An analysis of Ludovico degli Arrighi’s influence on Robert Granjon’s italic models

Anna Damoli | 2022

This dissertation investigates the relationship between the work of the Italian calligrapher and type designer Ludovico degli Arrighi and that of the later French punchcutter Robert Granjon. The research focuses on the italic types produced by Arrighi in the early sixteenth century and those of Granjon in the second half of the sixteenth century. The aim is to trace an influence between Arrighi’s calligraphic and typographic work and the italic types designed by Granjon.

While the influence of the Aldine typographic model on the history of italics has been exhaustively explored in literature, the contribution of Arrighi’s model did not always receive equal consideration. Nevertheless, Arrighi’s multifaceted career as a publisher, calligrapher and type designer makes him a pivotal figure in the history of Latin typography. Therefore, with this research, I seek to contribute to expanding the current knowledge on the early development of italics. Specifically, the purpose is to fill in the existing gaps in the literature on Arrighi’s contribution and influence on the evolution of Latin typography.

The dissertation is divided into five sections; the first is a broad introduction to the historical context of the Italian Renaissance and the early development of the italic style. The second section is an account of the life and work of Arrighi, with an examination of his italic production. The third section is dedicated to the life and work of Granjon and his italic models. The fourth section is the chapter containing the visual comparison of types, and the fifth section is dedicated to summarising the findings of the research.

The methodology used to trace the influence of Arrighi on Granjon’s italic types is a visual examination and comparison of their respective italics. While Arrighi only designed four italics, examining and visually comparing all of Granjon’s italics would require much more extensive research. Therefore this research focuses primarily on two specific elements: the chancery shape of the swash capitals and the construction of the lowercase letters. These aspects are analysed within a selection of Granjon’s italics. For the swash capitals, I analyse two italic models from Granjon’s couché style, while for the lowercases, I analyse one italic model from his later baroque style.

It needs to be highlighted that this research focuses only on a selection of Granjon’s models, therefore it merits further investigation. Nevertheless, the results of this preliminary analysis confirm the claims found in the literature of the influence of Ludovico degli Arrighi’s italic models on Robert Granjon.