An Illumination on Manuscript Illumination

Medieval Illuminators and Their Methods of Work, by Jonathan Alexander. Review for Studies in Iconography (Medieval Institute Publicatons), Summer 1995, 1995

1976

A Book of Hours written in Dutch was donated to the Syracuse Public Library by J. William Smith in 1908, but received little publicity until 1974, when it was included in an exhibition of medieval art at the Everson Museum, entitled "Medieval Art in Upstate New York." Briefly described in the catalog of that exhibition, and briefly loaned to the

Gazette du livre médiéval, 1992

Fuchs Robert, Oltrogge Doris. Scientific analysis of medieval book-illumination as a ressource for the art historian and conservator. In: Gazette du livre médiéval, n°21. Automne 1992. pp. 29-34

Journal of Art Historiography, 2020

This essay addresses historiographical and methodological issues about the very beginnings of the scholarship on early medieval manuscript illumination during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. The enduring importance of Greek art and the development of national or ethnic approaches have profoundly shaped our appreciation and interpretation of early medieval illumination, and the latter is still relevant today. By putting into perspective the deep history of early medieval manuscript illumination studies, I seek to show how this area of research connects with other fields such as history or archaeology and why it occupied a long marginalized position within art historical scholarship.

New Perspectives on Flemish Illumination, Conference Proceedings, Corpus of Illuminated Manuscripts 22, Eds. By Lieve Watteeuw, Jan Van der Stock, Bernard Bousmanne and Dominique Vanwijnsberghe, Peeters Publishers Leuven - Paris - Bristol CT, 2018. With contributions of Till-Holger Borchert, Dominique Vanwijnsberghe and Erik Verroken, Jeffrey F. Hamburger, Catherine Reynolds, Gregory T. Clarck, Alison Stones, Dominique R. Delarue, Lynn F. Jacobs, Griet Steyaert, Elisabeth Morrison, Ann Margreet As-Vijvers, Mara Hofmann, Anne Dubois, Lieve Watteeuw and Marina Van Bos, Nancy Turner with Catherine Schmitt-Patterson ISBN 978-90-429-3203-6 http://www.peeters-leuven.be/boekoverz.asp?nr=9945 Introduction The fifteenth century represents both the high point of Flemish miniature painting and a turning point in the history of the medieval manuscript. The art of illumination enjoyed unprecedented success in the Burgundian Netherlands. From the accession of John the Fearless (1404) until the death of Mary of Burgundy (1482), skilled craftsmen, copyists, bookbinders and illuminators played a vital role in producing books of exceptional quality in wealthy cities like Bruges, Ghent, Brussels, Valenciennes, Lille and Tournai. As an engaged patron and erudite bibliophile, Philip the Good (1396-1467) – the third Burgundian heir of the House of Valois – gave a significant boost to book production in all its forms. Not only the ducal family and members of the Order of the Golden Fleece, but also knights, clerics and the urban middle class placed orders with talented illuminators such as Lieven van Lathem, Simon Marmion, Willem Vrelant, Jean de Tavernier and the Master of Wavrin. In 1959, Léon Delaissé published The Flemish miniature: The patronage of Philip the Good, a groundbreaking publication that summarized his many years of scientific research in the manuscripts department of the Royal Library of Belgium. Now, more than fifty years later, our knowledge of the illuminated manuscript in the Southern Netherlands during the Burgundian period has grown enormously, thanks primarily to new research methods and questions. Through traditional approaches such as connoisseurship and codicology, the chronological and geographical spread of book production has been further refined. Additionally, much attention has been paid in recent years to historical context, the organisation of trades, specific working methods in the studio and the complex relationship between text and image. The role of the patron is crucial in the production, use and distribution of illuminated codices. This volume of essays aims to give an overview of the current state of the research and the new perspectives it offers. Under the joint leadership of the Manuscripts Department of the Royal Library of Belgium and of Illuminare, the Study Centre for Medieval Art at the University of Leuven, this publication collects a series of studies that reflect the richness and artistic interactions in this unique period. Lieve Watteeuw & Jan Van der Stock, Illuminare, Centre for the Study of Medieval Art, University of Leuven Bernard Bousmanne, Royal Library of Belgium Dominique Van Wijnsberghe, Royal Institute for Artistic Heritage

In the dark and mediaeval ages, time was of no account. Skilled labor, such as was needed for … illuminations and embroideries, was freely given as the duty of a life. The cloistered men and women worked for no wages; neither to benefit themselves nor their descendants; hardly for fame – that was given to the convent which had the credit of patronizing and producing art, while the very name of the artist was forgotten...[based on a paper given at St. Louis University in 2015]

RACAR : Revue d'art canadienne, 2016