: Illuminated manuscripts are a part of The Cleveland Museum of
Art's (CMA) permanent collection and are the focus of a new
installation in gallery 216, on view October 10, 2004, to October
2, 2005.
The gallery displays approximately 80 examples of Books of Hours,
psalters, missals, breviaries, antiphonals and other manuscripts.
The museum's collection of illuminations beautifully illustrates
the history of medieval and Renaissance Europe through one the
most intimate art forms - the precursor of the modern book.
Admission to the museum and this installation is free.
"Illuminated manuscripts were the principle vehicle for pictorial
expression throughout the Middle Ages and early Renaissance,"
proclaimed Stephen N. Fliegel, CMA curator of medieval art. The
production of illuminated manuscripts was practiced in every
European country in the Middle Ages. Scripture, liturgy, history,
literature, law, philosophy and science found its way into these
breathtaking masterpieces. It is important to note the prominence
of illuminated manuscripts in all aspects of written and visual
culture of this time. CMA's installation illustrates a wide
arrangement of books from 1000 AD through early 1600s.
"The Cleveland Museum of Art is fortunate in possessing one of
the largest collections of illuminated leaves in the United
States," added Fliegel.
The installation displays several examples of large decorated
initials for which Italian illuminators were particularly noted.
The Italian leaves are representative of the many regions in
Italy including Lombardy, the Veneto, Tuscany and South Italy.
Don Silvestro dei Gherarducci's (Florence, 1339-1399) elegant
designs represent the time and detail invested in the production
of music manuscripts, often made in six to 12 volumes to cover
the entire liturgical year. Initial G[audeamus omnes] from a
Gradual: The Court of Heaven (1370-77) is considered to be
this artist's greatest masterpiece. A highly burnished surface of
the initial G enthroning Christ's head establishes the divinity
that devotional manuscripts possessed.
An earlier French manuscript, Two Miniatures from a Manuscript
of the Apocalypse: The Woman upon the Scarlet Beast and The War
in Heaven (about 1295) from the Lorraine region exhibits the
great power of illuminations. The last book of the New Testament,
St John the Evangelist's Apocalypse, was the inspiration for this
work. Manuscripts found in many areas of Northern Europe utilized
St John's text, which may have reflected the society's fear that
the world was coming to an end. Additional illuminated
manuscripts exhibited in the CMA's collection will continue to
articulate the Medieval and early Renaissance traditions in art.
The Cleveland Museum of Art is at 11150 East Boulevard in
University Circle. For information, 888-CMA-0033 or .
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