Something Beautiful

Medieval Italian Antiphonal

At the Brown University site, there is a very fine study of an illuminated Italian antiphonal.   You can see all eighteen leaves (36 sides) that survive from the original, but there is much else here besides.

Nativity (in Antiphonary)

Nativity (from an Antiphonary)
ca. 1460, by Francesco di Giorgio Martini
Museo del Duomo
Chiusi, Italy

Annunciation in Illuminated Mss.

Here are just a few of the Annunciations from the Huntington Library illuminated manuscripts: 

Fifteenth century --

Annunciation, HM 1139, f. 13v (3 traditional elements)  (additional info) 
Annunciation, HM 1150, f. 12  (3 elements)  (info)
Annunciation, HM 1250, f. 15  (3 elements)  (info) 
Annunciation, HM 1172, f. 7 (4 elements)  (info) 
Annunciation, HM 1132, f. 14v-15  (4 elements)  (info) 
Annunciation, HM 1153, f. 15v-16  (5 elements)  (info)

Sixteenth century --

Annunciation, HM 1046, f. 17v  (3 traditional elements, plus peacock and small animals) (additional info)
Annunciation, HM 48, f. 16  (3 elements) (info) 
Annunciation, HM 1147, f. 18v-19  (3 elements)  (info)   
Annunciation, HM 1175, f. 8v  (4 elements, with cat)  (info)   

 

DaCosta Hours

This kind of thing strikes me as nearly unbelievable -- 117 pages from the DaCosta Hours.   (Sometimes I can't believe I am lucky enough to live in the age of the Internet. )

Breviary

Yesterday's page contained an illuminated illustration of King David playing bells (curator's notes).  For some reason, this theme is a great favorite of mine. 

The British Library site has a highly decorated page showing King David engaged in this same activity -- f. 190, and even has a close-up.

The folio is found in an illuminated breviary, made in the years 1322-25, in England.  Altogether the site sets forth twenty-two sides in full --

16v, Nativity
20v, St Stephen Martyr

23v, St John the Evangelist
25v, Massacre of the Innocents
32v, Holy Face
62v, Decorated initial

87, Resurrection
103, St John the Evangelist
130, Judith and Holofernes
150v, Dedication of a church

176v, King David pointing to his mouth
190, King David playing the bells
225, St Nicholas of Bari
242v, Presentation in the Temple

252, St Barnabas
255, Martyrs
273, St Swithin
279v, Exaltation of the Cross

285, St Germanus and St Peter in chains
292, St Lawrence
305, St Michael the Archangel
324, St Martin

King David Illuminations

A French psalter, 1205  Today I've been looking at a very special Psalter at the Getty Museum.  This illuminated manuscript was created in 1205, in France, by an anonymous artist known as the "Master of the Ingeborg Psalter."  The Getty site reproduces only 9 folios (sides) of the psalter, but these images certainly make up in quality anything they lack in quantity. 

There are two main routes for acquainting yourself with the nine folios.   One is to "page through the book," by beginning with the first plate, working one's way on through to the middle plates, and continuing on until the last one.

My preferred method, however, is to simply work my way down (or skip about, if I wish) a list of the available folios, with their contents, as follows --

Initial D: Samuel anointing David (f. 27) (curator's notes) (favorite)

Initial D: David pointing to his mouth (f. 41v) (curator's notes)

Initial Q: David before Saul (f. 55) (curator's notes)

Initial D: A fool with 2 demons (f. 56)  (curator's notes)

Initial S: David in prayer (f. 70v) (curator's notes) (favorite)

 

Initial E, highly decorated initial (f. 88v) (curator's notes)

Initial C: David playing bells (f. 105v) (curator's notes) (favorite)

Initial D: David in prayer (f. 108) (curator's notes)

Initial D: Christ enthroned (f. 123) (curator's notes)

Annunciations (Getty) (1)

Certain scenes from the Gospels somehow lend themselves to particularly lovely images.  Foremost among these is probably the Annunciation, the announcement by the Angel Gabriel to the Virgin Mary that she had been chosen among women to become the mother of Jesus.   

Listed below are the twelves illuminated miniatures at the Getty Museum, Los Angeles, portraying the Annunciation.  Browsing through them will, I hope, be both a joy and an education in the great variety of concepts and styles brought to this theme by artists over the course of six centuries. 

Miniatures --

Annunciation, ca. 1025, by Unknown

Annunciation, ca. 1170, by Unknown (unusual composition)

Annunciation, ca. 1240, by Unknown

Annunciation, ca. 1410, by a Follower of the Boucicaut Master

Annunciation, 1450s, by the Master of the Llangattock Hours

Annunciation, early 1460s, by Willem Vrelant

Annunciation, ca. 1469, by Taddeo Crivelli

Annunciation, ca. 1480, by an Associate of Georges Trubert

Annunciation, ca. 1480, by Jean Bourdichon

Annunciation, ca. 1480, by the Master of the Dresden Prayer Book

Annunciation, ca. 1510, by the Master of James IV of Scotland

Annunciation, ca. 1525, by Simon Bening (personal favorite)

 

Illuminated Mss. (Denmark)

I have been trying to restrain myself on the illuminated manuscripts front.  Just because I go ape over them doesn't mean that everyone does.   But enough is enough.  Let's do a few. 

It turns out that there are a number of medieval manuscripts online at the Royal Library of Denmark site.   I have selected a mere five as presenting, in my opinion, the finest script and illuminations.    TIP:  Upon arriving at the introductory page of each manuscript, use the links in the left margin to navigate from one large part to another.

These three contain only script and occasional colored initials, but they are still quite handsome:

Passion of St Edmund, ca. 1075, England

Life of St Anselm of Canterbury; ca. 1200, France

Life of St Bernard of Clairvaux; ca. 1200, France 

These two, in contrast, are highly illuminated:

Gospels, ca. 1250, Germany

Psalter, 1500-1535, Flanders  (Check out the section on the seven deadly sins (pride, greed, lust, anger, gluttony, envy, sloth).)

Bonus:  These two are not quite as good, but they are too interesting and enjoyable not to make note of them:

Gospels, ca. 1150, Sweden

Antiphonary, 1250-1275, Norway

Hours of Louis XII

The Getty Museum site has a lovely page devoted to the Hours of Louis XII, painted for the King of France ca. 1498 by the eminent illuminator Jean Bourdichon.  This volume was one of the greatest French manuscripts of its time.

There are several ways you can review images offered on this page.  You can, of course, simply read and examine the seven images, one by one, as laid out by the Museum. 

Alternatively, you might want to review the images quickly, to get a feel for the volume as a whole --

Louis XII (surrounded by Sts Michael, Louis, Denis and  the  emperor Charlemagne)
June calendar page

Bathsheba Bathing, with King David, her father-in-law, watching from a distance.

Virgin of the Annunciation
Nativity
Pentecost 

A third option is to examine the images via "Zoomify," which will provide you with a mouth-watering view of the superb artwork --   

Louis XII
February calendar page
June calendar page

Bathsheba Bathing

Nativity
Pentecost

January - Snow

The page and illustration for January, in a Dutch Book of Hours, late fifteenth century  (close-up).