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PAGES FROM THE PAST: AN EXHIBITION OF MEDIEVAL AND RENAISSANCE BOOKS
OCTOBER 4, 2002--The Oberlin College Library will host an exhibition of medieval and renaissance illuminated books drawn from the collections of Oberlin College and John M. Lawrence of Wooster, Ohio, who generously lent the majority of items in the exhibition. "Pages from the Past" will run October 7 through November 8.
The exhibition will be housed on the main level of Mudd Center on the Oberlin College Campus. It will feature approximately 80 individual leaves and complete books that are broadly representative of European manuscript production and early hand-colored printing, including examples of illuminated Bibles, private devotional manuscripts like Psalters and books of hours, and books used in church during mass (antiphonals, graduals, and missals).
Mr. Lawrence has had a lifelong engagement with medieval manuscripts and early printed books. He will present a gallery talk at the exhibition Wednesday, October 9, at 4:30 p.m. "The Lawrence Collection's breadth is particularly remarkable," says Erik Inglis, assistant professor of art. "It spans virtually all of Europe, with fine examples from England, France, the Low Countries, Germany, and Italy, ranging in date from the 12th to 16th centuries. The collection provides an excellent overview of book production and decoration from the High Middle Ages into the Renaissance. Mr. Lawrence's interest in both manuscripts and early printed books makes his collection especially revealing about the transition from script to type, a watershed in western history."
Medieval manuscripts are handwritten books, on parchment or paper, which date primarily to the era before or the period contemporary with early printing. During the Middle Ages, book production was a collaboration between patrons, calligraphers, artists, and bookbinders. Medieval illuminators embellished these manuscripts with colored inks and paint, with gold and silver. The time, money, and materials devoted to books reflected the prestige accorded to their texts and function; religious manuscripts thus received the most elaborate decoration. Their beauty in turn made the book itself a rare and precious object. Medieval books are valued today as a precious historical record of culture, art, and religion. Illuminated manuscripts provide us with the medieval world's vision of itself, from routine everyday activities to events of cosmic importance.
The exhibition has been also scheduled in conjunction with the 2002 Harold Jantz Memorial Lecture, which will be delivered by Jeffrey Hamburger, Professor of Art History at Harvard University, on Monday, October 14, in Fisher Hall of the Art Building. Professor Hamburger, a specialist in medieval art, will speak on "St. John the Divine: Imitating the Image of God.
Media Contact: Scott Wargo
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