The Art of Illumination

This collection presents five pages from four magnificent prayer books from the late Middle Ages
The pages comprise four elaborate full-page miniatures depicting biblical scenes and a beautifully illuminated text page
They come from the Herrenalb Prayer Book, the Book of Hours of the Weaving Virgin, the Book of Hours of the Altarpieces, and the Book of Hours of the Bishop Morgades

The Art of Illumination

Description

The Art of Illumination

This boxed set celebrates the book art of the late Middle Ages and presents five leaves under passe-partouts from four splendid prayer books. Two miniatures, the Arrest of Jesus and Ecce Homo come from the Herrenalb Prayer Book, a German manuscript created between 1482 and 1484 with 30 wonderful miniatures based on copperplate engravings from various masters. A Pentecost scene from the Book of Hours of the Weaving Virgin, created in France ca. 1450, is presented in an elegant frame of golden and brightly colored filigree tendrils. Created sometime between 1450 and 1475, the Book of Hours of the Altarpieces is a Flemish manuscript, which has contributed a miniature page with scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary and John the Baptist. The final specimen is a splendidly adorned text page with a small portrait of Christ and a bright blue frame filled with gilded acanthus leaves, flowers, fruits, and a butterfly from the Book of Hours of the Bishop Morgades, a compendium assembled in the 19th century from various Flemish and Spanish manuscripts dating to the 15th and 16th centuries.

Codicology

Alternative Titles: Die Kunst der Illumination
Type: Manuscript on parchment
Origin: France
Date: 14th–16th century
Epochs: Late Middle Ages Onwards
Style: Gothic
Renaissance
Genre: Single Leaf Collections
Private Devotion Books
Language: Latin
Content: Five leaves from important manuscripts
Artist / School: Gothic and catalan style (1410)
Johannes Zurn of Nyposheim
Flemish artist inspired by Italian Renaissance (16th Century)

Available facsimile editions:

Detail Picture

The Art of Illumination

Pentecost

Appearing in the Book of Hours of the Weaving Virgin, the Holy Spirit, represented by a white dove wreathed in golden flames, descends upon the Twelve Apostles, Virgin Mary, and other followers of Christ. This mid-15th century French miniature shows them kneeling in prayer, each figure adorned with their own golden halo, and gazing up at the Holy Spirit in wonder. The architectural frame and design of the windows and ceiling gives the beholder the impression of looking into a three-dimensional space.

Single Page

The Art of Illumination

Arrest of Jesus

After being signaled by the kiss of Judas, either Roman soldiers or the Temple guards of the Sanhedrin seized Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. This full-page miniature from the Herrenalb Prayer Book, a German manuscript completed in 1484, was based on a copperplate engraving, which accounts for the countless fine pen strokes that give it texture.

The scene is crowded and violent: one man pulls Jesus by the hair, another grabs him by his robe and a chord around his neck, and a soldier wearing a suit of plate armor and armed with a halberd takes hold of his arm; St. Peter, sword in hand, stands over one of the assailants whom he has knocked to the ground. Jesus and some of the other figures have bloodshot eyes after a sleepless night.

Facsimile Editions

#1 Die Kunst der Illumination

Millennium Liber – Madrid, 2018

Publisher: Millennium Liber – Madrid, 2018

Limited Edition: 299 copies

Binding: Cassette decorated with replica of a miniature in synthetic resin

Commentary: 1 volume

1 volume: 5 leaves under passe-partouts: Exact reproduction of the original document (extent, color and size) Reproduction of the entire original document as detailed as possible (scope, format, colors). The binding may not correspond to the original or current document binding.

Facsimile Copy Available!

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