Illuminated Manuscripts From Belgium And The Netherlands In The J Paul Getty Museum

This is a lavishly illustrated survey of the J. Paul Getty's collection of illuminated manuscripts from Belgium and the Netherlands.

Known for their stunning displays of artistry and technique, Italian illuminated manuscripts have long been coveted by collectors 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 di 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. This carefully crafted book is sure to become an essential resource for scholars, students, and collectors.

A celebration of the visual contributions of the bestiary--one of the most popular types of illuminated books during the Middle Ages--and an exploration of its lasting legacy. Brimming with lively animals both real and fantastic, the bestiary was one of the great illuminated manuscript traditions of the Middle Ages. Encompassing imaginary creatures such as the unicorn, siren, and griffin; exotic beasts including the tiger, elephant, and ape; as well as animals native to Europe like the beaver, dog, and hedgehog, the bestiary is a vibrant testimony to the medieval understanding of animals and their role in the world. So iconic were the stories and images of the bestiary that its beasts essentially escaped from the pages, appearing in a wide variety of manuscripts and other objects, including tapestries, ivories, metalwork, and sculpture. With over 270 color illustrations and contributions by twenty-five leading scholars, this gorgeous volume explores the bestiary and its widespread influence on medieval art and culture as well as on modern and contemporary artists like Pablo Picasso and Damien Hirst. Published to accompany an exhibition on view at the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center May 14 to August 18, 2019.

The Getty Research Journal features the work of art historians, museum curators, and conservators from around the world as part of the Getty’s mission to promote critical thinking in the presentation, conservation, and interpretation of the world’s artistic legacy. Articles present original research related to the Getty’s collections, initiatives, and research projects. This issue features essays on the cross-cultural features of a small alabaster vessel in the “international style” of the ancient Mediterranean, French and Flemish influences in the Montebourg Psalter, a new identification for the so-called bust of Saint Cyricus, the effects of the Reformation on the art market in northern Europe, sketchbooks kept by the Portuguese painter João Glama Stroeberle containing comments from his teachers, the origins of the architectural history survey, Japanese ink aesthetics in non-ink media, the impact of the invention of adhesive tape in the 1930s on the artistic process of abstract painters, and the importance of ephemeral artifacts for the documentation of Carolee Schneemann’s performance works. Shorter texts include notices on an Egyptian ushabti from the tomb of Neferibresaneith, a bronze statuette newly identified as representing the Alexandrian god Hermanubis, and an etching by Félix Bracquemond commissioned by the Parisian gallery Arnold & Tripp.

The Getty Museum’s collection of illuminated manuscripts, featured in this book, comprises masterpieces of medieval and Renaissance art. Dating from the tenth to the sixteenth century, they were produced in France, Italy, Belgium, Germany, England, Spain, Poland, and the eastern Mediterranean. Among the highlights are four Ottonian manuscripts, Romanesque treasures from Germany, Italy, and France, an English Gothic Apocalypse, and late medieval manuscripts painted by such masters as Jean Fouquet, Girolamo da Cremona, Simon Marmion, and Joris Hoefnagel. Included are glistening liturgical books, intimate and touching devotional books for private use, books of the Bible, lively histories by Giovanni Boccaccio and Jean Froissart, and a breathtaking Model Book of Calligraphy.

One of the finest works from the golden era of Flemish manuscript illumination, the Getty’s copy of the Romance of Gillion de Trazegnies tells of the adventures of a medieval nobleman. Part travelogue, part romance, and part epic, the text traces the exciting exploits of Gillion as he journeys to Jerusalem on pilgrimage, is imprisoned in Egypt and rises to the command of the Sultan’s armies, mistakenly becomes a bigamist first with a Christian and then a Muslim wife, and dies in battle as a glorious hero. The tale encompasses the most thrilling elements of the Western romance genre — love, villainy, loyalty, and war — set against the backdrop of the East. This lavishly illustrated volume reveals for the first time the complexity of this illuminated romance. A complete reproduction of the book’s illustrations and a partial translation of the text appear along with essays that explore the manuscript’s vibrant cultural, historical, and artistic contexts. The innovative illuminations, by the renowned artist Lieven van Lathem, juxtapose the reality of medieval Europe with an idealized vision of the East. This unusual pairing, found in the text and illustrations, is the source of a rich discussion of the fifteenth-century political situation in the West and the Crusades in the East.

This exquisite volume beautifully reproduces and insightfully examines the most important illuminations found in French history manuscripts.

Stained glass is a monumental art, a corporate enterprise dependent on a patron with whom artists blend their voices. Combining the fields now labeled decorative arts, architecture, and painting, the window transforms our experience of space. Windows of colored glass were essential features of medieval and Renaissance buildings. They provided not only light to illuminate the interior but also specific and permanent imagery that proclaimed the importance of place. Commissioned by monks, nuns, bishops, and kings, as well as by merchants, prosperous farmers, and a host of anonymous patrons, these windows vividly reflect the social, religious, civic, and aesthetic values of their eras. Beautifully illustrated with reproductions from the remarkable stained glass collection at the J. Paul Getty Museum, Stained Glass addresses the making of a stained glass window, its iconography and architectural context, the patrons and collectors, and the challenges of restoration and display. The selected works include examples from Austria, Belgium, England, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Switzerland. Subject matter ranges from monumental religious scenes for Gothic churches to lively heraldic panels made for houses and other secular settings. Integrating comparisons to works of art in other media, such as manuscripts, drawings, and panel paintings, this book encourages the general reader to see stained glass as an element of a broad artistic production.