Scroll Blank - Keystone

Scroll Blank - Keystone

figure 1

Description:

Scroll blank of a church in the middle of an inital ‘O’. Inspired by a late 1 5th Century, Dutch manuscript. Gouache and ink on Arches 40 pound, hot-pressed, cotton paper. Produced larger than the original (9x1 3in vs. 5.4x7.4in)

Details of the original image:

Illuminated Manuscript, Duke Albrecht’s Table of Christian Faith (Winter Part), Confession to a pope, Walters Art Museum Ms. W.171, fol. 117v

Shelf mark: W.171

Manuscript: Duke Albrecht’s Table of Christian faith (winter part)

Text title: Tafel van den Kersten ghelove (winterstuc)

Author: As-written name: Dirc van Delf 

Abstract: This illuminated manuscript is a document of the first importance in the history of Dutch manuscript illumination and contains an important medieval Dutch devotional text. The Tafel van den Kersten ghelove is a compendium of Christian knowledge written by a learned Dominican, Dirc van Delf. The text is in two parts, one for winter, one for summer. This manuscript is of the winter part and is incomplete, omitting the prologue and chapters 13, 14, and 35-57. The arms of the Bavarian counts of Holland and the kneeling owner on fol. 1r indicate that this manuscript was the actual copy prepared for the dedicatee of the text, Albrecht of Bavaria, Count of Holland, from the original text of his chaplain, and is therefore to be dated to 1404 at the latest, when Albrecht died. The manuscript contains 165 folios and thirty-five historiated initials. 

Date: 1400-1404 CE

Origin: Utrecht, Netherlands

Form: Book

Genre: Theological
Language: The primary language in this manuscript is Dutch; Flemish.

Support material: Parchment. Fine to medium-weight parchment, well prepared; visible pricking marks 

Extent: Foliation: i+165+i. Modern pencil foliation in upper right corners of rectos (followed here); fifteenth-century foliation at center of top margins of rectos; gap in latter foliation revealing the loss of seven leaves between present folios 24 and 25, which contained chapters 13 and 14 by Daniels’ numeration (evidently preceding his chapter 12 in this manuscript) 

Dimensions: 13.7 cm wide by 18.8 cm high

Written surface: 8.5 cm wide by 11.5 cm high

LayoutColumns: 1

Ruled lines: 24

Lines ruled in brown ink

Contents: fols. 1r - 165v: 

Title: Tafel van den Kersten ghelove (winterstuc) 

Rubric: Van gode vander godheit en vander triniteyt. Primum capittelum.

Incipit: Die prophete micheas seyt wt den monde godes

Text note: References in this description of the text are to Daniels’ edition of 1939 (see bibliography); text lacks the prologue, as well as chapters 13 and 14, and is incomplete at the end, lacking chapters 35-57; order of chapters 23-24 inverted 

Hand note: Written in Gothic bookhand; instructions to the rubricator in tiny noting hand found in columns in the gutter (e.g. fols. 43r, 52v-53r, and 81r); possible second hand found on the last folio of text (fol. 165r) in a more angular version of the same script 

Decoration note: Miniatures by two painters: artist A (fols. 1r-110r) with soft and painterly style, depending very little on outlines and artist B (fols. 112v-156r) using stronger, brighter colors (artist A also illuminated an initial in the four-volume Bible for the Carthusians of Utrecht [Brussels, Bibl. Roy. Mss. 106, 107, 204, and 205]); historiated initials at the opening of each chapter (four for Daniels’ chapter 1) (10-15 lines); thirty-five further large historiated initials; smaller initials in gold or blue with violet or red marginal penwork; bar borders with trefoil foliage of red, blue, and gold springing from the initials into the entire left margin, the vine turning into the top and bottom margins; chapter captions in red; Latin words in text underlined in red; paragraph marks in red or blue; capital letters within the text picked out with red strokes; instructions for rubrics visible in the gutter of the binding in very small lettering; instructions to the illuminator in Dutch in another hand visible at lower margins on fols. 105r and 110r. [1]

figure 2

Technique:

This project was an attempt to reproduce this beautiful manuscript. This was going to be completed with gold leaf, but, as I am still learning how to gild (figure 3) [2], I used gold gouache. In fact, I used gouache and ink on paper rather than vellum and period pigments as I am still a novice and have not mastered the basic materials. Working from a high resolution image of the manuscript [3], I removed the background colors and printed out the image. The design was transferred to the paper by tracing over a light box. I decided to make this scroll because I liked the image and wanted to see if I could reproduce it. While no project or assignment was in mind, for this scroll, it can, certainly, be used for any purpose. [4] Instead of making an exact copy of the original image, and colors, I used them as a guide to help me select new colors that would stand out better. I started with a light wash to all areas that required color, following up, after allowing enough time for the paint to dry, with darker shades. I applied the paint so that if the virtual light source came from the upper, left-hand corner of the page, the darkest shades would fall into the right most corners, producing shadows.

figure 3

The background of the ‘O’, leaves and the border were painted with gold gouache and outlined with black ink: no highlighting or shading was used. Several layers of gold paint were used to make the objects stand out. Instead of reproducing the colors of the original manuscript, or more accurately, the hues of the manuscript’s colors. I imagined what the manuscript might have looked like 600 years ago, with the reds and blues bright and vibrant; before those colors had had a chance to age and oxidize. To that end, I used bright crimson and blue gouache for the border and church, and bright emerald for the lawn. These colors were further brightened by the white highlights and “mortar”.

Once the all of the paint had dried, I outlined all of the sections with black ink to make the image stand out.

figure 4

References:

Flikr Photostream for Caleb Reynolds. https://www.flickr.com/photos/calebreynolds/9510628001/in/album-72157647364520813/
https://www.flickr.com/photos/calebreynolds/8471091955/in/album-72157647364520813/

Flickr Photostream for Walters Art Museum Ms. W.171. https://www.flickr.com/photos/medmss/5447703235/

Walters Art Museum: Digitized Walters Manuscripts: Walters Ms. W.171, Duke Albrecht’s Table of Christian faith (winter part).  http://www.thedigitalwalters.org/Data/WaltersManuscripts/html/W171/description.html

[1] http://www.thedigitalwalters.org/Data/WaltersManuscripts/html/W1 71 /description.html 
[2] I was having issues with the glue and did not want to risk having all of the gold leaf fall off while being judged.
[3] Provided by The Walters Art Museum’s Flikr page.
[4] It was used for a backlog Keystone scroll. See figure 4.

---------------------------------------------------

This scroll blank was made for the A&S competition at The Lady Marys Memorial Tournament in 2013, which I won. Yea!

I really like how this scroll came out and I'm happy that I was able to use it for for a friend.