He used a griffin for the leg of the Q, anticipating the later practice of extending human, animal, or vegetal forms into the painted borders of a page. The artist gave the figures a tangible weight and finely drew their faces, hair, and drapery.
King Saul threatens David with his sword in this initial Q from a psalter (book of psalms) that was probably made for a wealthy nobleman to use in private prayer. Aristocrats and wealthy merchants also began to commission manuscripts, including personal devotional books, romances, histories, and even scientific texts. Initial Q: David Before Saul, Master of the Ingeborg Psalter, after 1205ĭuring the 1200s, manuscript production gradually shifted from monasteries to towns, where newly founded universities created a need for more books. He transformed the opening letter T into the cross of the Crucifixion and focused on Mary's and John's sorrowful expressions and postures. The artist placed the words, Te igitur ("Thee, therefore"), between the figures of the Virgin Mary and Saint John. This page from a sacramentary, or service book of the Mass, contains the first words of the prayers recited during the preparation of the Eucharist, when bread and wine are consecrated and consumed as memorials of Christ's death. The illustrations "bookmarked" important passages and sometimes depicted events described in the text.
Monks wrote the text and painted the illustrations for these books, which focused on religion as well as philosophy, law, and a wide range of other subjects. The Crucifixion from a sacramentary, attributed to Nivardus of Milan, about 1000–1025įrom the 800s to the 1200s A.D., illuminated manuscripts were produced almost exclusively in monasteries. The king looks directly out at the viewer instead of paying attention to his courtiers, echoing the text's claim that the king neglected the troubles and burdens of those around him. A French king, possibly Louis XI, sits surrounded by elegantly dressed courtiers in this miniature, which accompanies a letter describing courtly life in bluntly critical terms. Manuscript illumination was a favorite of French kings and high-ranking nobles.
This exhibition presents some of the most beautiful and important French manuscripts from the Museum's collection, which includes books spanning over 700 years, from the mid-800s through the early 1500s. The French King at Court from The Story of Two Lovers, French, about 1460–1470įrench painting of the Middle Ages is known to us today largely through images found on the pages of books.
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