and arranged, with Robert GRANJONamong the designers
commissioned.
Plantin was driven from Antwerp by the Spanish at-
tack of 1576. He remained in exile until 1585, leaving the
press in the hands of his sons-in-law Francis Raphelengius
(who in 1585 succeeded Plantin as printer to the univer-
sity of Leyden) and Jan Moretus, whose descendants kept
the press going until 1876. In that year the city of Antwerp
bought the archives, library, presses, and other material to
found the Musée Plantin–Moretus, which encapsulates
the history of printing.
Further reading: Colin Clair, Christopher Plantin
(London: Cassell, 1960); Léon Voet, The Golden Com-
passes: A History and Evaluation of the Printing and Pub-
lishing Activities of the Officina Plantiniana, 2 vols
(Amsterdam, Netherlands: Van Gendt, and New York:
Abner Schram, 1969–72).
Plat, Hugh (Hugh Platt) (1552–c. 1611) English
horticulturist
Plat was a renowned gardener who devoted much of his
time to writing. His Jewell House of Art and Nature (1594)
contained many “rare and profitable inventions,” includ-
ing how to pump water into kitchens, preserve food, ma-
nure pastures, and make garments “sufficient against all
rainie weather.” Delightes for Ladies (1600) was a popular
collection of herbal recipes and helpful tips for house-
holders. Plat was the first to suggest means of protecting
and cultivating exotic plants. For his experimental efforts,
all aimed at increasing agricultural productivity, he was
knighted (1605) by James I.
plateresque A style of architecture and ornament in
Spain during the early Renaissance. Meaning “silversmith-
like,” the word plateresco was apparently first used in an
architectural context in reference to the facade of León
cathedral by the humanist writer Cristóbal de Villalón in
- The salient feature of plateresque decoration is the
richness of its detail, a feature that it shared with much
contemporary metalwork. Heraldic shields, pilasters,
roundels, and trellis patterns were carved, usually in low
relief, on surfaces with little reference to an overall struc-
tural unity, except that imposed by the presence of strong
horizontal lines, as on the portal of the university library
at Salamanca.
The plateresque is generally regarded as being divided
into two phases. The first, often known as Gothic-
plateresque, was in the ascendant in the last two decades
of the 15th century and the first two of the 16th; it com-
bined traditional Spanish features with others imported
from the Netherlands and Germany. Exponents included
Juan GUASand Enrique de EGAS. The Capilla del Con-
destable (1482–94) at Burgos, designed by Simón de
COLONIA(whose family, as the name suggests, came from
Cologne), is a prime example of the early plateresque
style. Another name for this style is Isabelline, in ac-
knowledgment of the impetus given to its development by
the patronage of Queen Isabella (see FERDINAND II AND IS-
ABELLA I).
The second phase, often called Renaissance-
plateresque, entailed the rejection of the more ornate fea-
tures of the first phase as the influence of the Italian High
Renaissance reached Spain. The architectural theorist
Diego de Sagredo encouraged the change of emphasis with
his publication of Medidas del Romano (1526), which pro-
moted Vitruvian canons. Examples of this phase include
the facades of the universities of Salamanca (completed
1529) and Alcalá de Henares (1541–53), Diego de RIAÑO’s
Ayuntiamento at Seville, and the chancel screen of Toledo
cathedral (1548) by Francisco Villalpando. The pla-
teresque style was also utilized in Mexico and other Span-
ish possessions in the New World, for example, in the
facade of San Domingo cathedral and in the ruined cathe-
dral of Antigua, Guatemala (both 1540s).Platina, II (Bartolommeo Sacchi) (1421–1481) Italian
humanist and biographer
Called after his birthplace, Platina, near Cremona, he
studied at Mantua after a military career, then moved to
Florence to perfect his knowledge of Greek. During the
five years he spent at Florence he formed a close friend-
ship with the Medici. In 1467 he became secretary to Car-
dinal Gonzaga. As a leading member of the ROMAN
ACADEMYhe was closely associated with its founder Pom-
ponius LETO. When Pope Paul II suppressed the academy
in 1468, Platina, along with other leading figures, was im-
prisoned and tortured. After his release he became Vatican
librarian (1475–81) under Sixtus IV. His works include bi-
ographical studies of the popes and ethical treatises on
true and false goodness and on true nobility. The first an-
niversary of Platina’s death was commemorated with cere-
monies described by Jacopo Volterrano.Plato (c. 427–348 BCE) Greek philosopher
From about 407 he was the pupil of Socrates in Athens,
and after Socrates’ death he traveled abroad before return-
ing to Athens to found his Academy. This was the model
for the PLATONIC ACADEMY in Quattrocento Florence,
where discussion was based upon the understanding of
the methods of Plato’s school obtained from his dialogues.
Greek manuscripts of these began to reach the West from
Constantinople around 1400, and Marsilio FICINOtrans-
lated the entire corpus into Latin. Among the dialogues
were many that raised matters of key interest to later phi-
losophers: for example, the Theaetetus on the nature of
knowledge, the Timaeus on the nature and origin of the
universe, the Phaedo on Socrates’ views on death and the
immortality of the soul, the Symposium on the nature of
love, the Phaedrus on true rhetoric, the Meno on the teach-
ing of virtue, and the Laws on legislation for a new state.PPllaattoo 3 38833