Petrarch’s Triumphs – Sheet 270r/270v – The Triumph of Eternity
Double-sided reproduction 21 x 32.5 cm from Codex 2582 of the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek in Vienna, with miniature of the Triumph of Eternity, Trinity, evangelical symbols, text in old French and gold decorations, in a limited and numbered edition
This card does not tell a single story: it tells the story of the moment when Time stops and everything that belongs to the world is surpassed. After Love, Modesty, Death, Fame, and Time, Petrarch's journey through the Triumphs reaches its highest conclusion: the Triumph of Eternity. On the obverse, folio 270v depicts a sacred and luminous vision. The Trinity appears in the center: God the Father supports the crucified Christ, while the dove of the Holy Spirit completes the scene. All around, ecclesiastical figures, evangelical symbols, winged animals and a gilded architectural frame transform the miniature into a threshold to eternity. On the back, folio 270r preserves the manuscript text introducing the sixth and final triumph. At the bottom appears the Latin formula that ideally closes the entire Petrarchan journey: Eternitas omnia Vincit Eternity conquers all things A double-sided reproduction in a limited and numbered edition, designed for those who love Petrarch, illuminated manuscripts, Christian symbolism, and images capable of uniting beauty, culture, and meditation.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 a story of time, light, silence, and permanence.
The card reproduces the front and back of folio 270r/270v of Francesco Petrarca’s Triumphs, Codex 2582, now held at the Austrian National Library in Vienna. The scene is from the Triumph of Eternity, the sixth and final triumph of Petrarch’s oeuvre.
In the Triumphs, Petrarch constructs a grand allegorical journey. Love dominates men; Modesty resists Love; Death surpasses beauty and earthly life; Fame attempts to conquer Death through memory; Time consumes even Fame. In the end, Eternity conquers Time.
Sheet 270r/270v belongs precisely to this final moment. We are not faced with a battle scene, a love story, or a historical figure overwhelmed by passion. We are faced with the conclusion of the journey: the point where poetry opens to contemplation and human time is transcended.
The Front: A Golden Threshold to Eternity
The illuminated front, corresponding to folio 270v, is constructed as a sacred scene enclosed within a rich gilded architecture. At the center of the composition appears the Trinity: God the Father, in a dominant position, supports the crucified Christ; between the Father and the Son, the dove of the Holy Spirit can be seen.
The image has an immediate theological and visual force. It is not merely intended to decorate the text: it seeks to make visible that which, by its very nature, transcends the earthly world. The gold of the frame, the robes, and the details is not a simple ornament, but a symbolic light. It illuminates the page and transforms it into a space of revelation.
Around the central group appear religious figures with miters, croziers, and solemn vestments. Their presence reinforces the liturgical character of the scene. There is no action, no fighting, no telling of a story in time: there is contemplation. The miniature seems to halt the movement of the world to open up a higher, ordered, eternal dimension.
In the lower section, symbolic figures and winged animals emerge: the angel, the eagle, the lion, and the bull recall the world of the Evangelists and the sacred word. The page thus becomes a small spiritual architecture, where text, image, gold, and symbol work together to narrate the final triumph.
The back: the word that closes the path
The back of the card, corresponding to sheet 270r, is not simply a secondary side. It is the key to reading the miniature.
The manuscript page introduces Petrarch’s sixth and final triumph. At the bottom, isolated and clearly legible, appears the Latin formula:
Eternitas omnia Vincit
The front shows the vision. The back declares its meaning. On one side, we see the Trinity, the gold, the Evangelists, and the architectural frame; on the other, we read the phrase that summarizes the meaning of the entire journey. Together, the front and back transform the card into a small spiritual diptych.
This relationship between image and word is one of the most fascinating aspects of the paper. The illuminator shows Eternity through light and symbol; the text pronounces it with a simple, almost definitive phrase. The effect is simple and powerful: what passes is overcome, what remains is revealed.
The Triumph of Eternity: When Time is Defeated
The Triumph of Eternity is the culmination and conclusion of the work. After the Triumph of Time, there can be no other earthly force. Time consumes glory, memory, beauty, and life; but it cannot consume Eternity.
For this reason, the miniature on folio 270v appears more steadfast and solemn than other scenes in the Triumphs. Here, narrative does not dominate, but presence does. The figures seem to witness a revelation. The golden architecture opens a threshold. The sky and landscape in the background no longer describe a human event, but suggest a peaceful space, beyond the ordinary measure of time.
This card, therefore, speaks of what remains when everything passes. It speaks of the fragility of the world, of memory, of glory, of death, and of the human desire to transcend limits. It is a card to be looked at slowly: first for the beauty of the image, then for the thought it holds.
The history of the manuscript
The codex from which this card derives belongs to one of the most fascinating illuminated cycles dedicated to Petrarch’s Triumphs. The work testifies to Petrarch’s great French success: the text circulates in a French translation attributed to Simon Bougouyne, and the manuscript is divided into two volumes, today identified as Cod. 2581 and Cod. 2582 at the Austrian National Library in Vienna.
The miniatures don’t just illustrate the text. They expand it, transform it into a visual narrative, enriching it with moral figures, religious symbols, historical references, and narrative inventions. Each page becomes almost a theatrical stage: a place where literature, memory, and image meet.
The manuscript’s ownership history is equally prestigious. Tradition links it to the court of René II of Lorraine, to the collection of Eugene of Savoy, and to the library of Emperor Charles VI. During the Napoleonic era, it was taken to France and then returned to Vienna. A European story, traversed by courts, collectors, libraries, and empires.
Product Features
- Opera: Petrarch’s Triumphs
- Author: Francesco Petrarca
- Period of the original manuscript: 16th century / early 16th century
- Card Subject: The Triumph of Eternity
- Reference sheet: 270r / 270v
- Original code: Cod. 2582
- Library of the original: Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna
- Language/Translation: Old French / Middle French, with Latin formula
- Front: Miniature with Trinity, ecclesiastical figures, evangelical symbols and gold decorations
- Back: Handwritten text on the sixth and final triumph with the formula “Eternitas omnia Vincit”
- 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 buy it?
This card is one of the most solemn and meaningful of the Triumph cycle.
Its charm stems from the dialogue between image and word. On the front, the miniature offers a richly detailed sacred vision: the Trinity, ecclesiastical figures, evangelical symbols, winged animals, gold, and architecture. On the back, the phrase “Eternitas omnia Vincit” sums up the work’s final message in three words.
It’s a card to be observed slowly. First, it strikes you with its visual richness: the gold, the colors, the architectural construction, the solemnity of the scene. Then, it holds your gaze for the meaning it carries: everything in the world changes, fades, disappears.
Eternity, however, remains.
Hung, framed, or kept in a private collection, this card is more than just a decoration. It’s a page of literature, art, and spirituality. It brings into a personal space an image of beauty and a vital thought: the victory of that which does not pass.
It is ideal for collectors, Petrarch enthusiasts, lovers of illuminated manuscripts, Christian symbolism, Renaissance art, and cultural objects capable of telling a story.
Conclusion
Folio 270r/270v of Petrarch’s Triumphs is more than just a beautiful illuminated map: it is the conclusion of a journey. After passions, glory, death, and time, the highest and most silent image remains: Eternity.
This reproduction brings to a private collection a page capable of speaking both to the eyes and the mind. Gold captures the light, the Trinity dominates the scene, the text on the back reveals its meaning, and the phrase Eternitas omnia Vincit reminds us that what is truly precious never wears out.
It is a card designed for those who are not looking for a simple decoration, but a cultural object to contemplate, cherish, and tell.
FAQ – Petrarch’s Triumphs, folios 270r-270v
Folio 270 depicts the Triumph of Eternity, the sixth and final triumph of Petrarch’s oeuvre. The obverse depicts a sacred vision with the Trinity, ecclesiastical figures, and evangelical symbols; on the reverse, the text introduces the final triumph and features the Latin formula Eternitas omnia Vincit.
The Latin phrase means “Eternity conquers all.” It is the final message of the Triumphs: after Love, Modesty, Death, Fame, and Time, only Eternity definitively surpasses all that belongs to the earthly world.
Because it represents the spiritual fulfillment of the entire journey. In the Triumphs, Petrarch depicts a succession of forces that overcome one another; ultimately, even Time is vanquished and the vision opens onto the eternal dimension.
The front features a sacred scene centered on the Trinity: God the Father supports the crucified Christ, and the dove of the Holy Spirit completes the image. Surrounding it are religious figures, miters, croziers, evangelical symbols, winged animals, and a rich gilded architectural frame.
The back clarifies the miniature’s meaning. The manuscript page introduces Petrarch’s sixth and final triumph and features the formula Eternitas omnia Vincit, which becomes the key to understanding the entire document.
The front shows the vision of Eternity through the image, while the back declares its meaning through the word. For this reason, the sheet functions almost like a small diptych: on one side, the visual contemplation, on the other, the phrase that seals its meaning.
The map reproduces folio 270r/270v of Francesco Petrarca’s Trionfi, Codex 2582, preserved at the Austrian National Library in Vienna. The codex belongs to the great European tradition of illuminated manuscripts dedicated to Petrarch’s work.
No. The card offered is an artistic reproduction in a limited and numbered edition, taken from the original manuscript preserved in Vienna. It is therefore not an ancient manuscript sheet, but a collector’s card inspired by a historical illumination.
Because it combines a powerfully symbolic subject, the Triumph of Eternity, with a richly gilded miniature, architecture, sacred figures, and manuscript text. It’s a paper with not only decorative value, but also literary, spiritual, and cultural significance.
It’s suitable for collectors, Petrarch enthusiasts, and lovers of illuminated manuscripts, Christian symbolism, Renaissance art, and European culture. It’s also ideal as a cultured and refined gift for those who appreciate antique books, history, and beauty.
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