07-11-2025, 06:40 AM
(07-11-2025, 12:59 AM)Bluetoes101 wrote: You are not allowed to view links. Register or Login to view.those who did this knew of the things they drew, and the fashions they depicted. So they would be around the time of these most likely. So someone meant to depict what was shown.
Well, some of what we see today in the illustrations is original, and some was faithfully retraced. But some was erroneously retraced (pareidolia is not a modern disease!) and some was deliberately added or modified without regard for the original, just for fun.
The "robot tentacle" of the nymph at 11:00 and the crown on f72v1 are almost certainly examples of the latter. Just graffiti by one of the latest "Restorers". Who also added characteristic "showercaps" (scalloped diadems) on many nymphs throughout the book.
The problem is that it is not easy to tell those four cases apart. On the 12:00 nymph, is the line across her chest original, or at least retraced over the original? Or is it a mistaken "restoration", based on a few smudges that remained from the original and/or spurious stains on the vellum? Or is it just a fancy embellishment by the "creative Restorer"? I can't tell...
By the way, note that the breasts and nipples of most of the clothed nymphs are clearly visible through the dress. Is that what the original artist intended all along? I find that hard to believe. Maybe the original artist drew them naked first, then got an attack of prudery and dressed them. But even that seems unlikely: why did he leave some of them naked? Maybe he drew them dressed, and then him or some later "Restorer" added the breasts over the dresses. I can't believe that either. My best guess is that the originals were all naked, and the dresses are all later graffiti...
And I suspect that the originals had only one breast that was just a bump on the outline of the chest. And no nipples. It was again a "creative Restorer" (earlier than the "tentacle" one) who added the other breast and the nipples.
I am also unsure about the hats and more elaborate hairdos. Some of them may be mostly original (but possibly retraced). But I suspect that the nymphs originally had no hats, just a bit of free hair -- like most nymphs on f72v1.
All the best, --stolfi