Making Medieval Art - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1900289598 ISBN 13: 9781900289597

Publisher: Paul Watkins Publishing, 2003

Synopsis

The book is a collection of fourteen essays on what might be called the ‘practical aspects’ of medieval art rather than its debateable assessment of quality or meaning. It’s about how medieval art was created: manufacturing techniques, distribution methods, the mechanics of patronage, the chemistry of pigments, and application methods. So, it is an immensely useful guide for students or anyone else wanting to understand ‘how it was done’. The volume contains a thorough introduction to medieval painting, combining an analysis of media and techniques with case studies of important examples such as Giotto’s Arena Chapel frescoes, the superb winged altarpieces of the Netherlands and the Pórtico de la Gloria at Santiago de Compestela. There are also key essays on the mosaics of Ravenna and the Bayeux Tapestry. Each essay is written by a leading scholar in the field, but written in a clear style, uncluttered by footnotes, and with a bibliography of further reading. There is an introduction and a comprehensive index of names and places, including the names of specific works of art, and there is a generous spread of 113 good-quality black and white plates. The contributors in order of first appearance are Phillip Lindley, Roger and Leslie Ling, Ann Massing, Achim Timmermann, Dale Kinney, Martin Werner, Angel Sicart Giménez, Brendan Cassidy, Axel Bolvig, Dagmar Eichberger and Miriam Gill. The front cover of the paperback edition could hardly be more appropriate: it shows a picture from a manuscript of De Sphaera at Modena, showing artists at work making manuscripts, painting altarpieces, constructing clocks, carving sculpture, making armour and musical instruments, and preparing and serving a meal.

Edition details

• Publisher: Paul Watkins Publishing
• Publication date: 2003
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1900289598
• ISBN 13: 9781900289597
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 227
• Editor: Lindley Phillip