Search results for ""Author Thomas Kren""

This is a stunning tour through eight centuries of manuscript illumination. Known for their stunning displays of artistry and technique, Italian illuminated manuscripts have long been coveted by collection around the world. The J. Paul Getty Museum holds the most recently formed institutional collection of its kind in the United States, yet it spans more than eight centuries and reflects many of the extraordinary achievements of the Italian tradition. Made up of whole manuscripts as well as leaves and cuttings, the Getty collection of Italian illumination contains nearly sixty works and includes the Montecassino Breviary, the Ferrarese Gualenghi-d'Este Hours, and the Roman gradual illuminated by Antonio da Monza for Santa Maria in Aracoeli. Other important acquisitions are one of the finest Bolognese Bibles of the thirteenth century; three leaves from the Laudario of Sant'Agnese, the most ambitious Florentine manuscript from the first half of the fourteenth century; and a missal once owned by the antipope John XXIII. This beautifully illustrated volume presents many splendid examples of Italian painting and illumination. Some are by noted artists such as Girolamo da Cremona, Pacino de Bonaguida, and Pisanello; others are attributed to artists known only by their works, such as the Master of Gerona, who is credited with one of the finest miniatures in the collection.

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Between 1561 and 1562 Georg Bocskay, secretary to Emperor Ferdinand I, assembled a large selection of contemporary and historical writings in the Mira Calligraphiae Monumenta, in an attempt to demonstrate his technical skill as a court scrivener. Around thirty years later, Ferdinand’s grandson, Emperor Rudolf II commissioned Joris Hoefnagel, one of the last great European manuscript illuminators, to provide exclusive illuminations for the pages. Currently in the collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum, this unique book—the only one worldwide—was fi rst published in facsimile form in 1993, with extensive commentary by Lee Hendrix and Thea Vignau-Wilberg. Now, at last, there is a newly produced facsimile edition in German. Besides biographies of these two exceptional artists, as well as an analytical observation of the role the manuscript played in the careers of both, Hoefnagel’s illuminations are examined more closely. An indispensable volume for anyone interested in design, typography, manuscript illumination, and exquisite craftsmanship. “The ultimate book-lover’s gift book,” raves The Los Angeles Times.

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