Was the VMS artist a fan of Michael Scot?

[Bernd]

occultist woman, who had an acute interest in alchemy

According to my research, this allegation stands on thin ice and is likely an invention of later biographers who sought to sensationalize and scandalize her, turning Barbara into the villainess of their stories. Actual evidence for these claims are scarce.

The problem with Palatino 766 is that we have no idea what happened to it after it left Taccola. There is academic consensus that it did shortly after completion, otherwise Taccola would have continued to doodle in it. But how, when, where it found a new owner, if on purpose or accidentally, remains a mystery. It appears to have stayed in Siena and may have ended up in the Strozzi collection. Maybe. An alleged copy to Sigismund would inevitably have ended up at the council in Basel, as this is where Sigismund went next.