Take a tour of some of the world's greatest illuminated manuscripts housed at the Philadelphia Museum of Art.This collection is titled Leaves of Gold and it is is organised into five sections that highlight several major types of medieval books: Bibles, Psalters, Books of Hours, Liturgical Manuscripts, and Literary Texts.
Choose one image that you find particularly interesting. Share with your classmates (in great detail) exactly what your chosen illumination looks like. Since we can't see it, you will need to explain content, colors, placement, style, and anything that paints a verbal picture of the illumination.
Be sure to include the name/title of the illumination, place or origin, artist (if known) and the section in which it was found (Bibles, Psalters, Books of Hours, Liturgical Manuscripts, and Literary Texts).
Due by midnight December 10th.
Extra Credit for commenting on another student's post.
http://www.leavesofgold.org/gallery/index.html
The manuscript that I chose is from the Gallican psalter. The page that I looked at in that psalter has an initial B, Kind David, the blessed man. The artist is not known but we do now that the psalter was owned by two french noblewomen.
ReplyDeleteThe letter B is takes up the majority of the page and is very vivid. It is colored in many shades of blue bit also has parts that are colored green and pink. In the upper part of the letter B David is shown playing an organ because he was famous for being a great musician. In the second part of the letter B, a younger David is depicted. This younger David is firing a sling at Goliath. Around the letter, there is hunter who is pointing an arrow at a bird.
The image that I chose is the Historiated Initial S with Three Marys and an Angel at the Tomb of Christ, from Paris, France. This illumination is from the Liturgical manuscripts page.
ReplyDeleteIvy surronds the text with leaves reaching outward. Inside the text is a square box with 3 female saints and an angel gathered around the tomb of christ. A faint blue S goes around the saints and the angel, which is the first letter of the text. The saints are dressed in a blue robe and the backround of the depiction is also blue.
@Catherine
ReplyDeleteI thought it was interesting how the majority of this page was used for one letter and the depictions inside of the letter. I also thought it was unique that there was a hunter on the outside of the B.
I chose the illumination called "Death Standing in a Landscape" by Liberale da Verona in the Book of Hours. Its from Siena, Italy in 1470.
ReplyDeleteThe illumination's main focus is a skeleton holding a scythe. This skeleton personifies Death as it introduces the Office of the Dead in the Book of Hours. The skeleton stands in front of an accurate attempt at a 3D landscape. The landscape looks very desolate, heightening the eerie depiction of Death, and almost resembles a rock quarry.
Johannez, I thought it was very interesting that the common theme of using nature was again found in your illumination. Its interesting to see that the artist was really aware of the beauty of nature around him with the ivy that surrounds your illumination.
ReplyDeleteI chose the work called “King David in Penance,” which, like Katie’s piece, was by Liberale da Verona. It originated from Siena, Italy in 1470, and was found in the Books of Hours section of the website.
ReplyDeleteThis illumination depicts King David kneeling in atonement and reciting the Seven Penitential Psalms, which were rehearsed in an effort to avoid the temptations of the Seven Deadly Sins. A man, who appears to be God, is in the sky looking down upon David. David is wearing red robes and God is wearing gold. Both men have white hair and long beards. They are surrounded by a landscape with green grass and blue skies.
Katie –I think the artist of our two works has a very interesting style. Both of our works have a very similar landscape, which I find very fascinating. I also find it intriguing how large the skeleton was on your page – very interesting stylistic choice!
ReplyDeleteI chose the Book of Hours for Bourges Use in
ReplyDeleteFrance, probably Bourges, c. 1500. The gallery is the Book of Hours.
This piece takes up two pages. The page on the left depicts the angel Gabriel and the page on the right is of the Virgin Mary. The angel has blue wings with a golden robe and holds a saff like object. Golden light slips through the top of the scene to represent rays of heaven. On the right Mary kneels in front of a Holy book in prayer. A halo surrounds her head and she also is adorned in blue robes.
Morgan,
ReplyDeleteThat sounds like a very interesting piece. Do you think that the landscape might have had Byzantine influences? I remember they used landscapes in their art.
Prayer Book
ReplyDeleteFrance, Saint Amand, 1538
The Virgin and Child Standing on a Crescent Moon.
This manuscript contains a vivid image of The Virgin and Child standing on a moon. The virgin seems to have an illuminating glow acting as a shadow to her and the child. At the bottom of there is an owl looking creature surrounded by a column like frame. The vigin has what looks like a halo just above her head.
Katie: you had an excellent description, before i even went to look at the picture i had a close to exact idea of what it looked like.
ReplyDeleteBook of Hours for Sarum Use and Gallican Psalter with Canticles
ReplyDeleteFlanders, probably Bruges, c. 1465-70
The Master of Anthony of Burgundy
This is from the Psalter section, and it illustrates an Old Testament priest Esdras (Ezra) Renewing the Law. He is seated in a room filled with books and scrolls, wearing eyeglasses and rewriting the law of the Lord after it was burned by his enemies. A pile of books are on fire in the foreground, perhaps alluding to something in what he writing about. The image only takes up 2/3’s of the page, and the rest is decorated by colorful floral designs, and both animal and human depictions.
Book of Hours for Rome Use (Collins Hours)
ReplyDeleteBelgium, possibly Bruges, c. 1445-50
The Master of the Collins Hours, active 1430s to 1440s
I chose the Nativity scene from 6 am. It is very colorful and displays the young madonna, Joseph, and the Christ child. It shows the shack and barn where the traditional Christmas events took place. What struck me as interesting was that an old woman and other village people who are not in Biblical text are displayed. Also, their dress is very European.
Katie- I thought it was interesting that death was personified in your piece. Do you have any idea where the influence for that came from?
ReplyDeleteThe image I looked at was called "Chanting the Office of the Dead" It came from the Book of Hours. In the piece a coffin is shown draped with a blue cloth. They all look like they are inside a church. The people holding the coffin hold it before a priest. There are boarders around the piece filled with intricate floral like patterns. There are people in black among the boarder holding long staff like candles.
ReplyDeleteKatie- your description made me want to go look at the piece. Sounded really interesting, and it was.
ReplyDeleteThe piece I chose was "Gallican Psalter with Canticles, Litany, and Two Prayers". It was made in Paris, France around 1225-1230. The piece has a wide range of miniatures in a cycle. The scenes depicted are in roundels that have gold colored frames and are checkered with pink and blue in the background. This describes the "Journey of the Magi (Kings) at Christ's birth". It depicts the three kings following the north star and also standing before King Herod who had ordered the Magi to find Christ and report back to him so that he could go kill Christ since it was predicted that Christ would be a greater king than Herod, who in turn got jealous and decided to kill Christ to prevent that from happening.
ReplyDelete-stephanie
The piece that I chose is called Annunciation and it is found in the Book of Hours(1470).In this piece the angel Gabriel visits the Virgin Mary. There are a lot of colors, such as blues, reds, golds, and whites. Along the gold border, there are animals, plants, a tiered fountain and drolleires.
ReplyDeleteAvanti
ReplyDeleteDo you know why there is a page to represent the angel and another page to represent the Virgin Mary?
The title of the illumination I chose is, "Nova Statuta, to the eighth year of Edward IV." This piece originates in England and is most likely from 1470. This was found in the literary section and the author is unknown. This image has the initial letter E and shows King Edward IV seated on a throne surrounded by his advisers. To the right, the figures wear striped, red gowns. The border has feather-like projections and interlaces blue, gray, and white colors. At the bottom there is a shield or crest with a gold cross-like symbol on it.
ReplyDeletethe title of the illumination that i found most striking was "the nativity" from the book of hours for rome use. the background features intricately painted vines and trees and interwoven shapes. there are, at first glance, gnomes, but upon further studying, you notice that those gnomes are peasants working. there is a peach tree in the corner (peaches are my favorite). the nativity scene is in the center depicting what we think of when we think nativity-- jesus in the center. experiment with 3D is going on; the barn is kind of going off into the distance with the animals in there. this illuminated manuscript is a balance of french and flemish influences.
ReplyDeleteFrom Ariel:
ReplyDeleteThe piece I chose was a page from a bible found in northern France called " Historiated Initial I with the Seven Days of Creation and the Crucifixion. The artist is unknown but origin is in northern France, most likely Paris. I found it in the bible section. The page contains a historiated initial "I" that starts the Book of Genesis and seven compartments that illustrate the seven days of creation. A miniature representation of the crucifixion is shown at the bottom to link the contents of the New and Old Testaments.
Ariel San Miguel
From Heather Sawyer:
ReplyDeleteLa Voie de Povreté ou de Richesse
By Jacques Bruyant
Literary Manuscripts
Paris or Rouen, France
This manuscript features the author and Lady Reason having a vision of judgment day. In the top left corner, this scene is depicted as a landscape in deep blues and greens. This image is surrounded by delicate floral patterns on a white background.
(Response to Katie's comment)
It's interesting how much emphasis was put on death and the afterlife. The apparent fascination with death people had at the time creates reoccurring dark, mysterious motifs and shows the huge role Christianity played in this time period.
Title:Flight Into Egypt, Book of Hours for Paris Use
ReplyDeleteArtist: Willem Vrelant
Origin: Bruges
Section: Books of Hours
The manuscript page shows Mary and the Christ child on a donkey, being led by a man through what looks like a town square. The scene is in the top right of the page, and the rest of the page is covered with ornate floral designs and leaves. The majority of the page is in grayscale colors, with the exception of Mary's halo, Jesus' hair, and the man's inner robes. There are touches of greens and yellows in the floral patterns, but they are also mostly gray.