gOLD cRUSH
(Image from the Bible of Borso d’Este)
Is there a piece of art or an art collection that absolutely stops you in your tracks every time? Is it possible to have an immense crush on artwork? I'm not entirely sure, but to this day besides deeply loving my husband (even to this day have a huge crush on him too and immense unending love for our precious children), the biggest art crush that takes space in my heart and brings me instant delight has to be the magnificent art of the Bible of Borso d'Este! The Borso d'Este was one of the first illuminated masterpieces I had ever seen and there is no end to the hours this magnificent collection of miniature works of art can mesmerize me, from my very first days as an illuminator to today I simply delight in page after page of this exquisite treasure trove and as an illuminator, have full appreciation for the time and diligence spent on it! It is filled with divine details, whimsy and charm and a clear devotion to detail and beauty and is one of the most beloved art treasures for the ages! It almost feels unfair to you beloved reader to post only two images, because there are so many beautiful miniatures that glow like gems from the parchment that it is nearly impossible to choose a favourite to share. So of course, I had to at least show one of my favourite deer miniatures, but it was a tossup between this image, one of the many exquisite holy scenes and the adorable little putti angels riding them and picking fruit from the comfort of the back of the deer! Did I mention there are angels galore, camels, hedgehogs, bunnies, peacocks, birds and swans and all sorts of gorgeous scenes from the Biblical stories to capture you imagination? If I am busy, I can't even open it, or hours will slip through my hands as I pour over all the nuances and perfection of gold and pigments skillfully capturing exquisite miniature scenes!See... I told you it's a crush! I will try to stop gushing on and on about the Borso d'Este and carry on with the story of the beginning of my gold journey! Several years ago, I began into the art of Illumination, and it was an exciting but overwhelming process, where does one even begin with learning an ancient art form? Previously, I was a Christian Counselor but after many years of service in ministry, I was ready for a change (and less stress). I prayerfully considered my future and remembered my deep love of art, especially my lifelong fascination with gilding, ornate architecture, and heraldry. With our children at that time in their teens, I had more time to begin to devote to studying. I heavily considered continuing with getting a master’s in psychology but decided to spread my wings and begin a new career.Remembering the gilded church of my childhood, I was drawn to learning more about the creation of the iconography, the impossibly ornate architecture and carvings, and then too the illuminated gilded colorful Bibles, thus giving me direction for study. I began creating art pieces but found the real gold paint I was purchasing was not pure enough and was too textured and the particulates too large and rough with entirely too much binder thus dulling it's shine. The gold shell offered by the large gold houses just simply didn't offer the pure golden gleam and smoothness I was looking for. Thus started a several year journey to learn to handcraft my own ultra fine particulate shell gold paint... a shell gold paint hand refined over several days until the pigments are even more fine than pollen and hopefully worthy of receiving an enchanted historical nod from the gifted illuminators and artisans who came before me as I carried the torch bravely into the quest to preserve the tradition of hand refining pure 24k gold into ultra fine dust pigment.It became quite apparent the amount of knowledge needed to learn this ancient technique was vast and soon I began scouring archives of libraries and monasteries from around the world. Illumination and gilding are centuries old with so many applications. The internet has given me so much information, for which I am grateful indeed. What a time to be alive with so much technology and access to techniques and scanned exemplar manuals that were once only reserved for royals to see created by monks or devoted apprentices to learn from master artisans. Thousands of hours of research and testing filled my days, months and years, my thoughts frequently wrapped in the purity of gold and preserving traditions as I began to perfect my golden pigment.So many valuable resources began to surface, including the extensive resources of the British Library, the Bodleian Library of Oxford, World Digital Library, and the absolute treasure trove of Archive.org. With the invaluable help of some new friends who were members of the Trimaris Society of Creative Anachronism, my gilded path began.Over the next several years, I commonly could be found pouring over ancient texts, medieval manuscripts, illuminations and codices until the wee hours of the morning, deeply eager to learn more of this centuries-old art, and even Baroque architectural ornamentation and acanthus and botanical drawings have aided my understanding. One of my favorite reads so far has been a Guide for drawing the acanthus from the 1800s. I'm fascinated with Celtic illumination and knots such as in the Book of Kells and also love Heraldry. Even as I write this, I have a bit of "light reading" of an 826-page encyclopedia of armorial art I am eager to finish. Yes, I know I am letting my profound geekiness show... but all in the name of excellence, learning, and creating awareness to be able to teach others of the vast history and rich application of this art and share the beauty and joy such ornately finished works can bring! (here is an easy link for you to find the gallery of volume one to start your crush too: https://www.loc.gov/resource/gdcwdl.wdl_09910_001/?st=gallery)PHoto Credit: Bible of Borso d'Este. | Library of Congress (loc.gov)
The magnificent Bible of Borso d'Este represents the zenith of Ferrarese miniature painting and one of the highpoints of Italian Renaissance manuscript illumination. It was commissioned by Borso d'Este (1413--71), the first duke of Ferrara, who intended it as a demonstration of the splendor of the House of Este, which at the time was competing with Florence and the court of the Medici for international status. The manuscript was completed between 1455 and 1461, the same time that Johann Gutenberg was producing the first printed Bible from moveable type. The Bible consists of two folio volumes of more than 1,000 individual illuminations. The leaves are all richly illuminated, with painted vignettes that portray scenes from the Bible, historical events, the Estense coat of arms, and views of nature. The beginning of each of the books of the Bible is decorated with an elaborate architectural border and richly colored designs. The illuminations are by a team of artists led by Taddeo Crivelli and Franco dei Russi that also included Girolamo da Cremona, Marco dell'Avogadro, and Giorgio d'Alemagna.
330 Likes
Image Source: Bible of Borso d'Este. - Volume 1 | Library of Congress (loc.gov)
