My current obsession: a fantastic site that thematically organizes the best of the holdings in illuminated manuscripts among France's national libraries. There are several marvelous categories, including one on marginalia, which contains the lushly imaginative, Quintain in the Shape of a Snail. [via Deeplinking]
I find the Middle Ages, with their combination of absolute darkness and yet, at the same time, undeniable hints of the luminous period that lay just ahead, to be quite fascinating from both a cultural and historical perspective. An exhibition I particularly enjoyed was the Getty's Illuminating the Renaissance show a couple of years ago. A few months ago, I noted places in New York that have (or had) illuminated manuscripts on display.
And, last time I was in Paris, I finally made it to the Musee National de Moyen Age, and the Unicorn Tapestries, kept in a dimly lit gallery built especially to house them, did not disappoint.
Related from the LL Archives: Artists' Visions, with contemporary miniaturist painter Shahzia Sikander.
That unicorn would make a fabulous white trash ankle tattoo. Sorry if I brought this discussion down a few notches. That is a great interface for the show at the Getty. I like the narration and only wish I could see a full screen shot of each manuscript.
Posted by: blacksnail | June 23, 2005 at 05:44 PM