Petrarch’s Triumphs – Sheet 86r – Petrarch and Laura Burn Cupid’s Weapons
Petrarch and Laura burn Cupid's weapons
Limited and numbered edition reproduction from sheet 86r of Codex 2581, Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna – front and back with gold decorationsA scene of love, freedom and transformation.
In a Renaissance room, Petrarch and Laura entrust Cupid's bow and arrow to a small fire. The gesture is part of the Triumph of Chastity: the power of passion is overcome, but the fire leaves open a deeper question. Are we witnessing the destruction of love, or its transformation? From the loggia, a spectator watches in silence, turning the miniature into a small theater to be explored over time.Want more information about this product? Click here and fill out the form to be contacted by one of our curators.
149,00 €
- Description
Description
Description
This page tells the story of the moment when Cupid’s weapons are consigned to the flames.
The map reproduces folio 86r of Francesco Petrarca’s Triumphs, Codex 2581, now preserved at the Austrian National Library in Vienna. The scene is from the Triumph of Chastity, in which the dominion of Love encounters a force capable of overcoming it.
In the center of an elegant Renaissance room, Petrarch and Laura are gathered next to a small fire. The commentary precisely identifies what they are burning: Cupid’s bow and arrow. Laura wears a white dress trimmed with black braid; Petrarch wears a dark purple cloak with an ermine collar, green sleeves, and a red headdress. Around them, the tiled floor, marbled panels, and wooden ceiling transform the scene into a domestic yet solemn space.
Fire: End or Change?
Fire occupies the visual and conceptual center of the miniature. It destroys what it receives, but also transforms the material: wood turns to ash, metal is purified, what exists changes form. For this reason, the scene can be interpreted not only as the defeat of desire, but also as the transformation of a love dominated by impulse into a more conscious feeling.
This is a possible interpretation, not a certainty imposed by the image. And it is precisely this openness that makes folio 86r so fascinating: the miniaturist displays a very clear gesture, but does not exhaust its meaning. The work continues to raise questions even after the first glance.
The silent spectator
In the upper part of the room, a mezzanine opens up, from which several spectators watch the scene. One figure, in particular, seems to be observing Petrarch and Laura intently. The commentary does not identify him, so we can only definitively determine his function as a spectator within the composition.
His presence creates a surprising interplay of gazes. He observes the protagonists; we observe him; the miniature thus becomes a theater in which the viewer is, in turn, invited to question himself. It’s one of those details that can linger in the background for a long time and then, suddenly, change the way the entire page is read.
A page of the Triumphs
In the Triumphs, Petrarch constructs a succession of symbolic victories: Love dominates men, but is overcome by Chastity; Chastity by Death; Death by Fame; Fame by Time; Time, finally, by Eternity. Every force appears invincible until it encounters something greater.
Folio 86r translates this meditation into a direct image: Cupid’s power is not discussed in the abstract, but made visible through his instruments, the bow and arrow, burning between Petrarch and Laura. Literature becomes gesture, thought becomes fire.
The history of the manuscript
Codex 2581 belongs to one of the most fascinating illuminated cycles dedicated to Petrarch’s Triumphs. The text testifies to the work’s French success: the translation is attributed to Simon Bougouyne, and the first volume includes 86 large miniatures, framed by painted architecture that transform the reading into a visual theater of history, myth, and memory.
The manuscript originally belonged to René II of Lorraine. It then passed into the collection of Eugene of Savoy and, in 1738, into that of Emperor Charles VI, subsequently entering the Vienna Library. During the Napoleonic era, it was taken to France in 1808 and returned to Vienna in 1814. Its history spans courts, collections, and empires, confirming the profoundly European dimension of Petrarch’s work.
Product Features
- Opera: Petrarch’s Triumphs
- Author: Francesco Petrarca
- Period of the original manuscript: 16th century / early 16th century
- Subject of the card: Petrarch and Laura burn Cupid’s bow and arrow
- Reference sheet: 86r
- Original code: Cod. 2581
- Library of the original: Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna
- Iconographic cycle: Triumph of Chance
- Language/Translation: French, attributed to Simon Bougouyne
- Front: Full-page miniature with Petrarch, Laura, the fire and the spectators on the mezzanine
- Back: Reproduction of the original manuscript verso
- Dimension: 21 x 32,5 cm
- Type: Collectible illuminated card
- Edition: Limited and numbered edition of 199 copies
- Material: Special paper
- Print: Fine art with gold decorations
- Attachments to the work: Certificate, guarantee, conservation instructions, brief description of the work
- Price: 149,00 euro
- Warranty: 24 months
Why collect it?
This card combines three dimensions: Petrarch’s poetry, the symbolic power of fire, and the pleasure of observation. The scene is comprehensible in the immediacy of the gesture, but it cannot be exhausted by a single interpretation.
It’s designed for those who love works that evolve over time. The gold, the colors, and the elegance of the room are immediately striking; then the small fire, the convergence of Petrarch and Laura’s gestures, and the viewer on the loggia emerge. Every detail invites you to return to the page and look at it again.
Owning this reproduction means bringing into your collection not just a decorative image, but a question about love: is what ends truly destroyed, or can it transform into something else?
FAQ – Petrarch’s Triumphs, sheet 86r
The card depicts Petrarch and Laura next to a small fire in which Cupid’s bow and arrow burn. The scene belongs to the Triumph of Chastity and illustrates the overcoming of the power wielded by Love.
The bow and arrow are the instruments with which Cupid strikes and dominates lovers. Consigning them to the flames indicates that his power has been overcome. Fire can also suggest, as a possible interpretation, not only the destruction of desire but its transformation.
The commentary identifies what burns, but does not establish a single symbolic meaning for fire. We can see it as a destructive and, at the same time, transformative force. This ambivalence is one of the reasons for the scene’s modernity and allure.
The commentary speaks of spectators on the mezzanine, but does not assign a precise identity to the figure. It is therefore correct to consider her a spectator within the composition. Any further interpretation, including the idea that she might symbolically represent the reader, remains speculative.
The miniature belongs to the Triumph of Chastity, the second of the six Triumphs. In this allegorical sequence, Chastity surpasses Love; it will then be vanquished by Death, followed by Fame, Time, and Eternity.
Folio 86r belongs to Codex 2581, preserved at the Austrian National Library in Vienna. This codex is the first volume of Petrarch’s famous Trionfi in the French version.
No. It is a contemporary reproduction in a limited and numbered edition, taken from the original page of the sixteenth-century manuscript preserved in Vienna. It is produced as a collector’s card with a fine art print and gold decorations.
The card measures 21 × 32.5 cm and is offered in a limited and numbered edition of 199 copies.
The back reproduces the handwritten verso of the original sheet, maintaining the dialogue between image and writing that characterizes the work.
Because it combines literature, Renaissance illumination, and symbolic reflection in an image capable of revealing new details over time. It is suitable for collectors, enthusiasts of Petrarch, illuminated manuscripts, and works that are not exhausted at first glance.
