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The Hermitage of San Baudelio de Berlanga (Ermita de San Baudelio de Berlanga) is an early 11th-century church at Caltojar in the province of Soria, Spain, 80 km south of Berlanga de Duero. It is an example of Mozarabic architecture and was built in the 11th century, in what was then the frontier between Islamic and Christian lands. It is dedicated to Saint Baudilus or Baudel.<br/><br/> The hermitage housed many fine Romanesque frescoes from about 1125; most of these have been removed, but some have remained. Two sections, transferred to canvas, are now in the Indianapolis Museum of Art, showing the Entry of Christ into Jerusalem and the Wedding at Cana.<br/><br/> The paintings were done by the Catalan Master of Tahull (Taüll in Catalan), whose best known works are in Sant Climent de Taüll and the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya in Barcelona, with two other painters. The frescoes include that of a camel and of a war elephant, which were inspired by Muslim motifs.
The Book of Kells (Irish: Leabhar Cheanannais) (Dublin, Trinity College Library, MS A. I. (58), sometimes known as the Book of Columba) is an illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Latin, containing the four Gospels of the New Testament together with various prefatory texts and tables. It was created by Celtic monks ca. 800 or slightly earlier. The text of the Gospels is largely drawn from the Vulgate, although it also includes several passages drawn from the earlier versions of the Bible known as the Vetus Latina. It is a masterwork of Western calligraphy and represents the pinnacle of Insular illumination. It is also widely regarded as Ireland's finest national treasure.<br/><br/> The illustrations and ornamentation of the Book of Kells surpass that of other Insular Gospel books in extravagance and complexity. The decoration combines traditional Christian iconography with the ornate swirling motifs typical of Insular art. Figures of humans, animals and mythical beasts, together with Celtic knots and interlacing patterns in vibrant colours, enliven the manuscript's pages. Many of these minor decorative elements are imbued with Christian symbolism and so further emphasise the themes of the major illustrations.<br/><br/> The manuscript today comprises 340 folios and, since 1953, has been bound in four volumes. The leaves are on high-quality calf vellum, and the unprecedentedly elaborate ornamentation that covers them includes ten full-page illustrations and text pages that are vibrant with decorated initials and interlinear miniatures and mark the furthest extension of the anti-classical and energetic qualities of Insular art. The Insular majuscule script of the text itself appears to be the work of at least three different scribes. The lettering is in iron gall ink, and the colours used were derived from a wide range of substances, many of which were imports from distant lands.<br/><br/> The manuscript takes its name from the Abbey of Kells that was its home for centuries. Today, it is on permanent display at the Trinity College Library, Dublin.
The Hunterian Psalter (or York Psalter) is an illuminated manuscript of the 12th century. It was produced in England some time around 1170, and is considered a striking example of Romanesque book art. The work is part of the collection of the Glasgow University Library, which acquired the book in 1807. It derives its colloquial name, the 'Hunterian Psalter', from having been part of the collection of 18th century Scottish anatomist and book collector William Hunter, who willed his collection to the University. It has also at times been known as the 'York Psalter', owing to its supposed northern English origin in the city of York.
A lubok is a Russian popular print, characterized by simple graphics and narratives derived from literature, religious stories and popular tales. Lubki prints were used as decoration in houses and inns. Early examples from the late 17th and early 18th centuries were woodcuts, then engravings or etchings were typical, and from the mid-19th century lithography. They sometimes appeared in series, which might be regarded as predecessors of the modern comic strip. Cheap and simple books, similar to chapbooks, which mostly consisted of pictures, are called lubok literature. Both pictures and literature are commonly referred to simply as lubki. The Russian word lubok itself means the inner bark of the linden tree and refers to a technique of woodcut from the bark of the linden tree, which used to be a common material in Russia for manufacturing various items.
Woodcut—formally known as xylography—is a relief printing artistic technique in printmaking in which an image is carved into the surface of a block of wood, with the printing parts remaining level with the surface while the non-printing parts are removed, typically with gouges. The areas to show 'white' are cut away with a knife or chisel, leaving the characters or image to show in 'black' at the original surface level. The block is cut along the grain of the wood (unlike wood engraving where the block is cut in the end-grain). In Europe beechwood was most commonly used; in Japan, a special type of cherry wood was preferred. The surface is covered with ink by rolling over the surface with an ink-covered roller (brayer), leaving ink upon the flat surface but not in the non-printing areas.
The Escorial Beatus is a 10th century illuminated manuscript of the Commentary on the Apocalypse by Beatus of Liébana. The manuscript was probably created at the monastery at San Millán de la Cogolla. There are 151 extant folios which measure 395mm by 225mm. The manuscript is illustrated with 52 surviving miniatures.
Falnama refers to the book of omens used in the ancient Islamic world to aid in predicting the future. Individuals seeking insight into the future would engage in a series of purification rituals, turn to a random page in the Falnama, and interpret the text and drawings thereon for good or ill. Falnama were primarily created during the 16th and 17th centuries as the approach of the Islamic millennium inspired concern about the future. During this time, the Falnama was likely a common object, used by fortune tellers throughout modern day Iran and Turkey. The book was also appended to copies of the Koran commissioned by rulers and wealthy individuals. Despite its apparent popularity in the ancient world, only four copies of the large 'folio' Falnama are known to remain in existence. Of these, one is in such delicate condition that it is permanently housed in the university library at Dresden, Germany.
The Hunterian Psalter (or York Psalter) is an illuminated manuscript of the 12th century. It was produced in England some time around 1170, and is considered a striking example of Romanesque book art. The work is part of the collection of the Glasgow University Library, which acquired the book in 1807. It derives its colloquial name, the 'Hunterian Psalter', from having been part of the collection of 18th century Scottish anatomist and book collector William Hunter, who willed his collection to the University. It has also at times been known as the 'York Psalter', owing to its supposed northern English origin in the city of York.
This scene is taken from the Book of Samuel in the Hebrew Bible, or the Christian Old Testament.<br/><br/> King David of Israel looked out of his palace one evening and saw Bathsheba bathing, assisted by her two servants. He immediately fell in love with her. Although she was married—the wife of Uriah the Hittite—King David was smitten by her beauty and seduced her, making her pregnant. He took her to be his wife and she gave birth to Solomon.
According to the Book of Genesis, which is the first book of the Christian Old Testament or Hebrew Bible, God created the universe in seven days. On the sixth day, he created ‘Adam’, the Hebrew word for ‘man’, and placed him in Paradise—the Garden of Eden. From one of Adam’s ribs, God then created a mate for him: Eve, meaning ‘Mother of Life’.<br/><br/> Adam and Eve were permitted to eat all the fruit in the garden except that from the ‘Tree of Knowledge’. However, the devil, disguised as a serpent, persuaded Eve to eat the forbidden fruit—an apple—and she gave in to the temptation. This was considered mankind’s first sin.
According to the Book of Genesis, which is the first book of the Christian Old Testament or Hebrew Bible, God created the universe in seven days. On the sixth day, he created ‘Adam’, the Hebrew word for ‘man’, and placed him in Paradise—the Garden of Eden. From one of Adam’s ribs, God then created a mate for him: Eve, meaning ‘Mother of Life’.<br/><br/> Adam and Eve were permitted to eat all the fruit in the garden except that from the ‘Tree of Knowledge’. However, the devil, disguised as a serpent, persuaded Eve to eat the forbidden fruit—an apple—and she gave in to the temptation.<br/><br/> This was considered mankind’s first sin.
The pictorial 'Shanghai Manhua' (Shanghai Sketch), published between April 21, 1928 and June 7, 1930, was a mixture of drawings, photographs and images ranging from advertisements to social criticism and political caricatures.<br/><br/> Shanghai Manhua was an outlet for professional cartoonists and sketch masters, generally of an avant garde or progressive nature. Many of the images printed in 'Shanghai Manhua' are observations of urban life in contemporaneous Shanghai, as well as often critical comment on the social mores of the time.
Manichaeism was one of the major Iranian Gnostic religions, originating in Sassanid Persia. Although most of the original writings of the founding prophet Mani (c. 216–276 CE) have been lost, numerous translations and fragmentary texts have survived.<br/><br/> Manichaeism taught an elaborate cosmology describing the struggle between a good, spiritual world of light, and an evil, material world of darkness. Through an ongoing process which takes place in human history, light is gradually removed from the world of matter and returned to the world of light from which it came. Its beliefs can be seen as a synthesis of Christianity, Zoroastrianism and Buddhism.<br/><br/> Manichaeism thrived between the third and seventh centuries, and at its height was one of the most widespread religions in the world. Manichaean churches and scriptures existed as far east as China and as far west as the Roman Empire. Manichaeism survived longer in the east, and appears to have finally faded away after the 14th century in southern China.<br/><br/>
Abu Said Ubaud Allah Ibn Bakhitshu's Ibn Bakhtishu's Manafi' al-Hayawan is an illustrated bestiary in the Persian language. The Bakhtshooa Gondishapoori (also spelled Bukhtishu and Bukht-Yishu) were Assyrian Nestorian Christian physicians from the 7th, 8th, and 9th centuries, spanning 6 generations and 250 years. Some of them served as the personal physicians of Caliphs. Like all physicians in the Abbasid courts, they came from the Academy of Gundishapur in Persia (in modern-day southwestern Iran). They were well versed in the Greek and Hindi sciences, including those of Plato, Aristotle, Pythagoras, and Galen, which they aided in translating while working in Gondeshapur. Yahya al-Barmaki, the vizier and mentor to Harun al-Rashid, provided patronage to the academy and hospital in Gondeshapur helped assure the promotion and growth of astronomy, medicine, and philosophy, not only in Persia but also in the Abbasid empire in general.
Abu Said Ubaud Allah Ibn Bakhitshu's Ibn Bakhtishu's Manafi' al-Hayawan is an illustrated bestiary in the Persian language. The Bakhtshooa Gondishapoori (also spelled Bukhtishu and Bukht-Yishu) were Assyrian Nestorian Christian physicians from the 7th, 8th, and 9th centuries, spanning 6 generations and 250 years. Some of them served as the personal physicians of Caliphs. Like all physicians in the Abbasid courts, they came from the Academy of Gundishapur in Persia (in modern-day southwestern Iran). They were well versed in the Greek and Hindi sciences, including those of Plato, Aristotle, Pythagoras, and Galen, which they aided in translating while working in Gondeshapur. Yahya al-Barmaki, the vizier and mentor to Harun al-Rashid, provided patronage to the academy and hospital in Gondeshapur helped assure the promotion and growth of astronomy, medicine, and philosophy, not only in Persia but also in the Abbasid empire in general.
Lucas Cranach the Elder (Lucas Cranach der Ältere, 4 October 1472 – 16 October 1553) was a German Renaissance painter and printmaker in woodcut and engraving. He was court painter to the Electors of Saxony for most of his career, and is known for his portraits, both of German princes and those of the leaders of the Protestant Reformation, whose cause he embraced with enthusiasm, becoming a close friend of Martin Luther. He also painted religious subjects, first in the Catholic tradition, and later trying to find new ways of conveying Lutheran religious concerns in art. He continued throughout his career to paint nude subjects drawn from mythology and religion. He had a large workshop and many works exist in different versions; his son Lucas Cranach the Younger, and others, continued to create versions of his father's works for decades after his death.
First illustration of Fire Lance And a Grenade, 10th Century, Dunhuang. Detail from an illustration of Sakyamuni's temptation by Mara, with the demons at upper right threatening with the fire lance and other weapons while those at lower right tempt with women.