CODICES ILLUSTRES :
THE WORLD'S MOST FAMOUS ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTS : 400 TO 1600

Miniatures in mediaeval manuscripts
continue to hold a huge fascination
for today's viewer, and large exhibitions
of illuminated codices - whether in Paris,
London, New York, Milan or Heidelberg
- frequently attract over 1o0,00o visitors.
It is above all the thrill of seeing, in the
display cabinets, precious treasures upon
which we would otherwise never set eyes
treasures which once belonged to emperors,
kings and princes, and of which only one
single copy exists in the whole world, treas-
ures which are worth millions. And, of
course, we are dazzled by the glittering gold
with which the painters embellished their
miniatures and at the same time showed
off the wealth of their patrons.

This book takes us right to the heart of
mediaeval book illumination and presents
167 of the most beautiful, most important
and probably most famous illuminated
manuscripts from A.D. 400 to 1600. No
comparable survey of the finest codices
from twelve centuries has previously been
attempted. Even though our compilation
focuses mainly on Europe, no less than 23
codices from Persia, Turkey and India bear
witness to the flowering of Oriental
manuscript illumination.

The manuscripts are presented and
discussed in chronological order. Each
manuscript is introduced by a summary
reviewing all the most important facts
about its date and place of origin, format,
extent, language, content, miniaturist
decoration, patron, owners etc., in order to
orientate the reader at a glance.

Wherever possible, the folios and miniatures
are reproduced in their original for
mat, and in an endeavour to convey the
opulence of the originals, 212 pages are
printed with gold as an additional colour.

A comprehensive appendix presents a
further 20 important manuscripts which
could not be treated in the main text.
Artists' biographies provide additional
information on the lives and works of the
miniaturists, and a glossary explains the
technical terms used. A comprehensive
Bibliography lists further reading.

Photographs of the world's most beautiful illuminated manuscripts from 400 to 1600

# Hardcover: 504 pages
Publisher: Taschen; 25th edition (September 19, 2007)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 382284750X
ISBN-13: 978-3822847503
Product Dimensions: 12.6 x 9.7 x 1.6 inches
Shipping Weight: 6.8 pounds
Look on amazon and the 5 star reviews for this book abound.
Wonderful overview of the subject. A reference book I go back to time and again. As an illuminator it lets me quickly settle on a period of time that I want to delve deeper into and find my other art books to reference. The discussions of the actual artistic detail of each piece are helpful and serve as a wonderful art history resource and survey of a very broad subject. As a starting book for anyone getting their feet wet with scribal arts and manuscript illumination this is a great reference tool. The historical context alone allows you to wrap your head around a frame of a body of work spanning years from the ancient world of AD 400 to the late 1500 when the printing press was making its debut. The breadth of the number of countries touched on was incredible as well. I can't say enough good things. The appendix contains artist biographies, along with a comprehensive bibliography, glossary, and index. The reproductions here definitely will always have a home on my shelf. At less than $30 new, it was a steal! And I just checked amazon and it was listed for under $20! wow! ( )

If you have a fascination with illuminated manuscripts, you will revel in this gorgeous book. Care has been taken with the presentation as well as content. The book begins with an overview of the art and history of manuscript illumination, before examining a great many key manuscripts, each accompanied by fine reproductions. They span the end of the classical world (c. AD 400) to the twilight of illumination (late 1500s), and include examples from the Islamic world, central Asia and India.

The descriptions tend to concentrate on the technical and art historical side of the illuminations. If, like me, you are also interested in the historical and social context, you might wish for more. But the amazingly gorgeous repoductions more than compensate. Taschen is to be congratulated: the production values of this volume are a tribute to the art of the book, as well as to the book's predecessor, the manuscript. ( )

Gorgeous pics. Arguably a bit more coffee table than comprehensive coverage, but the luxury gold ink on purple vellum codices are definitely most resplendent! ( )