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Rating: 
Summary: Nice reproductions, ASTONISHING art!
Review: I too am biased (I'm a historian of Italian Renaissance art), and while the as yet unknown master who illustrated the Rohan Hours meets none of the usual criteria for "beauty" in 15th-century painting (say, the style of Fra Angelico's angels or Botticelli's maidens--both of these painters produced fine book illustrations), there is no question that he was a brilliantly inventive, keenly expressive artist. His illustrations for the standard repertoire of Christian Bible stories totally push the envelope of what was usual within a book's pages. He combined achingly precise realistic description with a total freedom in the scaling and placement of figures, and a luxuriant decorative sense, creating powerful images that virtually burst from the page. Gestures, facial expressions, accessories from hair to drapery, seem driven by powerful currents generated from the prayers to which they give shape. A Renaissance original, with a refined, if bold, technique.
Rating: 
Summary: Nice Facsimile, medium manuscript
Review: This is one of many fine reproductions produced by the Geo. Braziller company. This particular manuscript is a 15th c. book of hours generally considered to be a masterpiece in the book-art community. It's a very nice reproduction. My personal opinion, of course, colors my perception of the quality of the art of the Rohan hours. Frankly, I think the art in the Rohan Hours is of medium quality; its miniatures are cetainly emotional, but the technique is rougher than most of the books of this era that are considered to be "masterpieces." Individuals who find the art charming, of course, would give this book a higher star rating, because it has all the usual nice qualities of a Braziller publication. There is an essay detailing the history and discussing some of the manufacture information , followed by lots and lots of pictures of manuscript pages accompanied by a short paragraph detailing the actions of the people in the pictures. The clor reproduction is nice. I own it; it's a pleasant enough book. I don't mean to discourage a lover of the illuminated manuscript from buying this book. However, you should also be aware that the art of the Rohan Hours isn't quite as finely done as you might expect.
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