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Identification:

#64

Late Medieval Spain

1320 C.E.

Illuminated Manuscript (pigment with gold leaf on vellum)

Form:

Gold leaf

56 Miniatures (small paintings in the book)

Gothic style

Written in Hebrew (the language of the Jewish people, who it is a story of)

Content:

10 Plagues of Egypt from Exodus in the Torah

Forces the Egyptians to let the Jewish people go

Preparation for passover

Men look for leavened bread so they can remove it from the house, Women clean

Context:

Similar to Christian Gothic Manuscripts

The images were shown in a medieval context, ie: the pharaoh and his army are shown more like a western king, and knights with medieval armor

Written by a Christian

Function:

Used by a wealthy Jewish family to tell the story of Passover at the Seder table

Showed the wealth of the owners - large amounts of gold leaf

Educational purposes only - Judaism doesn’t allow graven images

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Dedication Page with Blanche of Castile and King Louis IX of France, Scenes from the Apocalypse from Bibles moralisees

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Dedication Page with Blanche of Castile and King Louis IX of France, Scenes from the Apocalypse from Bibles moralisees

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scenes from the apocalypse from Bibles moralisees

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The Vienna Genesis is an early 6th-century illuminated manuscript from the Byzantine Empire, featuring some of the oldest illustrated biblical narratives. Created with tempera, gold, and silver on luxurious purple-dyed vellum, it symbolizes wealth and royalty. The manuscript employs a continuous narrative style, presenting multiple episodes of a story within a single frame. Notable scenes include Jacob Wrestling the Angel, where Jacob seeks a blessing through his struggle, and Rebecca and Eliezer at the Well, where Rebecca fulfills God’s plan for Isaac’s marriage by assisting Eliezer.

The illustrations blend classical techniques, such as contrapposto and foreshortening, with the Byzantine focus on spiritual themes. This fusion reflects a pivotal moment in the evolution of art, transitioning from classical naturalism to Byzantine stylization. The Vienna Genesis is particularly valuable due to its rarity and meticulous craftsmanship, as books were uncommon and required extensive labor to produce. This manuscript is a key artifact for understanding artistic and narrative shifts during late antiquity, illustrating the interplay between material luxury and emerging religious iconography.

4o

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Dedication Page with Blanche of Castile and King Louis IX of France, Scenes from the Apocalypse from Bibles moralisees

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Dedication Page with Blanche of Castile and King Louis IX of France, Scenes from the Apocalypse from Bibles moralisees

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Identification:

#61

Gothic Europe

C. 1225-1245

Illuminated Manuscript (ink, tempera, and gold leaf on vellum)

Form:

Stylized sophisticated urban setting, most likely Paris

Register lines separate the King/Queen, and the Cleric/Artist

Bible verses that convey morale through a combination of art and text

Content:

Blanche of Castile (left) and her son Louis IX (right) sitting on thrones

Blanch dedicates the Manuscript to Louis with outstretched hand

both wear Medieval open crown with fleur-de-lys (iris or lily)

Louis holds a Scepter and golden ball

Passages from new and old testament - Moralized Bible

Cleric telling the artist what to do, has no sleeves which shows his divinity

Function:

Made for a french Royals home

Bible Moralisees made to teach lessons to King Louis

Create a moral through visionary readings

Now sits in New York's Morgan Library

Context:

Paris France (center of learning and bookmaking)

1226 French King Died and Queen Blanch ruled the kingdom until her son (Louis) turned 21 in 1234

This artwork is showing Blanch passing the leadership over to her son Louis

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Blanche of Castile illuminated manuscript

# data[].attributes.body
The Vienna Genesis is an early 6th-century illuminated manuscript from the Byzantine Empire, featuring some of the oldest illustrated biblical narratives. Created with tempera, gold, and silver on luxurious purple-dyed vellum, it symbolizes wealth and royalty. The manuscript employs a continuous narrative style, presenting multiple episodes of a story within a single frame. Notable scenes include Jacob Wrestling the Angel, where Jacob seeks a blessing through his struggle, and Rebecca and Eliezer at the Well, where Rebecca fulfills God’s plan for Isaac’s marriage by assisting Eliezer.

The illustrations blend classical techniques, such as contrapposto and foreshortening, with the Byzantine focus on spiritual themes. This fusion reflects a pivotal moment in the evolution of art, transitioning from classical naturalism to Byzantine stylization. The Vienna Genesis is particularly valuable due to its rarity and meticulous craftsmanship, as books were uncommon and required extensive labor to produce. This manuscript is a key artifact for understanding artistic and narrative shifts during late antiquity, illustrating the interplay between material luxury and emerging religious iconography.

4o

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Content:

-cross carpet page: cross forms out of chaos, creates illusion of 3D in which viewer can lose themselves in contemplation
-portrait page (luke): holds quill/looks prepared to write, gold halo (divinity), ox above his head, robe with purple and streaks of red
-incipit page (Luke): it "begins", animal life, spiral forms, swirling vortexes

Form:

Illuminated manuscript

Bound book made of parchment or sheets of paper

Ink, pigments and gold on vellum

Function:

Earliest translation of the bible

Eadfrith might be warning his viewers that evil lurks hidden in the most unlikely of places by using stripes because the insane wore stripes such as prostitutes, criminals, jugglers, and hangmen

Context:

Created by monks

ox symbolizes Christ’s sacrifice on the cross

Monk about to copy the Gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke and John

Monks read from it during rituals at their Lindisfarne Priory on Holy Island

Two-hundred and fifty-nine written and recorded leaves include full-page portraits of each evangelist

St. Luke incipit page: the Gospels “begin”

Connections to other art:

The book of kells from Ireland (800ce) Early medieval - Same art style as the lindisfarne gospels as well as vibrant colors and highly decorative pages.

San vitale in Italy (547ce) Early byzantine - Both depict very similar christian iconography and both show intricate religious pieces that are very colorful.