A Catalogue of Western Book Illumination in the Fitzwilliam Museum and the Cambridge Colleges. Part Two: Italy and the Iberian Peninsula

Stella Panayotova, Nigel J. Morgan, Susanne Reynolds (eds)

Pages:2 vols, 720 p.
Size:230 x 330 mm
Illustrations:900 col.

Language(s):English
Publication Year:2012

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ISBN: 978-1-905375-85-1
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Review(s)

"The series will be a landmark in manuscript studies, and one can only hope that further support will hasten further projected volumes." (Rowan Watson, in: The Burlington Magazine, CLIV, December 2012, p. 847)

"The catalogues entries give admirably concise information on the physical details, textual contents and provenance of each manuscript. (...) The catalogue fulfils its brief by concentrating on illumination, but it also allows the reader to glimpse other aspects of the manuscripts." (Martin Kauffmann, in: The Art Newspaper, Number 246, May 2013, p. 70)

"Every manuscript and cutting is illustrated to a very high standard by at least one and often several images, ensuring the value of this project not only in describing the Cambridge collections, but as a tool for future research." (Jenny Stratford, in: Bulletin du bibliophile, N° 1, 2013, p. 125-127)

"To conclude, the volumes devoted to the Italian and Spanish manuscripts in the Fitzwilliam Museum and the Cambridge Colleges are as pleasing to consult as they are useful for scholars interested in illuminated manuscripts. The book is a wonderful addition to the series, its entries are precise and accurate, the quality of the illustrations is impressive, and the indices at the end of volume 2 are a precious catalogue of ideas worthy of analysis. I am eagerly awaiting the publication of the remaining volumes of the series." (David Arbesú, in: Manuscripta, 58.2 (2014), p. 286-290)

"À l’importance, à tous points de vue, des manuscrits réunis, et du travail scientifique mené pour l’établissement des notices, s’ajoute entre autres l’excellence de l’apparat critique, dont les nombreux index. Il est à souhaiter que de nombreuses bibliothèques puissent rapidement disposer de cette série qui constitue un outil de premier ordre pour tous les spécialistes des études médiévales." (Christian Heck, dans: Bulletin monumental, Tome 173-1, 2015, p. 86-87)

Summary

This new publication constitutes Part Two of the multi-volume Cambridge Illuminations Research Project cataloguing all western illuminated manuscripts in the Fitzwilliam Museum and the Cambridge Colleges. It covers manuscripts produced in Italy and the Iberian Peninsula, ranging from the early Gospels of St Augustine made in sixth-century Rome, through the carefully designed patristic texts from twelfth-century Tuscany and Lombardy, the great law books of thirteenth- and fourteenth-century Bologna, the opulent Books of Hours, elegant Humanistic volumes and enormous Choir Books of the fifteenth century, and finally to the richly decorated and densely ornamented books of sixteenth-century Spain. In addition to the famous treasures, these catalogues include a considerable number of previously unpublished cuttings, among them new attributions to leading artists and exciting discoveries, all of which offer a stimulating source for further research. Every manuscript catalogued is also illustrated, frequently with several images, all reproduced in full colour. Entries for Italian manuscripts are arranged chronologically in the period up to 1200, while manuscripts produced after 1200 are catalogued by region of origin and within that division again by sequence of date. Manuscripts that cannot at present be allocated to a particular region are grouped in a special section, and Spanish books are again catalogued in chronological order.