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This sumptuous book, finished in 1483 in Venice for Peter Ugelheimer, merchant from Frankfurt, contains the works in Latin translation of and commentaries on the Classical philosopher, Aristotle (384-322 B.C.). It is a transitional product after the invention of printing by Johannes Gutenberg: the text portion was printed and the illustrations drawn and painted over by hand. The practice of combining printed text with hand-painted miniatures was prevalent from the invention of print with movable type to around 1500.
For the introductory page opening volume I, Girolamo da Cremona created a masterpiece of illusionistic painting, a prime example of the trompe-l'oeil technique, as the beholder first thinks he is looking through torn and bent corners, edges and holes in the parchment, to view the architectonic ornamental scenery partly populated with animals, putti and satyrs visible beneath. The appearance of oriental figures with turbans at the top of the page is a typical feature of Venetian painting in the 1480s after Gentile Bellini's journey to Constantinople.
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