Virgin and Child Reproducing the Book of Kells
Reproducing the Book of Kells
90 comments
The richness of the Book of Kells’ decoration remained relatively unknown until the early decades of the nineteenth century. Reproducing the intricate detail of the artwork posed a considerable challenge, requiring time, patience and a steady hand. Among the earliest artists to tackle the task were two women, Margaret Stokes and Helen Campbell d’Olier.
Margaret Stokes was a highly knowledgeable antiquarian from Howth in Co. Dublin. She spent hours poring over the details of the Book of Kells and other Trinity manuscripts which gave her insights that far surpassed those of the academics writing about the art at the time.
Fig 1. Lithograph by Margaret Stokes of fol. 34r in the Book of Kells. CC-PD.
Fig 2. and Fig 3. Letters taken from the Book of Kells used in the typography of Stokes’ book, Early Christian Art in Ireland (1894). CC-PD.
Helen Campbell d’Olier’s drawings were directly traced from the manuscript, and so the most accurate of the early painted reproductions. She exhibited some of her drawings at the Dublin Exhibition of 1861, and a framed set of her painted initials were put on display alongside the manuscript during the early twentieth century.
Fig 4. and Fig 5. Letters drawn and painted by Helen Campbell d’Olier, as reproduced in Edward O’Sullivan’s The Book of Kells (1914). CC-PD.
While proximity of the Dublin Metropolitan School of Art in Kildare Street to the Trinity Library meant that young artists could (and did) study the manuscript directly, ultimately the work of many artists, craftspeople and typographers relied on published designs from the Book of Kells.
Early publication of images included a small number of coloured prints in J.O Westwood’s comparative work on illuminated manuscripts published in 1843–45 and some of Stoke’s illustrations published as coloured prints in 1869. But it was the advent of photography that really enabled the greater dissemination of the work. In the late 1880s photographs of the manuscript were commissioned by the then Librarian, T.K. Abbott, to be sold in partnership with the South Kensington Museum in England (now the Victoria and Albert Museum). These were later incorporated into a number of books including that by Edward Sullivan (published in 1914), which enjoyed particularly wide circulation, and was the first book to include colour photography of the manuscript.
Fig 6. and Fig 7. Lithographs from J.O. Westwood’s Palaeographia Sacra Pictoria: Being a Series of Illustrations of the Ancient Versions of the Bible (1843). CC-PD.
Access to the entire manuscript however, remained a problem, and it was not until 1951 that the first comprehensive photographic facsimilie, or copy, was published. This was superseded in 1990 with the superior Faksimile-Verlag facsimilie. With the advent of the digital age, photography made for the last facsimile has now been made available online. For the first time ever, in the history of the manuscript, access is now more democratic, and anyone with access to the internet can now peruse every page of the Book of Kells in all of its minute detail.
© Trinity College Dublin
There's only one depiction of a woman in the entire Book of Kells. This is found on folio seven verso, and is the earliest known -- or at least, the earliest surviving -- image of the Virgin and Child in western art. Contrary to the biblical description of Mary coming from relatively humble origins, here she's shown as an empress. She's seated on a throne that has been encrusted with jewels of the type that we might expect to find in contemporary Irish metalwork. The back of the throne terminates with a lion's head, possibly a reference to the Old Testament description of Solomon's throne which was also decorated with lion's heads, and so, like Solomon, an indication of Mary's wisdom.
She's dressed in purple, a colour reserved for royalty. And the sheer translucent nature of her skirt, showing a hint of her legs beneath, is suggestive of silk, a very high status imported cloth. The pattern of three dots is found on contemporary fine fabrics from the east, but some have also suggested that it may represent a symbol of the Trinity, or even an allusion to the virgin's milk. The little diamond shape on her breast may represent a brooch, but might also be an allusion to the lozenge symbol of Christ. In common with contemporary images of empresses, Mary is also surrounded by four courtiers, in this case replaced by angels.
These have been identified as the four archangels, Michael, Gabriel, Raphael, and Uriel. Three of the angels hold flabbella, or liturgical fans, and the fourth possibly an instrument for sprinkling holy water. The Christ child is seated on her lap with his hand placed on the virgin's clearly visible breast, an allusion to Mary as mother of God and perhaps also to the milk of Christian instruction. The elaborate frame around the image may reference the artwork that inspired the Book of Kells' artists. The composition and symbolism of the image find some close parallels in panel paintings of the Virgin and Child from the Byzantine east.
Its appearance so far northwest seems to coincide with the growing cult of the Virgin Mary that was being promoted by the Columban churches around the time the Book of Kells was made. Six small heads in profile are set into the frame of the image. These direct the viewer's gaze across to the next page. This contains the synopsis of events recounted in Matthew's gospel, and more particularly, the passage that announces the birth of Christ.
There is only one depiction of a woman in the entire Book of Kells. This is found on folio 7v and is the earliest known, or surviving, image of the Virgin and Child in Western manuscript art.
Contrary to the biblical description of Mary coming from relatively humble origins, here she is shown as an empress, enthroned and wearing the type of clothing associated with royalty. She is surrounded by four ‘courtiers’, in this case replaced by angels. The Christ child is seated on her lap, with his hand placed on the Virgin’s clearly visible breast – an allusion to milk of Christian instruction, and also perhaps the fons vitae – the fountain of life. The elaborate frame around the image is perhaps an allusion to its ultimate source.
The composition and symbolism of the image finds some close parallels in panel paintings of the Virgin and Child from the Byzantine east.
© Trinity College Dublin
postado por professorpier @ dezembro 15, 2019
0 Comentários
Postar um comentário