The emblems of the Imago Primi Saeculi and the practice of affixiones : a study of ornamental frames

Published in 1640 to celebrate the centenary of the Jesuit Order, the Imago Primi Saeculi is a lavish volume relating the history of the Company containing also a number of emblems adorned with wealthy ornamental frames. During the festivities, some of these emblems have been displayed in the Jesuit church of Antwerp, along with a decoration for which we can presume a participation of the college’s students. By linking together this practice to the ones of affixiones (emblematic exhibitions executed by Jesuit college’s students), this paper aims to study emblem’s frames within the printed book, the real festivities and the commemorative manuscripts preserved for a few colleges. Our purpose is to understand aesthetic stakes of this visual rhetoric displayed by emblem’s frames, as well as to consider the ways in which ornament fit in different media and allow to serve different political and religious issues in various (secular and sacred) contexts.