The Painted Page: Italian Renaissance Book Illumination 1450-1550

Rating:
Summary: Exhibition catalog that inspires!
Review: This book features plates and commentary regarding a exhibition of illuminated manuscripts from Italy that toured the US several years ago. Like most exhibition catalogs, it features essays about the general era as it pertains to the art, descriptions and histories of many of the items in the exhibit, and photographic reproductions of many of the best items in the exhibition. The editorial review pretty acurately describes the bare-bones contents, and so I won't repeat that worthy information here.

Italian illumination prior to about 1450 is, in my opinion, lackluster. The French, Flemish, and English were doing a much better job of painting books. However, the examples presented in this book prove just how beautiful Italian illumination could be once the Italians hit their stride. The paintings and illuminations featured in this catalog range from pretty to exquisite to sublimely beautiful.

This book has provided me with lots of inspiration in my own work as a modern-day book illuminator, and I highly recomend it to any other artist seeking inspriation in this genre.