Humanist (Venetian) Serif vs Jenson

Jenson evolved from Humanist (Venetian) Serif — the archetypal Venetian humanist roman.

Type specimen — Humanist (Venetian) Serif (Serif family); set in Cormorant (OFL)

Humanist (Venetian) Serif

The earliest roman printing types, cut in Renaissance Italy to imitate the humanist scribal hand. Warm, sturdy, and unmistakably pen-formed, with a strongly slanted stress and a sloping crossbar on the lowercase e.

  • Steeply inclined (oblique) axis of stress
  • Low to moderate stroke contrast, heavy overall color
  • Sloping bar on the lowercase 'e'
  • Heavily bracketed, often blunt asymmetric serifs
  • Short ascenders/descenders with sturdy, rounded proportions
Full Humanist (Venetian) Serif guide →
Type specimen — Jenson (Venetian humanist serif); shown in Cormorant, a close match (OFL)

Jenson

Nicolas Jenson's 1470 Venetian roman — the archetypal humanist serif and, for many, the most beautiful roman type ever cut. Warm, even, and unmistakably drawn from the broad-nib pen.

  • Steeply inclined (oblique) axis of stress
  • Modest stroke contrast, dark warm color
  • Sloping bar on the lowercase 'e'
  • Sturdy, blunt, heavily bracketed serifs
  • Short ascenders/descenders, generous round bowls
Full Jenson guide →

At a glance

Humanist (Venetian) SerifJenson
Era1460s–1490s1470
DisciplineTypographyTypography
RegionItaly, VeniceVenice, Italy
FamilySerifSerif
Formal traitshumanist, old-style, bracketed-serif, oblique-stresshumanist, old-style, bracketed-serif, oblique-stress

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