My newest article is up at Patheos for the series on Art and Spirit in the Church:
I fell in love with the Cloisters as a child. A branch of the Metropolitan Museum of Art on the north tip of Manhattan, it is constructed as a reproduction of a medieval cloister. Its collection contains art from all over Europe designed to give the visitor an experience of the monastic setting and milieu. I would wander through the cool stone passageways, linger in the lushly planted central courtyards with fountains gushing, and gaze at intricately woven tapestries. It was here that I first fell in love with the aesthetic dimension of monastic tradition long before I understood what that spirituality and way of life really meant.
The art, architecture, and music all made my heart swoon. But it was the illuminated manuscripts that really captured my imagination. I always had a love of books and here were these incredible texts, hand-written in gorgeous calligraphy with elaborate design elements along each page. In the Benedictine monastery, the library is second only to the church in importance. During the long period of the Dark Ages, when little in the way of art and culture was being encouraged or produced, monasteries became the preservers of culture. Here the monks would labor endlessly to copy sacred texts and embellish them with art and decorated letters that helped to illuminate their meaning.
These illuminations are not meant to be mere illustrations, but deeply spiritual meditations on the text itself in a language of color and symbol. The images embedded alongside the words help the reader to enter into the meaning of the sacred texts in new ways and ignite the imagination. The “illumination” refers to the use of gold or silver to create a luminosity and radiance in the images, reflective of its holy purpose. The art invites the reader to an interior pilgrimage where the words and symbols meet a person’s own internal experience and longing for God.
Both the Hebrew and Christian sacred scriptures were copied, as were many other texts important to Catholic spiritual tradition. In medieval times, Books of Hours were created, which were small prayer books containing a collection of prayers and psalms to help lay people pray through the Hours of the day and incorporate elements of monastic devotion into their everyday lives. The advent of the printing press changed much of this, making the faster reproduction of texts accessible to a much wider audience. The art of illuminating texts gradually became less valued. Some reproductions of these, such as the Books of Hours (Phaidon Miniature Editions), are available.
Today, the best example of a contemporary illuminated manuscript is the St. John’s Bible, which is a revival of this sacred work for modern times. This has been a multi-year project still in progress and includes the work of several artists and scribes. Using ancient techniques with contemporary images, it enlivens this tradition once again and brings relevant images to modern eyes inviting us again into a deeper relationship with sacred texts through accompanying art.
Practice & Reflection:
Choose an image from an illuminated manuscript (either ancient or modern) and use “Praying with Art — Visio Divina” to enter into the image in a deeper way.
Become aware in your daily life of the way words and images are used together to amplify each other’s meaning. How does art help or hinder your understanding of the deeper meaning of something?
In a world where we receive information primarily through images and sound bytes, what wisdom might these ancient texts have to offer us?
** Make sure to stop by this week’s Poetry Party **
© Christine Valters Paintner at Abbey of the Arts:
Transformative Living through Contemplative & Expressive Arts
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9 Responses
Just back from Italy, and the illuminated manuscripts at San Marco in Florence made me swoon they were so lovely and meditative.
Your statement that in the Benedictine Monastery the library is second only to the church was impressed on me when I, along with a cohort of clergy, visited Einsiedeln, a Swiss Abbey. We were given a tour of the library with its ancient music and books. And then…the Lady Chapel. What a dream visit. Thanks for your thoughts.
Oh kigen, we probably did have a momentary crossing. :-)
Evelyn, thank you for sharing this memory.
On my first trip to Paris, I wandered into the Cluny museum and had my first look at the illuminated Book of Hours on exhibit there. The images literally took my breath away! So beautiful and such a gift to us across the centuries.
It was in the late ’70s.
Suz, how very sweet, thank you!
lucy, yes do go to the Cloisters on your upcoming trip, it is so worth the schlep uptown!
kigen, what year was it? I like to imagine that our paths crossed somehow in that space unaware. :-)
Christine, remember I confessed we share a mystic connection. A secret sort of — I spent a year working at the Cloisters as a babe in the woods and — with nothing more than a BFA in hand . Still, they gave me a job in the bookstore, selling museum wares. Like you the Cloisters has had a deep, vibrant resonance.
Cloisters – Merode Altarpiece, attr. to Robert Campin
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/M%C3%A9rode_Altarpiece
love that it has a room all to itself with a wooden seat in front
thank you for sharing the article here. i am much more inclined to read directly at the abbey than to follow one more link. ( i always have good intentions. :-) ) your reminder of the cloisters came at the perfect time. i am really hoping i will get a visit in when we stop in new york for a couple of days. i know a photographer who would go nuts!!!
and, i wholeheartedly agree…”that christine…well, she is just SOOOOO talented!” xxoxooxox
I will have to find my illuminated “Book of Hours.” It was from a wonderful art exhibit about ten years ago in LA, I believe.
I like this idea and I think it will work for me so I am anxious to find it. Thank you, Christine.
Jud was reading something on your site the other night and said, “That Christine!” When I asked him when he meant by that, he said, “Well, she is just so talented!” You are very appreciated at the Reaney household.
Thanks, Christine (((hugs)))