First Page of Genesis, detail from the original manuscript. The Bible of Borso d’Este was created between 1455 and 1461 in Ferrara as a monumental illuminated manuscript commissioned by Duke Borso d’Este to display the prestige, wealth, and cultural refinement of the Este court. It consists of two large folio volumes containing 1202 vellum pages written in Latin in two columns by the scribe Pietro Paolo Marone, whose handwriting is exceptionally regular and elegant. The decoration was execute...