Both artists paid close attention to the tiniest of details. Here you can see the vibrancy of the iris in a manuscript from the 1400s, and in Vincent van Gogh’s Irises, painted in 1889. This moment is usually known as the Renaissance when artists began developing ways to make paintings and sculptures appear as true to the eye as possible.Īrtists have continued to use flowers to express spiritual ideals of quiet meditation or of an appreciation for beauty in everything around them, including the sometimes small or ephemeral elements of nature. Digital image courtesy of Getty’s Open Content Programīy the 1400s, illuminators really made books come to life. Tempera and gold leaf on parchment, 10 9/16 × 7 3/4 in. Initial V: Tobit Sleeping, about 1250–1262, Italian. These seemingly playful elements represented the need to toil and prune one’s behaviors for mental, physical, and spiritual care. By the year 1000, artists depicted human figures climbing and trimming the leaves of intricate initials, as in this small religious service book. The acanthus leaf letterforms in a Bible from the 800s were inspired by ancient Roman art (from sculpture to inscriptions to architecture).
Getty Museum has numerous examples that span the Middle Ages and beyond.
Throughout the history of the book, scribes and artists have incorporated nature into their creations. To bring some of this color into our own lives, we collected flowers and leaves to make our own living borders. Throughout the history of the book, scribes and artists have incorporated nature into their creations.Īssistant Curator, Manuscripts Departmentįlowers are blooming in Los Angeles, and although we are spending much more time at home than usual, many of us are finding opportunities to be outside in nature at a safe distance from others.Īs manuscript curators, we have long admired the remarkably naturalistic paintings of flowers and insects that fill the pages of books with color and life.
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