Illuminating

Oh, hey, speaking of the Met, my friend pointed me to this exhibit called The Art of Illumination. This is an exhibit OF EVERY SINGLE PAGE OF THE BELLES HEURES OF JEAN DUC DE BERRY DO YOU PEOPLE UNDERSTAND WHAT THIS MEANS?????????????????????

I'm sure everyone knows what an illuminated manuscript is: vellum that's been painted over. There's more to it than that, of course. Pages were carefully planned out in red pencil (which it is still possible to see sometimes). Pigments were incredibly costly. And then there is the painstaking work of painting the beautiful curlicues, palaces, clothes, etc. The Belles Heures is justifiably one of the most famous book of hours (a book of prayers for a private patron). The illustrations are simply incredible, and as can be seen at the exhibit's website, the artists--the Limborg Brothers--were extremely innovative.

I'm a bit of a manuscript geek. I almost considered taking a class on illuminated manuscripts at Bologna, but it was three hours long and met on Friday and Saturday mornings, and I don't like them THAT much, but still. These things are so beautiful, so delicate. The Met making the exhibit's website into a blog is especially genius: now, incredible hi-res scans of the Belles Heures are available to anyone. For me, they encapsulate everything I love about medieval and Renaissance art: the bright colors, harmonious compositions, humor, humanity, observations of everyday life.

I've also been busy looking at manuscripts in Italy. The Museo Medievale in Bologna has a lovely little room dedicated to old choir books:

By the way, this Met exhibit ends on June 13th, and I think I get back to the states on June 11th. If I miss this exhibit I will be extremely depressed.