Product Description

OPULENT REPRODUCTIONS OF ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTS SPANNING 12 CENTURIES

This oversized and magnificently printed tour de force contains examples from 167 of the most dazzling and significant illuminated manuscripts in existence. Presented in chronological order, each reproduction illustrates a one-of-a-kind painting originally created for the church, for royalty or for the wealthiest private benefactors. Although the focus is on European manuscripts (French, Dutch, German, Italian, English and Spanish), nearly two dozen examples have also been included from Persia, Turkey and India – cultures with their own rich traditions of exquisite miniature painting.

The highly readable text is both factual and informational. Each entry provides the date and place of origin, format, content, name of miniaturist, number of illustrations, owner and provenance for the featured manuscript. Enriching the facts are essays describing the circumstances of the commission, description of the technique, history of the workshop from which it came, and much more.

CODICES ILLUSTRES is an unparalleled reference, but also an irresistible story book, revealing to the reader the significance of imagery used, and sharing fascinating facts about the painters who created these treasures and the patrons who were lucky enough to possess them.

A thirty-six page appendix contains biographies of the artists, an extensive bibliography, an index, and a glossary in which the technical terms used in the book can quickly be found. Flanking the page numbers are charming characters and symbols taken from the manuscripts, providing a witty decorative grace note to what is already an embarrassment of riches. Of special note; a fifth color – gold – was used in the printing of two hundred and twelve pages of CODICES ILLUSTRES. This complicated and costly process is the only way to genuinely reproduce the lavish gilding used in so many medieval manuscripts and the book wouldn’t be the same without it.

CODICES ILLUSTRES is an essential addition to the library of anyone with an interest illuminated manuscripts, medieval art, and the history of books before the invention of printing.

**Hardcover with Vellum Dust Jacket

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1526073 in Books
• Published on: 2002-09-30
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 496 pages

Review
The one book you want if you are interested in illuminated manuscripts-and once you open it, you will be. -- Wall Street Journal - November 30, 2001

From the Publisher
Famous Manuscripts: The fascinating world of medieval miniature painting and illumination From The Book of Kells to Boccaccio’s Decameron and from the Vienna Genesis to Dante’s Divine Comedy - see the breathtaking originals of 167 of the greatest classics of all time. This lavishly produced book introduces the reader to the fascinating world of medieval miniature painting and illumination. 167 of the most beautiful and important medieval scripts from the 4th century to 1600 are presented in chronological order and described in full. Each sample of script is headed by highly informative synopses which serves to orient the reader at a glance. These synopses - together with the abundance of brilliant, large-format reproductions - make this book unparalleled in its field. Although the focus is on European manuscripts (French, Dutch, German, Italian, English and Spanish), examples have also been selected to illustrate the refinement and intricacy of manuscript illumination from non-European cultures (Mexican, Persian, Indian, Ottoman etc.). A 36–page appendix contains! biographies of the artists as well as an extensive bibliography, an index and, most importantly, a glossary in which the technical terms used in the book can quickly be found. This is a rare opportunity to come face-to-face with incredibly precious treasures that one would otherwise never seetreasures once belonging to emperors and kings, and now worth many millions.

About the Author
Ingo F. Walther was born in Berlin in 1940 and studied medieval history, literature and art history in Frankfurt am Main and Munich. While researching Gothic manuscript illumination in various libraries and collections, he was fortunate enough to be able to examine many famous codices in the original. Mr. Walther has published numerous books on Gothic manuscript illumination and on 19th and 20th-century art and artists, including van Gogh and Picasso. Mr. Walther lives near Munich.

Norbert Wolf, born 1949 in Regensburg, completed his doctorate in Art History at Munich University in 1992. He has held guest and deputy professorships in Marburg, Frankfurt/Main, Leipzig, Düsseldorf and Erlangen, and has lectured widely on manuscript illumination. Mr. Wolf has published books on medieval art, Piranesi, Velázquez and Romantic painting. He lives in Munich.

Customer Reviews

A magnificent, unwieldly place to begin
For those interested in the sheer beauty of medieval illumination, this book is a wonder. Color repro values among the best I've seen, and the range of both period and style is superb. The huge size and great weight are the only reasons this did not get 5 stars - it is so big that I clamp it in my portable easel when I'm using it as an exemplar.

For those, like me, who also do illumination as a hobby this book offers a good range of exemplars of very high caliber. Just remember that this represents the best of many times and places, and don't be intimidated by the quality of the work displayed here. Codices Illustres is big enough to be a coffee table book, but is serves much better as a reference in the scriptorium.

YIS,
THL Ragnar Ketilsson

The Best Available Overview of Illuminated Manuscripts
"Masterpieces of Illumination: The World's Most Beautiful Illuminated Manuscripts from 400 to 1600" is essentially a reprint of "Codices illustres: The World's Most Famous Illuminated Manuscripts 400 to 1600." The former is one of many 25th anniversary Taschen editions, and bears the series logo on its dust-jacket and bright green cover (rather than the classier illumination of the Limburg Brother's Anatomical Man that adorns the cover of the latter). "Masterpieces" is also slightly smaller (9 ¾" x 12 ½") than the original (10 ¼" x 13 ¼"). There are a few other slight differences between the two editions: different endpapers; white paper for the appendix in "Masterpieces," ivory in "Codices"; and slightly darker illustrations in Masterpieces (only noticeable if you actually compare the editions side by side). Otherwise the two editions are virtually identical.
This is a truly wonderful book. It contains discussions and representative illuminations from 167 of the most famous and influential extant codices, books of hours, psalters, Bibles and histories from Europe and Asia (23 or the 167 are from Persia, turkey and India) during the 1200 years in which manuscript illumination flourished as an art form (and at the end of the text proper are samples from yet another 29 manuscripts). The full-color and often full-page illustrations are beautifully and accurately rendered, and the accompanying descriptions are both authoritative and unusually informative. The appendix contains artist biographies, along with a comprehensive bibliography, glossary, and index. In short, this is more than just a coffee-table book; in fact, I use it in my university course on manuscript illumination (along with Christopher De Hamel's excellent "A History of Illuminated Manuscripts," which forms the perfect companion piece to this volume.).
At the current retail price ($29.95) this book is an absolute steal. If you only get one book on the subject of manuscript illumination, this should be the one!

A joy to hold and behold
Illumination has fascinated me since I was a boy. This is the best book I have seen of illuminations. The scope includes books in Greek, Latin, Old Church Slavonic, Persian, and Mayan. The printing is superb. Detailed descriptions tell who did the work, who patronized it, who owned the book, where it is now, and so forth. Great for browsing for enjoyment and as a source of inspiration. I expect this book to be a favorite for many years to come. Anybody who enjoys calligraphy and illumination would be delighted to own this book.