Medieval Russian Ornament in Full Color

From Illuminated Manuscripts

Moscow Museum of Art

• Publisher: Dover Publications
• Year: 2012
• Print ISBN:
  9780486282589
• eBook ISBN:
  9780486155623
• Topic: History
• Subtopic: Decorative Arts
• Index: History

This beautiful book illustrates the splendid ornamental lettering and decorative art in illuminated Russian manuscripts dating from the 10th through the 16th centuries. It contains over 1,000 motifs reprinted in full color from a rare book of design first published in France in 1870.
Among the designs are richly embellished letters from the Cyrillic and Greek alphabets, elaborate manuscript page heads and ornate corners and borders. Many of the designs incorporate mythological creatures, religious iconography, and design elements deeply rooted in early Slavic and Byzantine cultures. There is a strong Celtic flavor as well.
On page after page, the distinctive motifs in this collection reflect the unique heritage of Russian design, a rich amalgam of East and West. Students of graphic design and the decorative arts will find the book an invaluable reference. Graphic artists will find these rare, copyright-free examples of medieval ornament, which lend themselves to color copying, ideal for many kinds of projects.

PLIBLISHER’S NOTE

In the middle of the nineteenth century Russian intellectuals and artists began to examine their Slavic heritage, a facet of Russian culture that had been ignored, if not suppressed, following the reforms of Peter the Great. Promoted by groups that included the Slavophiles and Pan-Slavics, the movement had the goal of redirecting the nations political, social and artistic life to incorporate these historic roots.

It was in this climate that the plates contained in the present edition were published by the Moscow Museum of Art and Industry in 1870. They reproduced illuminations taken from many of the major collections of the time, the Byzantine works being intended as a point of comparison with the Russian works, which the authors held to possess greater vitality and inventiveness, reflecting the influence of folk art.

The work was not directed primarily to scholars. As with many of the great chromolithographic volumes of the period, it was intended as a source of inspiration for designers and craftsmen, and it is in that spirit that the plates are here reprinted.

1. Byzantine ornament, 10th century. From a collection of the sermons of Saint John Chrysostom.

2. Byzantine ornament, 10th century. From the sermons of Saint John Chrysostom, formerly belonging to Jeremiah, first patriarch of Constantinople.

3. Byzantine ornament, 10th and 11th centuries. From a gospel book.

4. Byzantine ornament, 10th and 11th centuries. From a gospel book.

5. Byzantine ornament, 10th and 11th centuries. From a gospel book.

6. Byzantine ornament, 10th and 11th centuries. From a gospel book.

7. Byzantine ornament, 10th and 11th centuries. From the works of Saint Gregory of Nazianzu...

Table of contents

• DOVER PICTORIAL ARCHIVE SERIES
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Table of Contents
• PLIBLISHER’S NOTE