Johan Oosterman

Black manuscripts - actually on parchment that was painted black - are amongst the rarest manuscripts we have. At the end of the fifteenth century at the court of Burgundy they were popular for a while. Well known is the black hours in the Morgan Library, but barely known is the black manuscript in Brussels (KB 9085) with dance melodies. On a black ground the notes were drawn in silver while the text was written in gold. Underneath the golden text, silvery letters indicate the dance steps.

Yesterday I visited an awesome exhibition on liturgical garments from the Northern Low Countries in the 15th and 16th centuries in Museum Catharijneconvent in Utrecht. All beauty and craftsmanship. I’ll add some infomation the coming days. Now the images

Black manuscripts - actually on parchment that was painted black - are amongst the rarest manuscripts we have. At the end of the fifteenth century at the court of Burgundy they were popular for a while. Well known is the black hours in the Morgan Library, but barely known is the black manuscript in Brussels (KB 9085) with dance melodies. On a black ground the notes were drawn in silver while the text was written in gold. Underneath the golden text, silvery letters indicate the dance steps.

CopenhagenRL GKS 3401 oct

Black manuscripts - actually on parchment that was painted black - are amongst the rarest manuscripts we have. At the end of the fifteenth century at the court of Burgundy they were popular for a while. Well known is the black hours in the Morgan Library, but barely known is the black manuscript in Brussels (KB 9085) with dance melodies. On a black ground the notes were drawn in silver while the text was written in gold. Underneath the golden text, silvery letters indicate the dance steps.

The Worship of the Five Wounds, about 1525-1530, Simon Bening. J. Paul Getty Museum.

Twenty years ago, at one of my first international conferences (Louvain, Manuscript painting before Van Eyck) at least one of the papers made an unforgetable impression, the one by Jos Koldeweij, art historian from Nijmegen (now my university). He showed a series of very scabrous border decorations from a Roman de la Rose Manuscript (ParisBN francais 25526). The entire manuscript is online in gallica.fr and the borders are extemely inventive. And still now, after all those years, the scabrous monks and nuns draw most attention as they are so unusual, so surprising, showing the libertarian face of medieval artists.

CopenhagenRL GKS 3401 oct

Black is beautiful Black manuscript, popular in the late Burgundian era - the autumn of the Middle Ages as framed by Huizinga - belong to the most precious medieval books. Dyed parchment, written with silver ink, has a shiny outlook and fascinates the beholder. The pages with only text and some fillers fascinate me most, so the litany at the end of the penitential psalms represents sheer beauty. And the unwritten page with only some lines in silver has the atractiveness of some of the best abstract works of art. New York PML http://www.themorgan.org/collections/works/BlackHours/default.asp

Creative Q For medieval illuminators the letter Q must have been a very attractive one. The combination of a circular form and the extending line provokes creative sollutions. An extraordinary example is delivered by the four partbooks of the Chansonnier of Zeghere van Male, a 16th century highlight of inventive manuscript illumination in marvelous watercolours. Among the initials the letter Q deserves special attention: the Q’s are simply outstanding. About the third in this post @jessehurlbut tweeted: ‘Easily the most interesting Q I’ve ever seen!’ Here are some Q’s Jesse, and maybe the first one is as interesting. Cambrai BM 125-128

http://bvbm1.bib-bvb.de/webclient/DeliveryManager?custom_att_2=simple_viewer&pid=5281832

Skyline of London in the Middle Ages! And the skyline of several other late medieval English towns: York, Gloucester and Colchester, all drawn with a leadstift in the margins of a manuscript with Geoffrey of Monmouth’s Historia Regum Britanniae. The manuscript (LondonBL Royal 13 A III) dates from the early 14th century and the draughtsman must have added his little works of art not long after. A contemporary, says the catalogue. It’s evident that he gave an exciting and absolutely unique view on a time long gone.

CopenhagenRL GKS 3401 oct

Twenty years ago, at one of my first international conferences (Louvain, Manuscript painting before Van Eyck) at least one of the papers made an unforgetable impression, the one by Jos Koldeweij, art historian from Nijmegen (now my university). He showed a series of very scabrous border decorations from a Roman de la Rose Manuscript (ParisBN francais 25526). The entire manuscript is online in gallica.fr and the borders are extemely inventive. And still now, after all those years, the scabrous monks and nuns draw most attention as they are so unusual, so surprising, showing the libertarian face of medieval artists.