Medieval Illuminators and Their Methods of Work

by Jonathan J.G. Alexander

In this beautiful book Jonathan Alexander surveys European manuscript illumination from the fourth to the sixteenth century. Illustrating his discussion with examples chosen from all over Europe, he discusses the social and historical context of the illuminators` lives, considers their methods of work, and shows the range and nature of the visual sources and the ways in which they were adapted, copied, or created anew.

Genres: Nonfiction, Art, History, Art History, Historical, Medieval

222 pages, Paperback

First published December 23, 1992

Reviews

[E · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is an excellent book I bought some years ago. It illustrates the methods and expertise of the monastic illustrator.

In a world lit only by candlelight, these talented artists worked for years to complete hand illuminated prayer books, Bibles, documents, and Liturgical sheet music.

Of course, these works would only be affordable at the time to royalty and very wealthy nobility. Many of the manuscripts were kept in the monastery libraries as canonical treasures.

The book is plentiful with the beautiful detailed breathtaking examples of the work and corresponding explanations.

The only thing I would have liked to have seen is more colored plates than what was offered.

There were so many examples of these masterpieces, I could only assume the cost would be prohibitive to make the book affordable to a wide audience.