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Course: The J. Paul Getty Museum > Unit 2
Lesson 1: ManuscriptsManuscripts: major works of art
Illuminated manuscripts are books from early medieval times through the Renaissance. Considered major works of art, they were written and decorated by hand with gold, silver, lapis, and other precious materials. Explore several exemplars, including the finest German illuminated manuscript of the 12th century, the Stammheim Missal, as well as other religious and secular works. Created by Getty Museum.
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- @2:35Why do medieval artists draw the serpent as a female figure? Wasn't Satan male?(6 votes)
- Actually, God and "the devil" (by which you mean the snake, although the snake is never called Satan in the Hebrew Bible) do have definite genders in the original Hebrew. Both are male. I don't have Hebrew fonts installed on this computer, but as an example of an easy way to tell gender of a being in Hebrew, take the verb for "was" (as in "the serpent was"). For females, the form of this verb is "hayta", for males it is "haya". The form used for both God and the snake in Genesis is "haya". The snake is also described using masculine adverb conjugations. Definately a male snake.(10 votes)
- About how long would it take to make a manuscript?(5 votes)
- It depends on volume of manuscript & workmanship of creators.
There were usually more people involved - for writing & for illustrations.
It could take even years to finish one book.(5 votes)
- Given how richly painted these illuminated manuscripts are...what would be the process of painting each page? Surely, they must have had quite an elaborate drying technique too given that to simply turn the page upon finishing would leave permanent damage and smudges?(4 votes)
- Making a manuscript page was an elaborate process that took a long time. The first step was usually to prepare the parchment for writing, namely to put lines on it for writing. The next step was to write the text and draw an outline of the images. Then, the artist would put down a golden or silver leaf and polish it. The final stage would be to color the image and add details. Sometimes one person did it all, but most often they worked in types of workshops, where each person had a specific task (painting of faces, coloring background...).(3 votes)
- At2:35, why does the central picture of Adam portray him as already an old man? Eve by comparison, is much younger in the center that on the right. Maybe it's because he was already fairly old when she was first created?(5 votes)
- To quote many in the field of art, "Only the artist knows what the art truly means to them and all observers see it with a different eye," and that stands. However, Eve was created out of Adam's rib when he was an adult, around thirty, I think it was, and Eve was supposed to be slightly younger since she was crafted to be fairly young. Therefore, you are probably right about him being fairly old when she was created.(2 votes)
- Why is there no mention of Irish illuminated manuscripts which seem to have greater detail and to be of much earlier dates than those you have shown?(3 votes)
- After reading your question I did some research and started asking this question myself. I was particularly interested to know why they excluded The Book of Kells (800 A.D. ) which is considered "one of Ireland's national treasures" as well as "one of the oldest books in the world".
Sorry if my answer wasn't helpful.(4 votes)
- May we please have a list of all the manuscripts mentioned with their creators?
I'd love to see them in greater depth.
Thank you for a wonderful class! Really enjoying it(2 votes)- Take a look here: http://www.getty.edu/art/collection/
Click on manuscritps and then search.(1 vote)
- These illustrations remind me a lot of Art Nouveau and Art Deco. Were these later movements influenced by medieval art at all?(2 votes)
- That's a really interesting observation! There was revived interest in Medieval art and history in the Victorian era, and artists such as Picasso admired its stylization of space and figures. So it's possible. I'm sorry that I can't answer your question beyond that.(2 votes)
- hello to anyone scrolling through the comments(1 vote)
- Sometimes I do, especially if I have an idea that someone may have asked my same question before. In that case, I set the "sort" to "top voted". If, however, I'm looking for something more recently asked or answered, I set the "sort" for recent. Once you've learned to do so, it can be very helpful.(2 votes)
- he showed a picture of jesus when he was ressurected... funny thing was he didnt have holes in his hands.(1 vote)
- why did the serpent have a women's head?(1 vote)
Video transcript
Male: Most people, when
they come upon the gallery, I think, are rather surprised that these little books
were even important objects, or that they could be so finely and so splendidly painted. People often don't realize that the greatest artists,
the finest artists, of the Middle Ages and the Renaissance illuminated manuscripts. They were a primary art form, not a minor or decorative art form. The earliest great illuminated manuscripts were of liturgical use. They were used in the celebration
of the divine services. They are books that were written by hand and painted by hand, and painted with gold, silver, lapis, and precious materials, to glorify the Word of God. The Stammheim Missal is arguably the greatest manuscript
in the Getty collection. It is considered the finest German illuminated manuscript
of the twelfth century. This miniature on the left is one of the great miniatures, I think, in the book. It shows Christ at his second coming, where He's shown resurrected in glory. His hand is raised in blessing, and it's all arranged in
this very simple design, with the mandorla in the center, the strong symmetry. The symbols of the evangelists are shown in these little half-circles. Essentially, it has a very
elaborate, geometric structure. Part of the beauty of this book is, despite the amount of
moral and spiritual message that the artist endeavors to imply, that it's all done with
a great kind of clarity. One of the greatest
manuscripts in the collection is this prayer book called, "The Prayer Book Albrecht of Brandenburg." Each of the prayers is illustrated with a magnificent miniature, which tells the very, very familiar story of Christ from the time
of the Annunciation, and all of these miniatures are set in these wonderful nocturnal scenes, that are lit only by
candlelight and torches, as you see here, so that in fact, the effect in itself
is very, very dramatic. Christ is always shown as this very human, very sensitive and fragile individual. This manuscript is a
great secular manuscript, written by Giovanni Boccaccio, the great Italian author
of "The Decameron." "The Fates of Illustrious Men and Women" tells how people rose up to
fame and power and importance, and often, not long afterwards, suffered unpleasant fate. The miniature that you see here tells the story of Adam and Eve, and it's painted by The Boucicaut Master. The Boucicaut Master was the
greatest French illuminator of the first half of
the fifteenth century, and an enormously influential
and important artist. Part of his greatness is, in fact, as a storyteller, for
the wonderful clarity with which he conveys the different narratives in the book. On the left you see Boccaccio himself, as he writes the story of this book, and on the right we have
the stooped Adam and Eve. The aged couple are
approaching him, in fact, to tell their narrative. In a way, the story all
begins with Boccaccio and his vision of their life. Such a book was opened at night, and as the owner, or whatever, sat in bed, one of his aides would
actually read them aloud, and then of course they
would have the opportunity to look at the wonderful pictures. I think it's important to keep in mind that although they were books, they came to be prized more and more as works of art. They were brought out
on special occasions, and they were shown to
colleagues and friends and courtiers as an example of the status and the taste and the
judgment of their patrons.