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The gorgeous illuminated Bolognese Bible that is the focus of this art history study was presumably created in the 1280s on behalf of the French cardinal Jean Cholet and exhibits a typical Bolognese decorative system based on Parisian models. The paintings in this codex draw on an array of classical motifs and reveal a painting style that requires in-depth knowledge of Byzantine art from the early Palaeologan era. In a fascinating analysis of the images, the author demonstrates the receptivity to the themes of antiquity, using as an example the Dionysian embonpoint and the representation of maenads. This exploration outlines modes of adaptation of Eastern and Western motifs and styles and reveals an illuminator who had the intellectual and artistic capacity to use his repertoire of imagery in a playful, experimental, and original manner.
