Description
Extraordinary and superb facsimile edition on natural parchment from the Scriptorium publishing house from the year 2023 of the manuscript Leber 146 from the Municipal Library of Rouen (France). A true pictorial museum and a 5-star plus in its Library!
The Life of the Virgin Mary, masterpiece of the library of Francis I. Splendid codex from the 16th century (dated c. 1548) completely minimized with full-page illuminations, without margins, turning it into a small (but large and spectacular) pictorial museum of the French Renaissance.
The grandeur of the pages of this codex indicates, without any doubt, that it was made for a great monarch, Francis I, considered the emblematic monarch of the French Renaissance. His reign allowed an important development of arts and letters in France.
The artist who carried out this ambitious project wanted to make it clear in several of its pages who he was addressing. Proof of this is the miniature in which a portrait of the monarch appears, as well as that of the author on his knees presenting the book to his king. This same miniature includes a dedication inscribed in gold letters. A new dedication will appear in the second folio and, for the third time, at the end of the book.
In several of the miniatures of this beautiful codex, the fleur-de-lys appears, as well as the coat of arms and the emblem of the monarch which is, as is well known, a salamander in a brazier.
However, given the complexity and richness of its pages, this work could not be completed under the reign of Francis I and it was in 1548 when this work saw the light, when Henry II was king of France.
Scenes from the life of the Virgin Mary illustrate the pages of this manuscript, from her birth to her Transition.
The artist adheres to the canons of the time in the execution of the miniatures. The real magnificence of this work is once again evident in the treatment that the author gives to curtains, tablecloths, canopies… making many of the settings that accompany the figure of the Virgin recreate authentic palatial environments.
Each of its wonderful 46 illuminated pages appears as a unicum within the panorama of French art of the central years of the 16th century, both for its originality and decorative exuberance and for the peculiar style of its scenes.
The Life of the Virgin Mary is revealed as a very interesting example of the end of French miniature that exemplifies, like few others, the diffusion of Fontainebleau models in French art with all its load of fantasy and imagination.
The edition on natural parchment (not parchment paper, nor pergamenata paper, but 100% natural lamb parchment in the traditional way, without chemical treatments), is extremely complex and unique, and makes each of its copies an original copy of the manuscript from the 16th century, especially when an accelerated aging process of about 100 years has been added to the copies of this edition, in a laborious and artisanal process, resulting in a spectacular work as if it were a medieval manuscript. The use of parchment as a support, an organic natural element, as well as manual processes in each copy, including flat and relief gold, according to the illuminations and as found in the original codex, makes each of the copies unique. for themselves. Exclusive facsimiles handcrafted on natural parchment, recovering the beauty and authenticity of the ancient illuminated manuscripts. An excellence for the best libraries, collectors and bibliophiles, a joy for the senses that will last for centuries.
Copy bound by hand and masterfully in aged leather on board, with medieval-style ribs on the spine and with a double binding reproducing the current state. Format 27 x 33.7 cm. 56 pages on real natural lambskin vellum.
Presented in a closed case in pink editorial leather with gold titles on the spine, format 29.3 x 35.7 x 6.5 cm.
Accompanied by the corresponding study book bound in illustrated hardcover, 25 x 32 cm format. 100 pages profusely illustrated in color. Texts in Spanish.
Unique edition in natural parchment, numbered by notarial deed and limited to only 99 copies.
Completely new and innovative copy, as the eighth work on natural parchment from the Scriptorium publishing house.
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