ROBINET TESTARD (fl. 1471-1531)
The Stromboli volcano (924 m -3,031 ft)
Italy (Island of Stromboli)
In "Les Iles Eoloiennes" from "Secrets de l'Histoire naturelle, ca.1480-1485, BnF Paris
The mountain
Stromboli is a small island in the Tyrrhenian Sea, off the north coast
of Sicily, containing one of the three active volcanoes (924 m -3,031
ft) in Italy. It is one of the eight Aeolian Islands, a volcanic arc
north of Sicily. This name is derived from the Ancient Greek name
Strongulē which was given to it because of its round swelling form. The
island's population is about 500. The volcano has erupted many times and
is constantly active with minor eruptions, often visible from many
points on the island and from the surrounding sea, giving rise to the
island's nickname "Lighthouse of the Mediterranean". The most recent
major eruption was on 13 April 2009. Stromboli stands 926 m (3,034 ft)
above sea level, and over 2,700 m (8,860 ft) on average above the sea
floor. There are three active craters at the peak. A significant
geological feature of the volcano is the Sciara del Fuoco ("Stream of
fire"), a big horseshoe-shaped depression generated in the last 13,000
years by several collapses on the northwestern side of the cone. Two
kilometers to the northeast lies Strombolicchio, the volcanic plug
remnant of the original volcano.
Mt. Stromboli has been in almost continuous eruption for the past 2,000
years. A pattern of eruption is maintained in which explosions occur at
the summit craters, with mild to moderate eruptions of incandescent
volcanic bombs, at intervals ranging from minutes to hours. This
Strombolian eruption, as it is known, is also observed at other
volcanoes worldwide. Eruptions from the summit craters typically result
in a few short, mild, but energetic bursts, ranging up to a few hundred
meters in height, containing ash, incandescent lava fragments and stone
blocks. Stromboli's activity is almost exclusively explosive, but lava
flows do occur at times when volcanic activity is high: an effusive
eruption occurred in 2002, the first in 17 years, and again in 2003,
2007, and 2013–14. Volcanic gas emissions from this volcano are measured
by a Multi-Component Gas Analyzer System, which detects pre-eruptive
degassing of rising magma, improving prediction of volcanic activity.
The artist
Robinet Testard (fl. 1470–1531) was a French medieval enluminist and painter, whose works are difficult to attribute since none of them was signed or dated. He is known to have worked for the family of Charles, Count of Angoulême (1459–96) in Cognac, and made Valet de Chambre to the family in 1484. When the Count of Angoulême died in 1496, Testard accepted service with the Count's widow, Louise of Savoy, and is mentioned at the time of her death in 1531. Testard started his career in Poitiers. His works include a page in Le Missel de Poitiers, the Les Heures de La Rochefoucauld , and two other Books of Hours. His middle period, characterised by tight compositions and sharply defined colouring, is typified by his Roman de la Rose, the Nouailher Missal and the Book of Hours, probably painted for Charles, Count of Angoulême about 1480. Surprisingly, 17 engravings by Israhel van Meckenem were included in the tome and coloured by Testard. He produced another Book of Hours, a copy of Dioskurides and mythological illustrations after Solinus and Pliny titled Les Secrets de l'histoire naturelle contenant les merveilles et choses memorables du monde (cf. above) . He also illustrated Matthaeus Platearius' "The Book of Simple Medicines".
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2021 - Wandering Vertexes...
by Francis Rousseau
