[Scriptoris] new exhibits at the Getty

[Hillary Greenslade]

Greetings, 
While we can't all visit the Getty Museum in Los Angeles, Ca., they often publish great books on
the exhibits.: www.getty.edu

The Gospels in Medieval Manuscript Illumination
October 31, 2006–January 7, 2007
In the Bible the four Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John) offer a powerful account of the life
of Jesus Christ and form the basis for the new religion that his disciples founded. Throughout the
Middle Ages the Gospels were considered of paramount importance. This exhibition explores the
forms of decoration associated with the Gospels: portraits of the four Evangelists, illustrations
of the life of Christ, and the ornamentation of canon tables (indexes that often appeared at the
beginning of Gospel books). It includes many of the Getty Museum's early manuscripts, including a
Greek New Testament dated 1133, as well as a number of later Armenian manuscripts. The exhibition
complements the Premiere Presentation Holy Image, Hallowed Ground: Icons from Sinai.

French Manuscript Illumination of the Middle Ages
January 23–April 15, 2007
Throughout the Middle Ages manuscript illumination was a major art form in France, a favorite of
French kings and high-ranking nobles. Even after the emergence of painting on panel as a
significant artistic medium in the 15th century, manuscript illumination remained preeminent. This
exhibition of 21 manuscripts and five leaves from the Getty Museum's collection highlights the
achievement of French painting in books from the Carolingian era to the Renaissance (the 800s to
the 1500s). The exhibition traces manuscript production from its origins in monastic centers in
the Early Middle Ages through its expansion into cities (with the advent of universities) in the
High Middle Ages and finally explores the relationship between painting on panel and manuscript
painting in the Later Middle Ages and Renaissance. Book illumination is considered in the context
of stained-glass paintings and panel paintings, also drawn from the Museum's collection.

Medieval Beasts
May 1–July 29, 2007
This exhibition of manuscripts and leaves from the Getty Museum's permanent collection focuses on
the central role of beasts both in medieval art and the medieval conception of the world.
Domesticated animals often appear in medieval images of daily life since they provided many basic
provisions such as food, leather, and even parchment for manuscripts. Animals could also serve a
symbolic function: a lamb often represented Christ, and astronomical constellations were
frequently represented by creatures formed of stars. In addition, there was a great delight in
depicting fantastic animals, both those that intentionally eluded human view, like the unicorn,
and those from faraway lands, like the dragon. The exhibition features many of the Museum's most
popular manuscripts, such as the Getty's two bestiaries, as well as some books rarely displayed,
including a lively manuscript of Aesop's fables. Medieval Beasts complements the Premiere
Presentation Oudry's Painted Menagerie.

Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterpieces from the Cleveland Museum of Art
October 30, 2007–January 20, 2008
The Cleveland Museum of Art houses one of the finest and most comprehensive collections of early
Christian, Byzantine, and Western Medieval art in the world. This is the first traveling
exhibition to showcase a significant number of that museum's treasures in this field, some of the
most lavish and prized examples of artistic production to survive. The exhibition includes roughly
125 works of art executed in a variety of media painting, sculpture, metalwork, decorative arts,
textiles, and illuminated manuscripts offering a rich survey of the arts and culture of Medieval
Europe from the Late Antique period through the Age of Humanism. The Getty is the second of two
venues following the installation at the Bavarian National Museum in Munich during the summer of
2007. Organized by the Cleveland Museum of Art, an illustrated catalogue accompanies the
exhibition.

Cheers, Hillary