Have you ever wondered how artists decide what to depict in their paintings? A simple answer would be “they draw whatever they like/are able to…
Tag: illuminations
Iron gall ink was the most popular form of ink for writing medieval manuscripts, so we, a group of medieval literature students, made some of…
King David is my favorite Old Testament man, so naturally, after flipping through Les Enluminures’ Dutch Book of Hours, it was impossible for me to…
Introduction Chances are, you’ve probably never been inside the caves of Afghanistan. But if you’ve gone caving in the video game Minecraft, you might have…
Let’s talk reds. Bright, vibrant, and usually toxic – reds were one of the most important pigments for any medieval manuscript. Hi, we’re Team Red,…
It’s funny how the earth never opens up and swallows you when you want it to. Xander Harris, Buffy the Vampire Slayer Nothing says “Hello, Hellmouth”…
Welcome to the strangeness of Baltimore, Walters Art Gallery MS W.441! A few things set this manuscript apart from the everyday Book of Hours. For one,…
By: Emily Walls The first thing our class did this semester was a “Manuscript Boot Camp” where we spent almost the entirety of the…
For the third unit of our class, Literature in the Library, we have been testing and analyzing pigment spots in medieval manuscripts. Using a portable…
Let’s Jump into Lakes
When dipping our brushes into medieval pigments, we should familiarize ourselves with a common form of pigments, the lake. Lakes are an organic pigment made…