The 1557 edition
One of the most famous translations of the Metamorphoses published in France dates back to 1557. Published under the title La Métamorphose d'Ovide figurée (The Illustrated Metamorphosis of Ovid) by the Maison Tournes (1542–1567) in Lyon, it is the result of a collaboration between the publisher Jean de Tournes and Bernard Salomon, an important 16th-century engraver. The publication is edited octavo format and presents Ovid's texts accompanied by 178 engraved illustrations.[83]
In the years 1540–1550, the spread of contemporary translations led to a true race to publish the ancient poet's texts among the city of Lyon's various publishers. Therefore, Jean de Tournes faced fierce competition, which also published new editions of the Metamorphoses. He published the first two books of Ovid in 1456, a version that was followed by an illustrated reprint in 1549. His main competitor was Guillaume Roville, who published the texts illustrated by Pierre Eskrich in 1550 and again in 1551. In 1553, Roville published the first three books with a translation by Barthélémy Aneau, which followed the translation of the first two books by Clément Marot. However, the 1557 version published by Maison Tournes remains the version that enjoys the greatest fortune, as testified by historiographical mentions.
The 16th-century editions of the Metamorphoses constitute a radical change in the way myths are perceived. In previous centuries, the verses of the ancient poet had been read above all in function of their moralising impact, whereas from the 16th century onwards their aesthetic and hedonistic quality was exalted. The literary context of the time, marked by the birth of the Pléiade, is indicative of this taste for the beauty of poetry.
"The disappearance of the Ars Amatoria and the Remedia amoris marks the end of a Gothic era in Ovidian publishing, just as the publication in 1557 of the Métamorphose figurée marks the appropriation by the Renaissance of a work that is as much in line with its tastes as the moralizing of the Metamorphoses had been with the aspirations of the 14th and 15th centuries".[84]
The work was republished in French in 1564 and 1583, although it had already been published in Italian by Gabriel Simeoni in 1559 with some additional engravings.
Some copies from 1557 are today held in public collections, namely the National Library of France, the Municipal Library of Lyon, the Brandeis University Library in Waltham (MA) and the Library of Congress in Washington D.C., USA. A digital copy is available on Gallica. It would also appear that a copy has been auctioned at Sotheby's.
Illustrations
The 1557 edition published by Jean de Tournes features 178 engravings by Bernard Salomon accompanying Ovid's text.[85] The format is emblematic of the collaboration between Tournes and Salomon, which has existed since their association in the mid-1540s: the pages are developed centred around a title, an engraving with an octosyllabic stanza and a neat border.
The 178 engravings were not made all at once for the full text, but originate from a reissue of the first two books in 1549. In 1546, Jean de Tournes published a first, non-illustrated version of the first two books of the Metamorphoses, for which Bernard Salomon prepared twenty-two initial engravings. Salomon examined several earlier illustrated editions of the Metamorphoses before working on his engravings, which nevertheless display a remarkable originality.
In the book Bernard Salomon. Illustrateur lyonnais, Peter Sharratt states that the plates in this edition, along with that of the Bible ilustrated by the painter in 1557, are Salomon's works that most emphasise the illustrative process based on "a mixture of memories".[83] Among the earlier editions consulted by Salomon, one in particular stands out: Metamorphoseos Vulgare, published in Venice in 1497. The latter shows similarities in the composition of some episodes, such as the 'Creation of the World' and 'Apollo and Daphne'. In drawing his figures, Salomon also used Bellifontaine's canon, which testifies to his early years as a painter. Among other works, he created some frescoes in Lyon, for which he drew inspiration from his recent work in Fontainebleau.
Better known in his lifetime for his work as a painter, Salomon's work in La Métamorphose d'Ovide figurée nevertheless left a mark on his contemporaries. These illustrations contributed to the celebration of the Ovidian texts in their hedonistic dimension. In this respect, Panofsky speaks of "extraordinarily influential woodcuts"[86] and the American art historian Rensselaer W. Lee describes the work as "a major event in the history of art".[83]
In the Musée des Beaux-arts et des fabrics in Lyon, it is possible to observe wooden panels reproducing the model of Salomon's engravings for Ovid's Metamorphoses of 1557.
