An important role in creation of illustrated books was played by the printing house of Johann Zainer in Ulm, publications of which are distinguished by their elegance of design. Zainer’s first illustrated book was Giovanni Boccaccio’s treatise ‘Concerning Famous Women’.

In the introduction to his work, Boccaccio explains that many have written about great men, but no one has about outstanding women, and it is surprising: if they found a courageous spirit, genius and valor for a great deed, they are all the more worthy of praise, because by nature they are pampered, physically weak and inactive in mind.

Boccaccio’s stories tell about the life of 106 mythological and real heroines. They are characters of ancient myths, Greek, Roman, Oriental history, and famous medieval women. There you can find Eve, Aphrodite, Medea, Helen of Troy, Sappho, Lucretia, Semiramis, Cleopatra, Pope Joan. Since the book did not contain a single story about medieval saints, illustrators faced the difficult task of inventing compositions that had not had iconographic prototypes.