Manuscript illumination is the art of decorating a handwritten document with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations, and an illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document decorated in this way. Illuminated manuscripts were often used in the Catholic Church for prayers and liturgical books such as psalters, and for courtly literature, and from the thirteenth century onward the practice continued into secular texts, including proclamations, laws, charters, inventories and deeds. The earliest surviving illuminated manuscripts are a small number from late antiquity, dating from between 400 and 600 CE, and include the Vergilius Romanus, the Vergilius Vaticanus and the Rossano Gospels. Most surviving manuscripts come from the Middle Ages, although many survive from the Renaissance, and Islamic manuscripts can also be called illuminated.
Facts
MediumParchment and vellum, with gold leaf and pigments 1 Signature TechniqueGilding with burnished gold leaf 1 Notable Example Manuscript Illumination
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Practitioners
Source Wikipedia: Bartolomeo della Gatta
Source Francesco Rosselli (Wikipedia)
Source Wikipedia: Georgios Klontzas
Source Wikipedia: Giulio Clovio
Source Wikipedia: Ibn al-Bawwab
Source Getty Research Institute Union List of Artist Names: Pucelle, Jean (French illuminator, active ca. 1319-1334)
Source Wikipedia: Martino di Bartolomeo
Source Mary Concepta Lynch (Wikipedia)
Source Pacino di Buonaguida (Wikipedia)
Works In This Form
Source Aberdeen Bestiary (Wikipedia)
Source Cotton Genesis, Wikipedia
Source Genji Monogatari Emaki (Wikipedia)
Source Ippen Shōnin Eden (Wikipedia)
Source Morgan Bible (Wikipedia)
Source Mōko Shūrai Ekotoba (Wikipedia)
Sources
1. Illuminated manuscript (Wikipedia)
Wikipedia, Illuminated manuscript, lead section
An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is decorated with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations.
Techniques section, materials paragraph
Most manuscripts, illuminated or not, were written on parchment until the 2nd century BCE
Gilding section
Gold leaf was from the 12th century usually polished, a process known as burnishing
History, Latin Europe section, Book of Kells paragraph
The Book of Kells is the most widely recognized illuminated manuscript in the Anglosphere
View the SourceAberdeen Bestiary (Wikipedia)
WikipediaWorks In This Form: Aberdeen Bestiary, lead paragraphQuote, Works In This Form: Aberdeen Bestiary, lead paragraph
The Aberdeen Bestiary (Aberdeen University Library, Univ Lib. MS 24) is a 12th-century English illuminated manuscript bestiary that was first listed in 1542 in the inventory of the Old Royal Library at the Palace of Westminster. D
Mary Concepta Lynch (Wikipedia)
Practitioners: Mary Concepta Lynch, lead paragraphQuote, Practitioners: Mary Concepta Lynch, lead paragraph
Mary Concepta Lynch (1874-1939), was an Irish nun and skilled artist, illuminator, and calligrapher, who spent 16 years ornately decorating the Celtic design in the Oratory of the Sacred Heart at St. Mary's Dominican Convent in
Francesco Rosselli (Wikipedia)
Practitioners: Francesco Rosselli, Lead sectionQuote, Practitioners: Francesco Rosselli, Lead section
Francesco Rosselli (1445, before 1513) was an Italian miniature painter, and engraver of maps and old master prints.
Wikipedia: Georgios Klontzas
Practitioners: Georgios Klontzas, LeadQuote, Practitioners: Georgios Klontzas, Lead
icons, miniatures, triptychs and illuminated manuscripts
Pacino di Buonaguida (Wikipedia)
Practitioners: Pacino di Buonaguida, Article textQuote, Practitioners: Pacino di Buonaguida, Article text
The Chiarito tabernacle at the Getty Museum in California is attributed to Pacino, and he contributed to an important illuminated manuscript, the Laudario di Sant'Agnese.
Wikipedia: Ibn al-Bawwab
Practitioners: Ibn al-Bawwab, LeadQuote, Practitioners: Ibn al-Bawwab, Lead
was an Arabic calligrapher and illuminator
Wikipedia: Bartolomeo della Gatta
Practitioners: Bartolomeo della Gatta, LeadQuote, Practitioners: Bartolomeo della Gatta, Lead
was an Italian (Florentine) painter, illuminator, and architect
Wikipedia: Martino di Bartolomeo
Practitioners: Martino di Bartolomeo, LeadQuote, Practitioners: Martino di Bartolomeo, Lead
was an Italian painter and manuscript illuminator active between 1389 and 1434
Wikipedia: Giulio Clovio
Practitioners: Giulio Clovio, LeadQuote, Practitioners: Giulio Clovio, Lead
was a Croatian-Italian illuminator, miniaturist, and painter born in the Kingdom of Croatia
Morgan Bible (Wikipedia)
Works In This Form: Maciejowski Bible, Lead sentenceQuote, Works In This Form: Maciejowski Bible, Lead sentence
The Morgan Bible (mostly Morgan Library & Museum, New York, Ms M. 638), also called the Morgan Picture Bible, Crusader Bible, Shah Abbas Bible or Maciejowski Bible, is a unique medieval illuminated manuscript.
Cotton Genesis, Wikipedia
Works In This Form: Cotton Genesis, Lead sentenceQuote, Works In This Form: Cotton Genesis, Lead sentence
The Cotton Genesis (London, British Library, Cotton MS Otho B VI) is a 4th- or 5th-century Greek Illuminated manuscript copy of the Book of Genesis.
Ippen Shōnin Eden (Wikipedia)
Works In This Form: Ippen Shōnin Eden, LeadQuote, Works In This Form: Ippen Shōnin Eden, Lead
A set of illuminated manuscripts
Mōko Shūrai Ekotoba (Wikipedia)
Works In This Form: Mōko Shūrai Ekotoba, LeadQuote, Works In This Form: Mōko Shūrai Ekotoba, Lead
is a set of two Japanese illustrated handscrolls (emaki)
Genji Monogatari Emaki (Wikipedia)
Works In This Form: Genji Monogatari Emaki, LeadQuote, Works In This Form: Genji Monogatari Emaki, Lead
is a famous illustrated handscroll of the Japanese literature classic The Tale of Genji
Getty Research Institute Union List of Artist Names: Pucelle, Jean (French illuminator, active ca. 1319-1334)
Getty Research Institute Union List of Artist NamesPractitioners: Jean Pucelle, Record headingQuote, Practitioners: Jean Pucelle, Record heading
Pucelle, Jean (French illuminator, active ca. 1319-1334)
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