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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.
In the miniature on folio 1r, volume II, the text page is arranged in such a manner that it seems to hang down from a balcony on which a group of philosophers (the seven wise men of Antiquity) stand, deeply engaged in conversation.
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