George Henderson (1)Besprekingen

I bought this book because it was recommended by my teacher in a class on the Picts. Its main focus is carved stones, I suppose because relatively little good metalwork survives from this culture. There are any good photos of the carved stones, though they are rather drab grays, not as colorful as your average art book. The PIctish stonework is famous and the meaning of its designs is much debated,

Isabel Henderson is the co-author of this book, but she seems to have been left off in the Goodreads description.

A well written thesis of why Pictish art is Insular rather than "insular". It draws together many threads to put the Picts into the bigger picture of early medieval Europe.

In their sheer vitality and strength of feeling, wealth of craftsmanship and opulence of materials, the visual arts of the Middle Ages illuminated dark and dangerous times. Illustrators, sculptors, glaziers; architects, mosaicists, goldsmiths, stonemasons - all played their part to create works of extraordinary vividness and power. In three beautifully illustrated volumes that follow the evolution of artistic style from the 4th to the 15th centuries, we see the exuberance of the early ecclesiastical tradition - church architecture, liturgical decoration and illuminated books - transforming the physical and artistic landscape of Western Europe. The Age of Illumination provides unparalled insight into how Europe came to be civilised and enlightened by Christianity, and how the symbolism of the faith matured over time, from the crudest symbols of bird and beast etched onto the wall of a house or burial chamber, to the monumental sculpture of Chartres and the mosaics of San Vitale.

Fantastic overview of Pictish Art! Great pictures and citations. Insightful commentary.