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Medieval artists worked in a variety of art forms. Medieval paintings included wall frescoes, altarpieces and triptychs, decorative paintings and manuscript illumination. Sculptures included shallow relief, deep relief and freestanding sculpture. Wood and stone were common for larger sculptures; however, ivory was often used for small pieces.
Various examples of pages from illuminated manuscriptsAn illuminated manuscript is a in which the text is supplemented with such decoration as, borders. In the strictest definition, the term refers only to manuscripts decorated with either gold or silver; but in both common usage and modern scholarship, the term refers to any decorated or illustrated manuscript from Western traditions. Comparable Far Eastern and Mesoamerican works are described as painted. Manuscripts may be referred to as illuminated, illustrated or painted, though using essentially the same techniques as Western works.The earliest extant substantive illuminated manuscripts are from the period 400 to 600, produced in the and the. Their significance lies not only in their inherent artistic and historical value, but also in the maintenance of a link of literacy offered by non-illuminated texts. Had it not been for the scribes of, most literature of Greece and Rome would have perished. As it was, the patterns of textual survivals were shaped by their usefulness to the severely constricted literate group of Christians.
Illumination of manuscripts, as a way of aggrandizing ancient documents, aided their preservation and informative value in an era when new ruling classes were no longer literate, at least in the language used in the manuscripts.The majority of extant manuscripts are from the, although many survive from the, along with a very limited number from Late Antiquity. The majority are of a religious nature. Especially from the 13th century onward, an increasing number of secular texts were illuminated.
Most illuminated manuscripts were created as, which had superseded. A very few illuminated fragments survive on, which does not last nearly as long as. Most medieval manuscripts, illuminated or not, were written on parchment (most commonly of, sheep, or goat skin), but most manuscripts important enough to illuminate were written on the best quality of parchment, called vellum.Beginning in the, manuscripts began to be produced on paper. Very early printed books were sometimes produced with spaces left for and miniatures, or were given illuminated initials, or decorations in the margin, but the introduction of printing rapidly led to the decline of illumination. Illuminated manuscripts continued to be produced in the early 16th century but in much smaller numbers, mostly for the very wealthy.
They are among the most common items to survive from the Middle Ages; many thousands survive. They are also the best surviving specimens of medieval painting, and the best preserved. Indeed, for many areas and time periods, they are the only surviving examples of painting.
The 63rd page of the Book of Hours (Use of Utrecht), circa 1460–65, ink, tempera, and gold on vellum, binding: brown Morocco over original wooden boards, overall: 5.9 x 11.6 cm, (, USA)Art historians classify illuminated manuscripts into their historic periods and types, including (but not limited to) Late Antique,. There are a few examples from later periods. The type of book most often heavily and richly illuminated, sometimes known as a 'display book', varied between periods. In the first millennium, these were most likely to be, such as the and the. The Romanesque period saw the creation of many large illuminated complete – one in Sweden requires three librarians to lift it.
Many were also heavily illuminated in both this and the. Single cards or posters of, or paper were in wider circulation with short stories or legends on them about the lives of saints, chivalry knights or other mythological figures, even criminal, social or miraculous occurrences; popular events much freely used by story tellers and itinerant actors to support their plays. Finally, the, very commonly the personal devotional book of a wealthy layperson, was often richly illuminated in the Gothic period. Many were illuminated with miniatures, decorated initials and floral borders. Paper was rare and most Books of Hours were composed of sheets of parchment made from skins of animals, usually sheep or goats. Other books, both liturgical and not, continued to be illuminated at all periods.The world produced manuscripts in its own style, versions of which spread to other Orthodox and Eastern Christian areas.
Illuminated manuscripts housed in the 16th-century of,Up to the 12th century, most manuscripts were produced in monasteries in order to add to the library or after receiving a from a wealthy patron. Larger monasteries often contained separate areas for the who specialized in the production of manuscripts called a.
Within the walls of a scriptorium were individualized areas where a monk could sit and work on a manuscript without being disturbed by his fellow brethren. If no scriptorium was available, then 'separate little rooms were assigned to book copying; they were situated in such a way that each scribe had to himself a window open to the cloister walk'.By the 14th century, the of monks writing in the scriptorium had almost fully given way to commercial urban scriptoria, especially in Paris, Rome and the Netherlands. While the process of creating an illuminated manuscript did not change, the move from monasteries to commercial settings was a radical step. Demand for manuscripts grew to an extent that Monastic libraries began to employ secular scribes and illuminators.
These individuals often lived close to the monastery and, in instances, dressed as monks whenever they entered the monastery, but were allowed to leave at the end of the day. In reality, illuminators were often well known and acclaimed and many of their identities have survived.First, the manuscript was 'sent to the, who added (in red or other colors) the titles, the initials of chapters and sections, the notes and so on; and then – if the book was to be illustrated – it was sent to the illuminator'. In the case of manuscripts that were sold commercially, the writing would 'undoubtedly have been discussed initially between the patron and the scribe (or the scribe’s agent,) but by the time that the written gathering were sent off to the illuminator there was no longer any scope for innovation'.
Techniques. The author of a manuscript at his writing desk.
14th CenturyIllumination was a complex and frequently costly process. It was usually reserved for special books: an altar Bible, for example.
Wealthy people often had richly illuminated ' made, which set down prayers appropriate for various times in the.In the early Middle Ages, most books were produced in monasteries, whether for their own use, for presentation, or for a commission. However, commercial grew up in large cities, especially, and in Italy and the Netherlands, and by the late 14th century there was a significant industry producing manuscripts, including agents who would take long-distance commissions, with details of the heraldry of the buyer and the saints of personal interest to him (for the calendar of a Book of hours). By the end of the period, many of the painters were women, perhaps especially in Paris.Text The text was usually written before the manuscripts were illuminated. Sheets of or were cut down to the appropriate size. These sizes ranged from Bibles large stationary works to small hand held works. After the general layout of the page was planned (including the initial capitals and borders), the page was lightly ruled with a pointed stick, and the scribe went to work with ink-pot and either sharpened feather or reed pen. The script depended on local customs and tastes.
The sturdy Roman letters of the early gradually gave way to scripts such as and half-Uncial, especially in the, where distinctive scripts such as and developed. Stocky, richly textured was first seen around the 13th century and was particularly popular in the later Middle Ages.Prior to the days of such careful planning, 'A typical black-letter page of these years would show a page in which the lettering was cramped and crowded into a format dominated by huge ornamented capitals that descended from uncial forms or by illustrations'. To prevent such poorly made manuscripts and illuminations from occurring a script was typically supplied first, 'and blank spaces were left for the decoration. This pre-supposes very careful planning by the scribe even before he put pen to parchment'. If the and the illuminator were separate labors the planning period allowed for adequate space to be given to each individual.The process of illumination. ILLUMINATION EXECUTIONI. Graphite powder dots create the outline II.
Silverpoint drawings are sketched III. Illustration is retraced with ink IV. The surface is prepared for the application of gold leaf V. Gold leaf is laid down VI. Gold leaf is burnished to make it glossy and reflective VII. Decorative impressions are made to adhere the leaf VIII.
Base colors are applied IX. Darker tones are used to give volume X. Further details are drawn XI. Lighter colors are used to add particulars XII. Ink borders are traced to finalize the illumination. The 11th-century Tyniec Sacramentary was written with gold on a purple background.,.A manuscript is not considered illuminated unless one or many illuminations contained or was brushed with gold specks, a process known as burnishing. The inclusion of gold alludes to many different possibilities for the text.
If the text is of religious nature the gold is a sign of exalting the text. In the early centuries of Christianity, “ manuscripts were sometimes written entirely in gold'. Aside from adding flashy decoration to the text, scribes during the time considered themselves to be praising God with their use of gold. In one particular instance, 'The life of Christ executed on gold backgrounds with much greater richness in the midst of innumerable scenes of the chase, tourneys, games and grotesque subjects'. Furthermore, gold was used if a patron who had commissioned a book to be written wished to display the vastness of his riches. Eventually, the addition of gold to manuscripts became so frequent, 'that its value as a barometer of status with the manuscript was degraded'.
During this time period the price of gold had become so cheap that its inclusion in an illuminated manuscript accounted for only a tenth of the cost of production. By adding richness and depth to the manuscript, the use of gold in illuminations created pieces of art that are still valued today.The application of gold leaf or dust to an illumination is a very detailed process that only the most skilled illuminators can undertake and successfully achieve.
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The first detail an illuminator considered when dealing with gold was whether to use or specks of gold that could be applied with a brush. When working with gold leaf the pieces would be hammered and thinned until they were 'thinner than the thinnest paper'.
The use of this type of leaf allowed for numerous areas of the text to be outlined in gold. There were several ways of applying gold to an illumination one of the most popular included mixing the gold with stag's glue and then 'pour it into water and dissolve it with your finger'.
Once the gold was soft and malleable in the water it was ready to be applied to the page. Illuminators had to be very careful when applying gold leaf to the manuscript. Gold leaf is able to 'adhere to any pigment which had already been laid, ruining the design, and secondly the action of burnishing it is vigorous and runs the risk of smudging any painting already around it.' Patrons of illumination Monasteries produced manuscripts for their own use; heavily illuminated ones tended to be reserved for liturgical use in the early period, while the monastery library held plainer texts. In the early period manuscripts were often commissioned by rulers for their own personal use or as diplomatic gifts, and many old manuscripts continued to be given in this way, even into the period.
Especially after the book of hours became popular, wealthy individuals commissioned works as a sign of status within the community, sometimes including or: 'In a scene from the New Testament, Christ would be shown larger than an apostle, who would be bigger than a mere bystander in the picture, while the humble donor of the painting or the artist himself might appear as a tiny figure in the corner.' The calendar was also personalized, recording the feast days of local or family saints.
By the end of the Middle Ages many manuscripts were produced for distribution through a network of agents, and blank spaces might be reserved for the appropriate heraldry to be added locally by the buyer.Displaying the amazing detail and richness of a text, the addition of illumination was never an afterthought. The inclusion of illumination is twofold, it added value to the work, but more importantly it provides pictures for the illiterate members of society to 'make the reading seem more vivid and perhaps more credible'. Gallery.
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