The CODEX SERAPHINIANUS

The Codex Seraphinianus was written and illustrated by Italian graphic designer and architect, Luigi Serafini during the late 1970's. The Codex is a lavishly produced book that purports to be an encyclopedia for an imaginary world in a parallel universe, with copious comments in an incomprehensible language. It is written in a florid script, entirely invented and completely illegible, and illustrated with watercolor paintings. The Codex is divided into a number of sections (each with its own table of contents, the page numbers are in base-21 or base-22!) on subjects such as plants, animals, inhabitants, machines, clothing, architecture, numbers, cards, chemical analyses, labyrinth, Babel, foods... There are panoramic scenes of incomprehensible festivals, and diagrams of plumbing!

The Codex is to that imaginary world what Diderot's Encyclopedia is to ours. Obviously, Serafini was not just attempting to create a consistent alternate world. Rather, the Codex is sort of an elaborate parody of the real world.

The invented script of the book imitates the Western-style writing systems (left-to-right writing in rows; an alphabet with uppercase and lowercase; probably a separate set of symbols for writing numerals) but is much more curvilinear reminding some Semitic scripts. The writing seems to have been designed to appear, but not actually be, meaningful, like the Voynich Manuscript.

At is best, the Codex Seraphinianus is really diverting and surrealist; at its worst, it is tedious, kitsch, and childish. This book was surely inspired by the Voynich Manuscript and designed with the spirit of Hieronymus Bosch in mind.



ACQUIRING THE CODEX

Codex Seraphinianus is a rare and expensive book, it can be ordered from Amazon.com. If you want to see the Codex without paying that much, try your local library. University libraries should have it: the Library of Congress number is PN6381.S4 1983.

CODEX IMAGE GALLERY

Double-Click on the images to see enlarged versions of the same.

Click once to make them thumbnail size again!





An example of Codex Script

Flexible rainbows

Strange people (1)

Strange people (2)

Road warrior

Larval horse

Ladybug melting

Fish eyes

Unvegetables

X-flowers

Zoobotanic (1)

Zoobotanic (2)

Rocket circumambulation

Boat of the Fools

Spaghetti grid

Shadow dissection

Bionic colors

Utopia of love The images above are of property of Luigi Serafini, you can use them for your personal website. For commercial purposes, however, contact directly the rights owner.

ABOUT LUIGI...

Luigi Serafini is an Italian artist whose works all tend to be unusual. He has had works presented in several exhibitions, which works include paintings, sculpture and curious objects (see below). Serafini teaches graphic design at the Futurarium Art School in Italy.

