The early Medieval Irish manuscripts, "The Book of Durrow," and "The Book of Kells," together with those produced in the same style in England, are unrivalled inĭelicacy and minuteness, results of a faultless execution. Of their manufacture, as was the case with the Cluny Abbey. The fabrication of both parchment and vellum in the Middle Ages was a very important process, and certain monasteries achieved a special reputation for the excellence Parchment was used for manuscripts, as well as for school, college treatises, or legal documents. They are made from different kinds of skin, as parchment was traditionally made of sheepskins. Generally vellum is stouter than parchment, however some types of vellum may be Vellum and parchment are quite different, and is not a mere difference of thickness. After a period when the vellum became thick and rough, towards the Renaissance period it gradually regained its better qualities. Leaves of books subjected to rough usage, like accounting books.īefore the 10th century the vellum was highly polished and very white and fine. Prepared skins of oxen or pigs were chiefly used for bindings, and occasionally for Illuminated manuscripts were written on vellum, a material made from calfskin. The red paint was used to mark the initial letters or sections of the manuscript.ĭue to French writers confusing the term minium with their own language word "mignon" (small and pretty), we got the "miniature." The term "miniature" derives from the Latin word minium (red paint), two pigments being known by this name: one is the sulphide of mercury, known also as "vermilion," the other a lead oxide, called "red lead," this one being the minium of the illuminators, though both were used in manuscript work. Gold was asįreely applied to it as to the penmanship or the ornament. Hence the definition of the Medieval illuminated manuscript: a perfect illumination must contain both colours and metals.Īt the period when illuminating was at its best, the miniature (a term designating a little picture) was just beginning to appear as a noticeable feature. The theme “sheds light” on the ability of illumination to change the purpose and understanding of any piece of art.In the 12th century, an illuminator was the person who practised the art of book decoration, using bright colours and burnished gold. While the light of God is only one of the themes that artists have portrayed through illumination over the past centuries, it has an important historical meaning, and it is why I focused on it for this post. Looking at a piece by Henry Ossawa Tanner, The Thankful Poor, the light of God is coming in through the window as a man and his grandson pray at the breakfast table. Moving forward into the 20 th century, while the light of God may not be as obvious as the Renaissance, the use of illumination and light to represent it is still very common. Throughout the Renaissance, there were consistent portrayals of Jesus resurrecting surrounded by the light of God, or the Virgin Mary bathed in a gold and bright background in any portrayal of her. This holds one of the deepest meanings and purpose of this time, and the artists are using these precious metals and colors to represent this light of God and the importance of religion in society.Īrtists creating the light of God through illumination is an incredibly common technique throughout history, and it is seen in the artwork of different time periods for centuries to come. For this post, I focused on the use of light and how it represented both God and the light of God. Looking at the image taken from The Book of Kells, one of the most famous and intricate illustrated manuscripts that survives today, the deeper meaning and purpose of illumination is clear. Most of these illustrated manuscripts were religious texts, and they were portraying religious stories. For the Illustrators of the Middle Ages, the creation of this light I believe holds a much deeper meaning than being purely aesthetic. Illumination is the act of illuminating, or creating and supplying with light. However, as we were sitting in class today, viewing multiple examples of these manuscripts, all I was considering was what was the purpose and reason for illuminators and illustrators to begin using this technique for their manuscripts? What does the use of illumination really mean? Often times when considering illumination and artwork, the first response someone will think of relates to the famous illuminated manuscripts from the Middle Ages.
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