History of Illuminated Manuscripts
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Book Overview
This survey of illuminated manuscripts provides art historians, specialists and lay readers with a comprehensive view of book manufacturing and decoration, from late Antiquity to the Renaissance.
Format:Hardcover
Language:English
ISBN:0714829498
ISBN13:9780714829494
Release Date:September 2001
Publisher:Phaidon Press
Length:272 Pages
Weight:4.35 lbs.
Dimensions:1.3" x 10.2" x 11.8"
Age Range:13 years and up
Related Subjects
Architecture Art Arts, Music & Photography Book Design Books & Reading Calligraphy Decorative Arts Decorative Arts & Design General Graphic Design History History of Books Illuminations Literary Criticism Literary Criticism & Collections Medieval Movements & Periods Other Media Politics & Social Sciences Social Sciences WorldCustomer Reviews
5 ratings
Fabulous book and indispensable resource!
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 18 years ago
I loved this book! I used it for a graduate course on Illuminated Manuscripts, and it was one of the main textbooks we used, but I used it often after the course as well. I really enjoyed reading it, and found that it was unlike most of the typical text books I had formerly used. For any art history student, it is an outstanding resource. For anyone who loves illuminated manuscripts, book arts, or the Medieval period in general, this is a wonderful resource. It is a book that I consider an indispensable resource in my personal library. It is very well written and easily accessible for anyone. Although some of the terminology may be unfamiliar, it isn't so esoteric that it is beyond the scope of general understanding. It is clearly one of the best resources on the subject that I have ever come across!
Frrom someone who should know...
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 23 years ago
Chris DeHamel works researching books for Sotheby's. That is all he does, and his numerous books on the subject show his mastery and command of the subject. Everyday he goes to work, he is getting time to research, free of teaching committments that fetter the ability of other scholars to pursue their writing. His research and ability shows in this beatiful and well-written book, which is an excellent introduction to the history of the book and to the processes and culture surrounding the book as an object. His book progresses, chapter-by-chapter, through the different groups that books were designed for, describing where and why they were made, and the special challenges of each. Chock-full of photographs of lavish manuscript writing and art, this volume is not only an extremely suitable textbook for art history and history classes dealing with the book or commodity-culture, but also is a great personal or coffeetable volume, and supremely reasonable at the price it is provided at, considering the cost of so many art texts.
Spectacular teaching tool
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 24 years ago
This is the first illumination book I encourage my students to purchase (with Drogin's history of calligraphy). This is an entirely reasonable price with abundant color and b & w pictures.Unlike many tretises on the topic, this doesn't limit you to post-1200 Anglo-French. This gives you a true oversight of western european illumination of the entire span of the middle ages (spanish, moorish, greek, latin, etc...)Added to the benefit of examples, de Hamel doesn't subject you to the same pictures you've seen in every other 2-bit book (yes, Victoria, other books existed before 1200 besides the Book of Kells).The text is thoughtful without being dry and boring. This is written for an audience which is expected to appreciate the subject, without assuming you've devoted your life to it already.Walk, do not run, to get this. A must for anyone who is learning how to illuminate.
Great book for novices and experts.
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 25 years ago
Beautiful illustrations; simply page after page of color. While the text is wonderful as well, the medievalist will appreciate it for the large photographs that allow detail to be seen. A must for the manuscript junkie.
ultimate overview of earlier MSS available in color
Published by Thriftbooks.com User , 26 years ago
This provides a lush, seemingly endless procession of early illumination. I rated it a 10 before I got to the text. An absolute must for anyone studying the art of illumination, especially if it is a hands-on study. This provides the best overview of pre-1000 MSS production. Normally I see a handfull of dry pages of text accompanied by just a "oh, here's two b & w pictures of the same stuff you've seen in every other book" - not here!!. I recommend it highly to my students.
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