Preamble
For your convenience I have listed below other posts in this series:
Chinese Calligraphy
European Illumination - Celtic Style
The Illumination Art of South-East Asia
European Illumination - Gothic Style
European Illumination - Romanesque Style
Introduction[1]
The idea of a rebirth of learning, a renaissance, developed in Italy in the fifteenth century and quickly spread to other parts of Europe. In the field of Illumination it created, at first, a renewed interest in classical motifs, the manuscripts were plundered for ideas, thought at the time to be classical Romanesque. So the Whitevine style, which quickly became the fashion, is really a development of earlier foliated branch work.
Whitevine Style.
Alongside the Italian humanist manuscripts of the Whitevine type, which emanated from Florence in the fifteenth century, a more classical Roman style developed further north in Venice, Padua and Verona. This was based on architectural inscriptions from ancient Roman, which were nearest to the 'written' sources of the period.
The effect on illumination was that initials were painted to look like inscriptions carved in stone - faceted and grooved, then intertwined with ancient motifs. These motifs were taken from what was readily available, such as stone monuments to Roman military victories with standards, shields and spears, and memorials to heroes of ancient Roman decorated with vases and skulls. Other favourite symbols included cornucopia, dolphins, acanthus leaves, swags and medallions.
Autumn cornucopia (horn of plenty) with fruits and vegetables.
The Roman script was based on ideal forms of the inscription on Trajan's column, which was placed in the Roman Forum in 113 AD to celebrate Trajan's victories. This practical hand was revived in the Renaissance by scribes. The renaissance capital letters are shown below.
Renaissance Capital Alphabet.
Based on a circular 'O', Roman letters may be formed with a single stroke, or as here, double parallel strokes can be filled or left unfilled. Letters like 'O' and 'Q' have naturally weighted curves. Spacing is important, both inside and between the letters. The 'D' and the 'N', for example, occupy the same area on the page. Serifs are triangular.
A page decorated with white vine can appear like a seething mass of serpents. Borders from this period are more enclosed and narrower than contemporary Late Gothic equivalents, and the coloured background is usually given some relief with points of contrasting color or white. Humanistic cursive minuscules (shown below) combine well with Roman capitals. Fit them together on a page and decorate with all the accoutrements of the Whitevine style.
Humanistic cursive.
Origins of the Illuminated Renaissance Letter 'I'
The Renaissance letter 'I' initial comes from a copy of Homer's Iliad, now in the Vatican Library in Rome and is typical of the Roman inscription style developed in the north-east of Italy in the late fifteenth century. Decorated in a truly classical way with swags, rosettes and acanthus leaves, it is reminiscent of not only classical architectural motifs based on ancient inscriptions, but of a more decorative style, perhaps inspired by Roman wall paintings from the classical period. The Northern Italian humanists wanted to grace their ancient text with appropriate decoration of the period without relying on later illuminated texts.
Initial 'I' from Homer's Iliad, late 15th Century. The shading of the initial, needed to imitate a letter chiselled in stone.
Based on the above initial 'I', a drawn version of the same letter.
Classical Decorations for Some Illuminated Renaissance Letters
This simple V has unmistakeable classical origins based on decorative relief work.
Realistic jewels and a cameo painted trompe l'ceil decorate this letter from fifteenth century Venice.
A panel of initial letters enclosed in squares, based on an original pattern in white and gold.
The ox skull and tassels would be found on classical monuments. Such motifs were painted trompe l'ceil to imitate stone work.
Three cherubic figures decorate the Roman 'V'.
Delicate plant tendrils decorate the initial 'A'.
Simple plant forms decorate this 'F' initial.
Sixteenth century France, with the letter 'T' decorated with dolphin heads.
Sixteenth century France, with the letter 'L' decorated with dolphin heads.
This stone wheel is from the entablature of a classical fifteen-century building.
A classical illuminated 'P' initial.
Renaissance Gallery[1]
Initial 'M' from Niccolo Sagundino's 'On the death of Valerio Marcello' (Late 15th Century).
Note: This Roman initial 'M' has been carefully highlighted to create a three-dimensional effect. Decorative leaf-like terminations suggest a peeling layer of antique gilding.
Illuminated page from Virgil's 'Aeneid' (late 15th Century).
Note: The initial 'A' has been painted to look like a three-dimensional carved letter. The background is decorated with antique arabesque, plant forms and a doubled-bodied beast, perhaps a lion, with one head.
Initial 'A' copied from Pliny's 'Historia Naturals.'
Note: This gilded Roman initial 'A' is richly interlaced with spiralling Whitevine, with its characteristic bright colors and spotted background.
Detail from a patent granting arms to P. Litherland by Timothy Noad (20th Century).
Note: The decoration of the border shown in this extract was inspired by Renaissance Whitevine illumination. The initials 'TO' are picked out of the neutral background by color and gold dots.
Initial 'T' from a patent for the Sovereign order of the Oak by Anthony Wood.
Note: The illumination of the initial 'I' and text was inspired by the Italian Renaissance; shell gold Whitevine interlaces the initial 'T' and filigreed ornament is in raised gold.
Reference:
[1] P. Seligman and T. Noad, The Illuminated Alphabet, Simon & Schuster, Sydney (1994).
For your convenience I have listed below other posts in this series:
Chinese Calligraphy
European Illumination - Celtic Style
The Illumination Art of South-East Asia
European Illumination - Gothic Style
European Illumination - Romanesque Style
Introduction[1]
The idea of a rebirth of learning, a renaissance, developed in Italy in the fifteenth century and quickly spread to other parts of Europe. In the field of Illumination it created, at first, a renewed interest in classical motifs, the manuscripts were plundered for ideas, thought at the time to be classical Romanesque. So the Whitevine style, which quickly became the fashion, is really a development of earlier foliated branch work.
Alongside the Italian humanist manuscripts of the Whitevine type, which emanated from Florence in the fifteenth century, a more classical Roman style developed further north in Venice, Padua and Verona. This was based on architectural inscriptions from ancient Roman, which were nearest to the 'written' sources of the period.
The effect on illumination was that initials were painted to look like inscriptions carved in stone - faceted and grooved, then intertwined with ancient motifs. These motifs were taken from what was readily available, such as stone monuments to Roman military victories with standards, shields and spears, and memorials to heroes of ancient Roman decorated with vases and skulls. Other favourite symbols included cornucopia, dolphins, acanthus leaves, swags and medallions.
The Roman script was based on ideal forms of the inscription on Trajan's column, which was placed in the Roman Forum in 113 AD to celebrate Trajan's victories. This practical hand was revived in the Renaissance by scribes. The renaissance capital letters are shown below.
Based on a circular 'O', Roman letters may be formed with a single stroke, or as here, double parallel strokes can be filled or left unfilled. Letters like 'O' and 'Q' have naturally weighted curves. Spacing is important, both inside and between the letters. The 'D' and the 'N', for example, occupy the same area on the page. Serifs are triangular.
A page decorated with white vine can appear like a seething mass of serpents. Borders from this period are more enclosed and narrower than contemporary Late Gothic equivalents, and the coloured background is usually given some relief with points of contrasting color or white. Humanistic cursive minuscules (shown below) combine well with Roman capitals. Fit them together on a page and decorate with all the accoutrements of the Whitevine style.
Origins of the Illuminated Renaissance Letter 'I'
The Renaissance letter 'I' initial comes from a copy of Homer's Iliad, now in the Vatican Library in Rome and is typical of the Roman inscription style developed in the north-east of Italy in the late fifteenth century. Decorated in a truly classical way with swags, rosettes and acanthus leaves, it is reminiscent of not only classical architectural motifs based on ancient inscriptions, but of a more decorative style, perhaps inspired by Roman wall paintings from the classical period. The Northern Italian humanists wanted to grace their ancient text with appropriate decoration of the period without relying on later illuminated texts.
Initial 'I' from Homer's Iliad, late 15th Century. The shading of the initial, needed to imitate a letter chiselled in stone.
Classical Decorations for Some Illuminated Renaissance Letters
Renaissance Gallery[1]
Illuminated page from Virgil's 'Aeneid' (late 15th Century).
Note: This gilded Roman initial 'A' is richly interlaced with spiralling Whitevine, with its characteristic bright colors and spotted background.
Note: The decoration of the border shown in this extract was inspired by Renaissance Whitevine illumination. The initials 'TO' are picked out of the neutral background by color and gold dots.
Note: The illumination of the initial 'I' and text was inspired by the Italian Renaissance; shell gold Whitevine interlaces the initial 'T' and filigreed ornament is in raised gold.
Reference:
[1] P. Seligman and T. Noad, The Illuminated Alphabet, Simon & Schuster, Sydney (1994).
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