Abstract EN:

Volume one : after the introduction and a preliminary chapter giving a brief survey of virgilian iconography in the manuscripts, the first part presents a panorama of french and italian illustrated editions of virgil from the sixteenth to the twentieth century, focursing particularly on the celebrated artists who, in every age, have taken an interest in the latin poet's work. Illustrations from parodies and adaptations have been presented as a complement to information. Volume two : the functions of the iconography. A distinction is made between documentary illustration, external to the text, and aesthetic illustration which, on the contrary, is linked either to the text as a whole (through an allegorical picture) or to the unravelling of the story itself. This latter type allews us to follow the evolution in the conception of the illustration and through it a history of taste and aesthetic trends can also be traced. Furthemore, the relationship between text and picture gives detailed information about the wate represented. We will thus study successively the function of the iconography in the bucolics, the georgics and the aeneid. The conclusion is followed by a catalogue of the four hundred and thirty-five illustrated editions of virgil listed, the bibliogrpahy, a glossary of technical terms, an index of artists, an index of antique names and a table of contents. Volume three : a catalogue of illustrations.