The Venetian ducali are manuscripts that were created throughout the period of the late Middle Ages to the eighteenth century for the purpose of recording the texts of promises, oaths of office, and commissions of various office holders, from doges to galley captains. Though their original function had been to confirm and delineate the terms of political office, these books are not only official documents but also precious containers of works of art. Over the course of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries in particular, the elected officers increasingly commissioned and paid for exquisite illuminations to decorate the pages of their ducali. Depicted in rich pigments and with a profusion of gold are portraits of the patrons wearing robes of office; members of the Holy Family and saints, especially Saint Mark; and allegorical figures representing the virtues. The texts are often framed by elaborate floral and zoological motifs intertwined with a family coat of arms supported by putti. Though physically small, these paintings, which incorporate elements of classical statuary and architecture frequently set against a stunning backdrop—a broad blue horizon, expansive Terraferma landscapes, far-flung exotic territories—give the impression of monumentality.

Helena Katalin Szépe has meticulously surveyed 1,000 of these manuscripts and fragments dating from 1382 to 1624, using the ducali as a lens through which to examine a broad spectrum of Venetian culture, politics, and art patronage over the course of two and a half centuries, demonstrating how the books “were transformed through art into enduring monuments promoting state ideals, individual status, and family memory.” She is concerned above all with the strategies of self-presentation employed by Venetian patricians through the ducali, which “had become a prized arena for expression of the civic self” (36). Although Venetian patricians outwardly embraced an egalitarian civic image, Szépe demonstrates how these books functioned to enhance individuals’ reputations and increase their families’ statuses within the republic. Moreover, the medium chosen for this self-presentation points to “the high value placed on the arts of the book in Venice, and their perceived usefulness in negotiating state identity” (20).

The volume is divided into three parts: part 1, “Material and Symbol,” explores the significance of the book as material object in the city of Saint Mark, as part of the collective creation of a Venetian identity, as well as the broader significance of documents and monuments in the republic's self-imaging. Part 2, “Evolution,” examines each of the three basic types of ducali: the Promissioni of doges; the Commissioni/Giuramenti (Commissions/Oaths) of procurators; and Commissioni (Commissions) of galley captains and rectors (rettori), distinguishing different sources of funding for each, as well as specific imagery employed in relation to each office. The author draws on visual evidence from such sources as tomb monuments, votive paintings, and antiquarian portraits to contextualize the programs of the ducali images. In part 3, “Themes and Programs,” the author takes a two-pronged thematic approach to analyzing the imagery, first looking at that employed in the rectors’ manuscripts, reflecting their experiences and attitudes toward serving abroad, and then by exploring the ways patricians chose to commemorate their participation in the Holy League and Battle of Lepanto in their ducali. At the end of the volume, the author provides a highly useful finding guide listing all the ducali by current location, as well as indications of online databases of these manuscripts.

Though long known to specialists in Venetian manuscript painting, and studied extensively by scholars such as Giordana Mariani Canova and David S. Chambers, for others this masterly study of the ducali will open a fascinating perspective on the world of Renaissance Venice. This volume will be of particular interest to those in the fields of Venetian art history, early modern ego documents, and the history of the book. Lavishly illustrated, with 225 stunning color reproductions, Szépe's book is a delight for the eyes as well as the mind.