Читать книгу Geofroy Tory. Painter and engraver; first royal printer; reformer of orthography and typography under François I онлайн

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I believe that we should see in the toret an 'enseigne parlante,' alluding at once to Tory's name and to his various professions. The way in which the name of the instrument was pronounced, its shape, resembling that of a T, and, lastly, its use by the engravers, were doubtless the considerations that led Tory to adopt it. But let us not subtilize too far.

Tory was not content with giving us his symbol in 'Champ fleury': he engraved on the first page of that book, that is to say, in the place of honour, what would be called to-day the blazonry of his artistic acquirements,—in other words, a collection of all the tools that he used. Unfortunately, he did not feel called upon, as in the case of his mark, to supply an explanation, deeming the matter clear enough; whereas, in our day it has become rather difficult, because of the changes that have taken place in the customs of artists, to state the exact use of some of the tools. The order in which they are arranged, however, may assist us, to a certain extent, in identifying them. An exact reproduction of this engraving, the initial letter of the first page of the text of 'Champ fleury,' is given at the beginning of this section.[97]