Illuminating Metalwork Metal, Object, and Image in Medieval Manuscripts

The presence of gold, silver, and other metals is a hallmark of decorated manuscripts, the very characteristic that makes them “illuminated.” Medieval artists often used metal pigment and leaf to depict metal objects both real and imagined, such as chalices, crosses, tableware, and even idols; the l...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Ackley, Joseph Salvatore ([Herausgeberin/-geber])
Other Authors: Wearing, Shannon L. ([Herausgeberin/-geber])
Format: eBook
Language:English
Published: Berlin ; Boston De Gruyter 2021, ©2022
Series:Sense, Matter, and Medium : 4. New Approaches to Medieval Literary and Material Culture
Subjects:
Online Access:
Collection: DeGruyter MPG Collection - Collection details see MPG.ReNa
Description
Summary:The presence of gold, silver, and other metals is a hallmark of decorated manuscripts, the very characteristic that makes them “illuminated.” Medieval artists often used metal pigment and leaf to depict metal objects both real and imagined, such as chalices, crosses, tableware, and even idols; the luminosity of these representations contrasted pointedly with the surrounding paints, enriching the page and dazzling the viewer. To elucidate this key artistic tradition, this volume represents the first in-depth scholarly assessment of the depiction of precious-metal objects in manuscripts and the media used to conjure them. From Paris to the Abbasid caliphate, and from Ethiopia to Bruges, the case studies gathered here forge novel approaches to the materiality and pictoriality of illumination. In exploring the semiotic, material, iconographic, and technical dimensions of these manuscripts, the authors reveal the canny ways in which painters generated metallic presence on the page. Illuminating Metalwork is a landmark contribution to the study of the medieval book and its visual and embodied reception, and is poised to be a staple of research in art history and manuscript studies, accessible to undergraduates and specialists alike.
Physical Description:XIII, 530 Seiten
ISBN:978-3-11-063752-6
978-3-11-063708-3