TIME PERIODS
Medieval or Middle
Ages:
Renaissance:
APPROXIMATE DATES
From fall of Western Roman
Empire in 476 AD to End of
Eastern Roman Empire around
1453 AD. [5th to 15th centuries]
From emergence of revival of
learning in Italy in the 1400’s to
the rise of the printed book
around 1600 AD [15th and 16th
centuries]
ILLUMINATION STYLES
Early Christian, Byzantine, Celtic,
Anglo-Saxon, Carolingian,
Ottonian, Romanesque
Gothic, Flemish, Italian
Renaissance
EARLY CHRISTIAN ART (4TH-6TH CENTURIES AD)
A little background
history:
The Style:
Possible gouache
colors
Period Examples:
In AD 313 Constantine the Great formally recognized
Christianity as the official religion of the Roman Empire. In
response, churches were built and commissioned art took on
the subject matter of the Christian saints, symbols and biblical
themes.
Predominantly religious in nature with people commonly
painted with uplifted hands and eyes. Simple and twodimensional (drapery folds depicted by black lines), simple or
no shading, backgrounds done in gold leaf, simple bar borders
of repeated geometric patterns
Cad reds, alizarin crimson, metallic gold and silver, cerulean,
oxide of chromium, sap green, olive green, spectrum violet,
cad yellows, cobalt, ochre, naples yellow, ultramarine
The Vienna Genesis, Rossano Gospels
BYZANTINE ART (4TH- 10TH CENTURIES)
A little background
history:
The Style:
Possible gouache
colors
Period Examples:
This developed in the eastern half of the Roman Empire whose
capital was Constantinople, now Istanbul. Surviving until 1453,
the Byzantine Empire blended Hellenistic (Greek) and Middle
Eastern influences and produced illuminated manuscripts,
mosaics, and church architecture.
Brilliant, glittering color and a bold, linear style, iconographic
portraits of religious and secular nature, monumental figures,
mostly two dimensional, simplistic shading
Alizarin crimson, cad. reds, cerulean, madder crimson, winsor
emerald, perm. greens, gold metallic, spectrum violet, brilliant
violet, peacock, cobalt, oxide of chromium, ochre
The Homilies of Gregory Nazianzus, The Joshua roll (The
vatican), The Paris Psalter, The Exultet Rolls (Pisa)
CELTIC AND ANGLO-SAXON ART (4TH-9TH CENTURIES)
A little background
history:
The Style:
Possible gouache
colors
Period Examples:
Stemming from the period when southern Europe was overrun
by Germanic tribes from the north. Among the invading tribes,
the Anglo-Saxons, particularly those who settled in the British
Isles, excelled in metalwork and jewelry.
Intricate interlaced knotwork, zoomorphic designs, maze
patterns. The initial letter was often decorated with wandering
braids with human figures and animal motifs at the beginning
or end of the letter.
cadmium red pale, cerulean blue, permanent green medium
and light, Winsor emerald, peacock blue, cadmium yellow
pale, lemon yellow, orange lake light, cad. yellow deep,
brilliant violet, primary blue, cobalt blue, cad. orange
Lindisfarne Gospels (British Museum, London), Book of Kells
(Trinity College, Dublin, Ireland) and The book of Durrow,
Vespasian Psalter, Codex Aureus.
CAROLINGIAN ART (LATE 8TH-EARLY 10TH CENTURIES)
A little background
history:
The Style:
Possible gouache
colors
Period Examples:
Carolingian art flourished in Charlemagne's empire, drawing its
inspiration from the late Classical artistic traditions of the early
Christian, Byzantine, and Anglo-Saxon styles. Charlemagne’s
aim was to revive the art of antiquity.
Geometric patterning was the underlying force behind these
lushly painted pages. Some pages included sections written in
gold or silver ink on purple vellum and often contained lavish
quantities of gold. The illuminations displayed a combo of two
dimensional ornament and increased sense of three
dimensions in the depiction of figures.
Alizarin crimson, cerulean, gold and silver metallic, Winsor
emerald, perm greens, cad. reds, cad. yellows, oxide of
chromium
The Gospel Book of Ada (municipal Library, Trier),The Utrecht
Psalter (9th century; university library Utrecht), Gospel book of
Godescalc
OTTONIAN (10TH - EARLY 11TH CENTURIES)
A little background
history:
The Style:
Possible gouache
colors
Period Examples:
Pertaining to the consecutive reigns of Otto I, his son Otto II,
and grandson Otto III, from 936 to 1002, and their successors.
Characterized by a fusion of Carolingian and Byzantine
influences. Flat, vivid colors (often in unnatural hues),
sumptuous gold backgrounds, and monumental figures give
this a majestic and ceremonial style.
Alizarin crimson, cerulean, gold and silver metallic, Winsor
emerald, perm greens, cad. reds, cad. yellows, oxide of
chromium
Codex Egberti, Gospels of Otto III
ROMANESQUE OR NORMAN ART (10TH-12TH CENTURIES)
A little background
history:
The Style:
Possible gouache
colors
Period Examples:
This period was influenced by the Normans who conquered
England in 1066 AD. Fine examples of Romanesque art
remain throughout Europe, from northern Spain and Italy to
France, the Germanic lands of the Holy Roman Empire,
England, and Scandinavia. Bibles and Psalters were quite
fashionable in the Romanesque era.
Combined naturalistic elements with the fantastical and Celtic
inspired knotwork. Manuscripts feature grotesques (a variety of
real and imaginary creatures), textured or gold backgrounds,
and historiated initials. These initials, found at the beginning of
a chapter, combined the initial of the opening word with
foliage, figures or pictures illustrating a portion of the text.
These initials, which were more common than full-page
illustrations, could sometimes extend the length of the page.
gold metallic, cad reds, cobalt, ultramarine, alizarin crimson,
naples, sap green, perm greens, cad yellows, azure
The Winchester Bible. Westminster Psalter c. 1200 (British
Museum, London)
GOTHIC ART & THE GOLDEN AGE (LATE 12TH-15TH CENTURIES)
A little background
history:
The Style:
Possible gouache
colors
Period Examples:
Gothic art developed as large cathedrals were built in Europe.
Court patronage produced many devotional books illustrated
with miniatures. One of the great transitions of manuscript
illuminations of the gothic period is that both text and pictures
form a united composition. Paris was the birthplace of these
new ideas in book ornamentation.
Book size decreased but illuminated initials expanded, a
wealth of ornament - grotesque little monsters and trolls (called
drollery) started to appear in the margins of books. Gold
backgrounds were replaced by landscapes. Lots of ivy vines,
acanthus leaves, gold leaf, use of spear and bar borders, blank
spaces in lines of text are filled with decorative bars
gold and silver metallic, cad. reds, Venetian red, ultramarine,
cobalt, cerulean, cad. yellow pale, perm. green light, medium
and deep, cad. orange, golden yellow, marigold,
Très riches heures du duc de Berry (Chantilly), Hours of
Catherine of Cleves (c.1428-45; Morgan Library),
FLEMISH STYLE (APPROX. 1470 AD - 1560 AD)
A little background
history:
The Style:
Possible gouache
colors
Period Examples:
Patronage at the court of the Duke de Berry in Paris
evaporated after the battle of Agincourt. Manuscript painters
found themselves either working at the court of the English
regent, fleeing to southern France, or returning to the
cosmopolitan centers of Flanders, such as Ghent and Bruges,
where they could cater to the tastes of the wealthy bourgeois
clientele. Generally speaking, the shift of artistic activity from
the French courts to the Flemish cities was helpful to the rise
of the characteristic Flemish realism in illumination.
Solid backgrounds (most often ochre or pale yellow in color but
blues and reds also popular) with realistic flowers, birds,
insects, and fruit as a frame for text or miniature scene.
Realism predominates.
Naples yellow, ochre, sienna-raw and burnt, Vandyke brown,
umber, sepia, neutral gray, any of the reds, blues, yellow and
greens. Full range of colors.
The Bridwell Hours, The Master of Mary of Burgundy
(Bodleian, Oxford), Grimani Breviary
ITALIAN RENNAISSANCE (15TH-16TH CENTURIES)
A little background
history:
The Style:
Possible gouache
colors
Period Examples:
Italy, the center of enlightenment and rebirth of learning, was
an important contributor of illumination in the 15th and 16th
centuries. In general, illuminations were no longer closely
related to the text but became little paintings in Renaissance
frames. There was a return to the classical influences in art
combined with realistic landscapes, architecture and figures.
Heavily influenced by classical Greco-Roman designs.
Intricate whitework and goldwork vines quite popular, huge
initials with realistic miniatures painted in and around the letter.
Also frames of classical pottery, vines and cherubim, use of
tromp l’oeil, and realistic jewels. Think intricate and ornate
with lots of details in gold.
Lots of jewel tones and rich colors: ultramarine, cobalt, cad.
red deep, cad red pale, alizarin crimson, brilliant violet,
spectrum violet, rose carthame, rose tyrien, magenta, peacock
blue, turquoise, gold and silver metallic, azure, perm. greens,
forest green
The Visconti Hours, Prayer Book of Lorenzo de' Medici
(Biblioteca Medicea-Laurenziana, Florence), The Sforza Hours
ARABIC/MOORISH /ISLAMIC STYLE - NEAR EAST
A little background
history:
The Style:
Possible gouache
colors
Period Examples:
The Near East consists of the artisan works of the Islamic,
Palestinian and Jewish cultures. The Koran (or Qu’ran) was
the primary focus of illumination. Even though figural
decoration of the Koran was forbidden, Muslims did often
decorate secular books with figures.
Muslim artists developed arabesque, or a decorative motif
based on natural forms such as leaves, stems, or tendrils
arranged in repeating geometric patterns. Moorish and Islamic
designs are very geometrical, complex and precise. The
designs are often overlaid so that the complexity is nearly
mind-boggling.
(lots of clear blues, reds and greens) cobalt, ultramarine,
primary blue, azure, turquoise, peacock, flame red, cad. red
pale, cad. red deep, perm green middle and light, oxide of
chromium, metallic gold, cad. orange, orange lake deep,
marigold, orange lake light, naples yellow
Al Qu’ran, The Kettubah, The Haggadeh, carpet borders,
mosaic tiles
JAPANESE/CHINESE/PERSIAN/INDIAN – FAR EAST (1160 AD –1600 AD)
A little background
history:
The Style:
Possible gouache
colors
Period Examples:
Focuses on harmony, order and the natural world. Books were
mainly text with minimal or no illustrations.
Common Japanese/Chinese designs are of stylized flora and
fauna such as: flowers (peonies, chrysanthemums and water
lilies are Chinese favorites), trees, leaves, stalks of bamboo or
grass, vines, songbirds, fish (carp), lions, and dragons.
Intricate geometric patterns were also popular. Persian and
Indian designs are very complex and often use overlaying
geometry as well as small flowers and paisleys. Fauna, such
as the elephant and camel, are included as well as some exotic
birds, and Indian tigers.
(bright, clear colors) Cad. lemon, primary yellow, cad. yellow
pale, marigold, scarlet lake, flame red, rose carthame, alizarin
rose madder, magenta, rose tyrien, cad. reds, cerulean,
turquoise, peacock, cobalt, winsor emerald, oxide of
chromium, winsor green, perm green light, metallic gold
Check out tapestries, carpets, fans, screens.