Thanks Marco, I remember now that we went through that one before. I should learn to take better notes for myself.
By the way, I still think that if we want to uncover an earlier source for the siphon bridge, we need to look at manuscripts about civil engineering, moving water around, fountains... If those exist, rather than War machines and the like.
I tried to look into that, and found no sources with a similar style to Taccola that pre-date him. Taccola has this organic early-humanistic style that is so far the best match for the similarly organic shapes in the VM. It is not only the motifs that match, also the style. I have no doubt that Taccola copied extensively from earlier sources like Kyeser, a lot of their war machines look the same. But Kyeser's style is very medieval. Flat and straight.
As for if and how the VM artist got hold of Palatino 766, I have no idea. But I think it is highly unlikely that emperor Sigismund ever received a copy from Taccola. It was mentioned nowhere, and didn't show up anywhere. Palatino 766 itself remained in Siena with high certainty. If you look at this sketchbook, while Taccola beautified it with additional drawings and as Jorge noted it looks fairly neat, is this really something you'd gift to an emperor? It's a sketchbook not a colorful illuminated manuscript. Maybe Taccola himself realized at some point that this was not appropriate and abandoned the idea to give Palatino766 to Sigismund.
(09-10-2026, 12:37 AM)Bernd Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.Taccola has this organic early-humanistic style that is so far the best match for the similarly organic shapes in the VM. It is not only the motifs that match, also the style. I have no doubt that Taccola copied extensively from earlier sources like Kyeser, a lot of their war machines look the same. But Kyeser's style is very medieval. Flat and straight.
My feeling is that Taccola saw himself (or wanted to be seen) as an artist besides an engineer. I suppose that was almost the norm for his time and place: a genius was expected to be good at art as well as in mechanics, math, geometry, etc.
Thus, if Taccola copied the ideas from Kyeser, he would not have copied his style. he would have redrawn them in his own, which was representative of the Early Renaissance atmosphere pervasive at Siena. Although, as others have noted, he was still rather incompetent at perspective.
Quote:It was mentioned nowhere, and didn't show up anywhere.
That does not mean much. It is true of most of the manuscripts that existed at that time. Like the VMS itself...
Quote:is this really something you'd gift to an emperor? It's a sketchbook not a colorful illuminated manuscript.
I think an Emperor might well value an ugly book for its technical contents.
Again, maybe Palatino766 was not the only clean copy that Taccola made of his notebook. When some rich nobleman or merchant learned that Taccola intended to gift a copy to Sigsmund, they may have wanted to have one too. Or maybe Taccola thought of gifting Sigismund after he saw how popular earlier copies of his notebook had become.
Fontana's cipher MS You are not allowed to view links.
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Login to view. - BSB Cod.icon. 242 is somehow similar to Taccola's Pal. 766, in being a collection of engineering sketches about various subjects. The similarity could be due to being books about roughly the same subject from roughly the same time and area (early XV Century Italy).
Fontana top, Taccola bottom:
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I've been looking at Francesco di Giorgio again who was heavily influenced by Taccola a few decades later in Siena, so arguably too late for Voynich unless he had a stack of vellum lying around, and we see some very interesting things .. giving strong Rosettes vibes..
He's been mentioned a few times here and there but I couldn't find reference to this Manuscript
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There are indeed Rosettes vibes and there may be some connection.
I believe Taccola was producing hundreds if not thousands of sketches. His manuscripts De machinis and De ingeneis aren't true books with beginning and ending. They are just collections of some chosen sketches. I guess it's safe to assume that many of Taccolla's sketches didn't go into these books but they existed for some time, circulating and inspiring people.
Of course these pictures are military forts and Rosettes aren't a fort but I guess people are today more and more willing to accept that the Voynich artist was freely taking various inspirations and transforming them into something else
(Yesterday, 07:37 PM)Rafal Wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.There are indeed Rosettes vibes and there may be some connection.
I believe Taccola was producing hundreds if not thousands of sketches. His manuscripts De machinis and De ingeneis aren't true books with beginning and ending. They are just collections of some chosen sketches. I guess it's safe to assume that many of Taccolla's sketches didn't go into these books but they existed for some time, circulating and inspiring people.
Of course these pictures are military forts and Rosettes aren't a fort but I guess people are today more and more willing to accept that the Voynich artist was freely taking various inspirations and transforming them into something else
When I look at Rosettes, and in particular the wonderful redraw that lady did, it seems clear to me the artist was intending to create perspectives and for example the top left with what looks like an obelisk in a square, really reminds me of this.. I mean it really looks like someone who took this and just couldn't draw...