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Centaur (typeface)
Encyclopedia
Centaur is a Humanist Type Family originally drawn as titling capitals by Bruce Rogers in 1914 for the Metropolitan Museum of Art
. The matrices were cut by Robert Wiebking
and the type was privately cast by the American Type Foundery
. The typeface is based upon several Renaissance models. Rogers' primary influence for the Roman was Nicholas Jenson's 1469 Eusebius, considered the model for the modern Roman alphabet.
Centaur also shows the influence of types cut by Francesco Griffo
in 1495 for a small book titled De Aetna written by Pietro Bembo
. The 1929 typeface Bembo
, is based primarily upon that specimen. Rogers later added the Roman lowercase, and the italic, based upon Ludovico Arrighi
’s 1520 chancery face, was drawn by Frederic Warde
, and is the typeface released for general use in 1929 by the Monotype Corporation Ltd.
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
. The matrices were cut by Robert Wiebking
Robert Wiebking
Robert Wiebking was a German-American engraver typeface designer who was known for cutting type matrixes for Frederic Goudy from 1911 to 1926.-Life and career:...
and the type was privately cast by the American Type Foundery
American Type Founders
American Type Founders was a business trust created in 1892 by the merger of 23 type foundries, representing about 85% of all type manufactured in the United States...
. The typeface is based upon several Renaissance models. Rogers' primary influence for the Roman was Nicholas Jenson's 1469 Eusebius, considered the model for the modern Roman alphabet.
Centaur also shows the influence of types cut by Francesco Griffo
Francesco Griffo
Francesco Griffo , also called Francesco da Bologna, was a fifteenth-century Venetian punchcutter. He worked for Aldus Manutius, designing that printer's more important typefaces, including the first italic type...
in 1495 for a small book titled De Aetna written by Pietro Bembo
Pietro Bembo
Pietro Bembo was an Italian scholar, poet, literary theorist, and cardinal. He was an influential figure in the development of the Italian language, specifically Tuscan, as a literary medium, and his writings assisted in the 16th-century revival of interest in the works of Petrarch...
. The 1929 typeface Bembo
Bembo
Bembo is the name given to a 20th-century revival of an old style serif or humanist typeface cut by Francesco Griffo around 1495.The typeface Bembo seen today is a revival designed under the direction of Stanley Morison for the Monotype Corporation in 1929.It is considered a good choice for...
, is based primarily upon that specimen. Rogers later added the Roman lowercase, and the italic, based upon Ludovico Arrighi
Ludovico Vicentino degli Arrighi
Ludovico Vicentino degli Arrighi was a papal scribe, and type designer in Renaissance Italy.Very little is known of the circumstances of his life. He may have started his career as a writing master in Venice, although this has been disputed....
’s 1520 chancery face, was drawn by Frederic Warde
Frederic Warde
Frederic Warde was a typographic designer. He was born in Wells, Minnesota, enlisted in the United States Army in 1915 and attended the Army School of Military Aeronautics at the University of California, Berkeley during 1917-1918...
, and is the typeface released for general use in 1929 by the Monotype Corporation Ltd.
Monotype Corporation
Monotype Imaging Holdings is a Delaware corporation based in Woburn, Massachusetts and specializing in typesetting and typeface design as well as text and imaging solutions for use with consumer electronics devices. Monotype Imaging Holdings is the owner of Monotype Imaging Inc., Linotype,...