Border and Printer's Mark of the Brothers Gabiano c. 16th century

Curator: This is an intriguing title page, "Border and Printer's Mark of the Brothers Gabiano," currently held in the Harvard Art Museums. There is no artist listed. Editor: The composition is striking! The ornate border immediately draws the eye, creating a sort of sacred space for the text within. Curator: Indeed. The elaborate foliate designs interspersed with cherubic figures create a vivid symbolic framework, contrasting the implied solemnity of the book's contents. Editor: Do you think the cherubs are there to soften the scholastic nature of the book? It gives the page a rather strange sense of levity and humanism. Curator: Perhaps. We can also interpret the border as a commentary on the act of printing itself, as the Gabiano brothers were known for their high-quality, detailed work. Editor: It’s interesting how these visual elements worked to frame the ideas within. It seems that even the page itself was not neutral, but rather a site of meaning-making.