall condition, some missing paintwork. A few small parchment gaps at upper and lower right corners. Blank verso, except for the inscription at the top (see Provenance below). Beautiful example of an illuminated frontispiece of a Mariegola (contraction of "Madre" and "Regola"). The first associations of free workers, such as masters of art, craftsmen and merchants, were formed in Venice around the 11th century to protect the moral and social interests of workers, much like today's trade unions. The rules governing the rights and duties of members of free associations were laid down in a statute known as the "mariegola", from the Latin "matricula" or "mother rule". The statute regulated many aspects of the operation of Venetian businesses, including relations between workers, in particular between owners and apprentices, as well as the monitoring of fair competition, quality control and a system of mutual aid. It also established formal rules on religious, moral, behavioral, political, economic and administrative aspects. They were often illuminated and depicted the portrait of the newly enthroned craftsman or tradesman. The Mariegole were kept in the archives of the Schools (such as the Scuola Grande di San Rocco or the Scuola Grande di San Marco). The schools, which provided economic, professional and spiritual assistance, were lay confraternities that chose a patron saint. Many schools grouped together groups of craftsmen according to their profession, and each school had its own professional register. The artist who painted this leaf is associated with some forty Dogali and Giuramenti (oaths of office), attributed to "Maestro T.° Ve." and his Venetian workshop, active between the years 1520 and 1570. His name comes from a dated note in a Dogale folio, now in the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge, Marlay Cutting It. 43: "T.° Ve. dep. 1578", a later addition, a folio detached from a commission for Pietro di Bernardino Tagliapietra as Podestà of Vicenza; see Binski and Panayotova, The Cambridge Illuminations, London, 2005, no. 140). A collection of works first assembled by Giulia Maria Zuccolo Padrono (1971, pp. 53-71) is associated with this artist known as "Maestro T.° Ve". The reference and links with Tiziano Vecellio (Titian) suggested by an overly "optimistic" art dealer have since been challenged, but the appellation has remained. Although no direct link with Titian can be established, the style of the "Master T.° Ve." testifies to the triumph of Mannerism in contemporary Venetian illumination. It's also amusing to note that the Mariegola would have been destined for Paris Bordon (as suggested by the inscription on the reverse of the painted leaf), who was partly trained in Titian's workshop. In the second half of the 16th century, patrons of the Dogale, Mariegole and Commissions in general began to demand more full-page illuminations, which were in fact small, independent paintings, ideal spaces for depicting patricians. These full-page illuminations and portraits were often cut out of the manuscript and sought after by collectors in the same way as drawings. The present sheet is a fine example of this practice. Provenance: 1. Illuminated in Venice, according to the style and association with leaves and illuminations attributed to a Venetian painter, named "T.° Ve. Master" (see above). On the illuminators of the Venetian Mariegole, Dogale and Commissions, see Szépe (2018, pp. 69-70) and for the "Maestro T.° Ve.", see Szépe (2018, pp. 136). 2. Inscription in brown ink on verso of sheet: "Marieg