In Paris, towards the end of the Middle Ages, there was a burgeoning number of female painters who took charge of illuminating manuscripts. The wealthy were in the habit of commissioning artists to outline prayer books such as the “books of hours”with gold and silver. Holy books like the Bible were often subjected to the illumination process. Monasteries were the primary producers of manuscripts before the secularization period in Paris, the Netherlands, and Italy. ![]() One example of a 13th-century manuscript illumination depicted the assassination of Thomas Becket. In the late Middle Ages, when artists rose in status and were glorified everywhere, many illuminators started signing their works. They did not disclose their names to the public and anonymously went about their commissions. Most of the local illuminators were part of the painter’s guild or guilds characterized by book trading. On one hand, wealthy households enjoyed the exclusive service of court artists.īook of Columba is an illuminated manuscript masterwork of Western calligraphy There were illuminators in priestly and noble quarters but the secularization of manuscript illumination gradually gave rise to humble craftsmen who put up their own shops or traveling artists who journeyed far and wide in search of commissions. The people responsible for producing golden manuscripts were called illuminators (alternately, scribes). Medieval Scribes and the Painters Guild *Illuminated Manuscripts By the 16th century, the printing press took center stage and little was left of gilded books. However, the practice of manuscript illumination eventually faded. Through hand painting, early printed books were created to mimic illuminated manuscripts.
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