Trionfo Di Virtu. Libro Novo..., page 9 (verso) 1563

Editor: Here we have a page from *Trionfo Di Virtu. Libro Novo…*, specifically page 9, verso. Created in 1563 by Matteo Pagano, this is a drawing and print done using engraving. It feels quite… structured, almost like a carefully planned garden. What strikes you about this piece? Curator: Oh, a garden indeed, but one where the mythical birds are free to roam! This isn't just decoration; it's a window into the Renaissance mind. Pagano, with his neat engraving, wasn't simply filling space. See the geometric patterns, the interwoven lines? That's the Renaissance love of order and the classical world, reborn. What do you make of the birds? Editor: I noticed the pelican and what appears to be a phoenix. The pelican, I think I know, is supposed to represent sacrifice... the Phoenix maybe is renewal? Curator: Spot on! That's exactly where my thoughts went. A sacrifice and rebirth – isn't that just like art, constantly challenging, destroying the old to create the new? The symmetry grounds it but the symbolism takes flight. In truth, the piece is more dynamic than I first realised. What does it evoke in you now, seeing those concepts layered in? Editor: Definitely a shift in perspective. Before it was just a nice pattern, but now... the layers of meaning, the artistry itself. Wow, there's something special happening. I can really understand the beauty of Renaissance thinking now. Curator: Exactly! It's those dialogues across the centuries, with us chipping in today, that make art an eternal conversation.