Миниатюры
Manuscript of the ‘Aja’ib al-makhluqat (Wonders of Creation) of Qazwini, with 253 paintings : manuscript, 17th century. Harvard Art Museum/Arthur M. Sackler Museum, Gift of Philip Hofer in memory of Eric Schroeder, 1972.3, Harvard University, Cambridge, Mass. Folio 93v.
Eberhard Karls Universität Tübingen, Md 2, detail of f.312v. Tübinger Hausbuch: Iatromathematisches Kalenderbuch; die Kunst der Astronomie und Geomantie. Württemberg, 15th century.
The Morgan Library and Museum, MS M.945, f. 206v. Hours of Catherine of Cleves. The Netherlands, Utrecht, ca. 1440.
“In this miniature, which illustrates a prayer to a guardian angel, that angel is shown in combat with a demon for the fate of the corpse’s soul. They fight over the contents of the Book of Life, in which the dead man’s good-and bad-deeds are recorded. The image (unlike that in the Monday Hours of the Dead) depicts burial according to common practice-with a shroud instead of a coffin.”
Decorated initial ‘T’ formed by a dragon biting a bird. Burnished gold outlines these figures.
12th C. MS. Auct. E. inf. 2
Cambrai - BM - ms. 0422, f. 095v. Apocalypsis figurata. Louvain (?), c. 1260.
Bibliothèque nationale de France, Français 143, detail of f. 65v (Allegory of Music). Évrard de Conty, Échecs amoureux. France (Cognac), c. 1496-1498. Artist: Robinet Testard.
Bibliothèque nationale de France, Arabe 2584, f. 21v (Leo). Abū Maʿshar, Kitâb al-mawalid (Book of Nativities). 16th century
Mu’izz al ahrar fi daqaiq al ashkar (The Free Man’s Companion to the Subtleties of Poems) of Jajarmi - Ilkhanid period (1206-1353), Iran, Isfahan
Ink, opaque watercolor, and gold on paper
This poem from an anthology of Persian poetry tells the story of the Moon as it enters the houses of all twelve Zodiac signs. In each vignette, the Moon is depicted as a figure holding a crescent that visits the personifications of each sign, here Aries (a ram) and Taurus (a bull). Taurus (al-thawr, “the bull”) is always shown as a bull with horns and a prominent hump on its back. Said the Wise Abu Ma’shar:
“Those born under this decade have a dark complexion with a tendency to redness. They have a small build, a large head, and a loud voice. Easily bored, they are interested in noble matters. They have a mark on their head and many smaller marks on their shoulders, feet, and legs. When they sit down, it becomes difficult for them to get up again. [For this reason], they do not sit down at night. Allah the Highest knows more…”
Martyrdom of John the Baptist: Italian 14thC
The headsman might have the most ‘meh’ expression in the history of Italian art.
Pierre forever shook in fear after that night whenever his wife said she was going to pound him so hard his head would ring…
Pretty medieval manuscript of the day is St George slaying the dragon, from the same Italian book of hours we looked at yesterday. I still can’t believe how much gold leaf was used in this book. The patrons must have had a phenomenal amount of money to spend on something this lavish.
Two Winged Angels, Folio from a Manuscript of Al-Qazwini’s Ajaib Al-Makhluqat, circa 1570