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Secondary sourcePainting15th century

The Polos Leaving Constantinople

Unknown · 15th century

A 15th-century illuminated painting showing Marco Polo's family departing from Constantinople at the start of their journey east.

This miniature depicts the departure of Marco Polo's family on the journey that made him famous.

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Medieval miniature painting: a walled pink castle with timber-framed towers and a red-roofed building behind it. A man in a blue robe and gold collar clasps hands with a kneeling young man in white, while others watch from the left. On the right, two mounted riders on a white horse ride down a hill.
The Polos leaving Constantinople in 1259-1260, Le Livre des Merveilles, 15th century.

About this source

What it is

This is a miniature painting from Le Livre des Merveilles, an illustrated 15th-century manuscript of Marco Polo's travel accounts. It shows the Polo family leaving Constantinople around 1259-1260, before Marco himself was born, on a journey that would eventually lead to Asia.

Why it matters

The image was made nearly two centuries after the events it shows, reflecting how later European readers imagined the Polos' journey rather than an eyewitness record. It shows how popular and influential Marco Polo's account had become by the 1400s.

Look closer

  • What details tell you this is a medieval, not modern, depiction?
  • Why might the artist dress the figures in styles from their own century rather than Polo's time?
  • What does the scene choose to show, and what might it leave out?

This painting is part of the curated material that grounds the AI version of Marco Polo on Humy.ai — when students ask about related events, the AI can quote it and cite it.

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