BENGALURU: I discovered very recently that illuminated manuscripts were the origin of Western painting! Those European Renaissance masters didn’t create their oils on canvas from out of the blue. This art form took root in the 16th century when illustrators who created miniature landscapes and figures on the pages of manuscripts decided to branch off into making ‘paintings’ as we know them, and selling them.
Before the invention of printing in the 15th century, books were painstakingly copied by hand (hence called manuscript). The finest were illuminated with brilliant colours and real gold. They weren’t just for show; gilded illustrations decorated important passages to highlight their significance. Light reflected from candles or sunlight would make it seem that the whole book was glowing.
It would take a team of illuminators several years to complete a single book. Many medieval manuscripts still survive today fully preserved with their colours just as vivid as the day they were illustrated. Of all the illuminated manuscripts from this period, the Book of Hours was, by far, the most popular and the most frequently commissioned by both the aristocracy and the middle classes. It clearly was the bestseller of its time!
A selection of these splendid pages is presented in Time Sanctified by Roger Wieck, along with a detailed discussion of their importance and their contents. A prayer book for the laity, the Book of Hours contains, at its heart, a series of prayers devoted to the Virgin Mary, which were meant to be recited at seven specified times during the day. The most highly skilled calligraphers and painters were commissioned to execute the finest decoration with the most luxurious materials, such as gold, silver, and lapis lazuli.
If you are a beginner to the illuminated manuscript (just like I was), The Illuminated Manuscript by Janet Backhouse is an excellent introduction. It’s not too long, so it won’t overwhelm you. This book provided the foundation for my first steps into researching medieval illumination for my column. What is illumination? Why were books illuminated and what types of books were considered worthy of illumination? Who were some of the most famous medieval illuminators?
A book that I read to my 13-year-old son that I enjoyed was Marguerite Makes a Book by Bruce Robertson and illustrated by Kathryn Hewitt. This book (based in 15th century Paris), is about Marguerite, the young daughter of a manuscript illuminator, who has to help her aging father illuminate a Book of Hours for a very important lady or her father will lose both his commission and his reputation. This beautifully illustrated book joins Marguerite through each step of her illuminated book’s creation. You will be transported to medieval Paris and Marguerite’s workshop as you read and gaze at the pictures! This book was inspired by a rare collection of illuminated manuscripts held by the J. Paul Getty Museum.
Two of my prized possessions are a 20th century facsimile of Book of Hours in colours and gold and an 1842 Henry Bohn deluxe edition of 25 copies of Joseph Strutt’s A Complete View of the Dress and Habits of the People of England. The Book of Hours reproduction is considered one of the finest modern facsimiles for its colour reproduction and the use of 22 carat gold illumination. Printed to a limited edition of 980 copies it has 157 colour miniatures highlighted in gold with 714 pages. The 1842 Bohn edition of Strutt’s A Complete View with the extra hand-coloured plates and illuminated in gold is scarce, and is absolutely gorgeous.
I have often wondered, what is the point of holding on to these illustrated manuscripts? I suppose it is the thrill of owning something as beautiful and rare as the Taj Mahal or the Pyramids, with viewing access granted only to me!
VR Ferose
(The author is a technologist based in Silicon Valley who is gently mad about books)