Anca Tatay, Gravurile Evangheliei de la Buda din 1812
The Engravings of the Gospel of Buda from 1812
The Gospel of 1812 is one of the most beautiful books edited in Buda, particularly due to the illustrations representing the evangelists, which, in fact, are among the largest engravings existing in the religious books printed for the Romanians in the big city on the Danube (only St. John of Damascus in the Octoih of 1811 is bigger: 26×20 cm). The frontispieces and vignettes in the Gospel of 1812 appear, some of them frequently, in other Romanian books from Buda, while the evangelists were published only here. They are also likely to be found in other books printed in Buda, for other peoples, or in Vienna, where as a matter of fact they were achieved. Of occidental manner, they do not look like their similar representations in the Romanian area. The four puncheon prints are signed by the famous Viennese engraver Ventel Engelmann and dated in 1794 and 1795. Artistically and technically well-done, these illustrations are the only engravings in metal of the evangelists in the old Romanian books.
Keywords: University Typography of Buda, old Romanian book, engraving, evanghelists, Gospel
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