"Mira Calligraphiae Monumenta" is a flamboyant demonstration of two arts - calligraphy and miniature painting - and was produced in the court of Emperor Rudolf II. This is the second half which comprises two alphabets drawn and illuminated by miniaturist Joris Hoefnagel. One consists of Roman capital letters (majuscules), the other, Gothic lower-case letters (minuscules). Both are ingeniously illustrated by symbols and heraldic objects. They are fully explained with a detailed commentary.

Mira Calligraphiae Monumenta: Illuminated Alphabets from the Library of Emperor Rudolf II: An Abecedarium

Hendrix, Lee

Vignau-Wilberg, Thea

Arts & Photography

Thames and Hudson Ltd.

The court of the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II produced nothing more amazing than the "Mira Calligraphae Monumenta", a brilliant amalgamation of two arts - calligraphy and miniature painting. The project began when Georg Bocskay, a pre-eminent scribe) assembled a vast selection of contemporary and historic scripts ranging from the latest Italic and humanist writing to antique Roman and German Gothic. Years later, at Rudolf's behest, court artist Joris Hoefnagel filled the spaces on each manuscript page with images of fruit, flowers, insects and other natural minutiae. This marvel of the Central European Renaissance is now in the collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum. A selection from its pages is presented here in this book, which will be of interest to scholars, collectors, bibliophiles and art historians.

The Art of the Pen : Calligraphy from the Court of the Emperor Rudolf II

History & Criticism

Thames&Hudson

In 1561-62, Georg Bocskay, imperial secretary to the Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand I, inscribed the Mira calligraphiae monumenta as a testament to his preeminence among scribes. He assembled a vast selection of contemporary and historical scripts, which nearly thirty years later were further embellished by Joris Hoefnagel, Europe's last great manuscript illuminator. This book, now in the collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum, is reproduced here in complete facsimile form, accompanied by a commentary that includes a full description; a discussion of its patron, Rudolf II, and his cultural and historical milieu; the biographies of Hoefnagel and Bocskay; and an analysis of the manuscript's role in their careers. The introduction discusses the broader issues raised by the manuscript. Topics include Hoefnagel's nature imagery, which encompasses plants, fruits, and small animals, and its relation to the spread of interest in botany and zoology at the end of the sixteenth century. Another topic is calligraphy and its place in the art and culture of the sixteenth century. The manuscript's remarkable calligraphy will be of particular interest not only to scholars but to collectors, graphic designers, and typographers as well.

Mira calligraphiae monumenta

Oxford University Press

The Getty Museum's collection of drawings was begun in 1981 with the purchase of a Rembrandt nude and has since become an important repository of European works from the fifteenth through the nineteenth century. As in the first volume devoted to the collection (published in 1988 in English and Italian editions), the text is here organized first by national school, then alphabetically by artist, with individual works arranged chronologically. For each drawing, the authors provide a discussion of the work's style, dating, iconography, and relationship to other works, as well as provenance and a complete bibliography.

European Drawings 2: Catalogue of the Collections (J PAUL GETTY MUSEUM//EUROPEAN DRAWINGS)

Goldner, George

Pask, Kelly

J.paul Getty Museum

Included in the magnificent pages of the Mira calligraphiae monumenta are two alphabets. Executed by an unknown hand, the first consists of Roman capital letters; the other is Gothic lower-case letters. As with the calligraphy of Bocskay described above, these alphabets were embellished by Joris Hoefnagel, a painter at the court of Rudolf II. In embellishing the alphabets, Hoefnagel employed symbols and heraldic objects--masks, animals, plants, obelisks--to convey the power and greatness of the emperor. An Abecedarium contains the thirty-eight pages from the Mira codex that display Hoefnagel's virtuosity in decorating the alphabets. Calligraphers, graphic artists, and all lovers of beautiful books will delight in Hoefnagel's artistry.

An Abecedarium: Illuminated Alphabets from the Court of Emperor Rudolf II

The court of Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II produced nothing more amazing than the Mira calligraphiae monumenta, a brilliant demonstration of two arts--calligraphy and miniature painting. The project began when Rudolf's predecessor, Ferdinand I, commissioned master calligrapher Georg Bocskay to create a model book of calligraphy. A preeminent scribe, Bocskay assembled a vast selection of contemporary and historic scripts. Years later, at Rudolf's behest, miniaturist Joris Hoefnagel filled the spaces on each manuscript page with insects, fruits, flowers, and other botanical images. The combination of word and illustration is rare and, on its tiny scale, constitutes one of the marvels of the Central European Renaissance. Nature Illuminated reproduces forty-one pages from the original codex. Those who love and collect beautiful books will be endlessly fascinated by Hoefnagel's imagery and invention. The accompanying commentary identifies and explains the details of Hoefnagel's exquisitely crafted illuminations.

Nature Illuminated: Flora and Fauna from the Court of Emperor Rudolf II (Getty Trust Publications: J. Paul Getty Museum)

The Getty began its collection of drawings in 1981 with the purchase of a Rembrandt nude; it has since become one of the world's most important repositories of European works from the fifteenth through the nineteenth century. This third volume of the catalogue of the collection reproduces and describes 132 works acquired since 1992, including the incomparable Holy Family by Michelangelo.

European Drawings 3: Catalogue of the Collections (J PAUL GETTY MUSEUM//EUROPEAN DRAWINGS)

Plazzotta, Carol

Turner, Nicholas

The names Albrecht Dürer and Hans Holbein the Younger evoke the dazzling accomplishments of Renaissance panel painting and printmaking, but they may not summon images of stained glass. Nevertheless, Dürer, Holbein, and their southern German and Swiss contemporaries designed some of the most splendid works in the history of the medium. This lavish volume is a comprehensive survey of the contribution to stained glass made by these extraordinarily gifted artists and the equally talented glass painters who rendered their compositions in glass. Included are discussions of both monumental church windows and smaller-scale stained-glass panels made for cloisters, civic buildings, residences, and private chapels. The subjects of these rarely seen drawings and panels range from religious topics to secular themes, including love, planets, hunts, and battles. Focusing on stained glass produced in Germany and Switzerland from about 1495 to 1530, Painting on Light includes drawings by Dürer, Holbein, Albrecht Altdorfer, Hans Baldung Grien, Jörg Breu the Elder, Hans Burgkmair, Urs Graf, Hans von Kulmbach, Hans Leu the Younger, Niklaus Manuel Deutsch, Hans Schäufelein, Hans Weiditz, and others. This informative book is published in conjunction with an exhibition at the Getty Museum from July 11 through September 24, 2000, and from November 7, 2000, to January 4, 2001, at the Saint Louis Art Museum.

Painting on Light: Drawings and Stained Glass in the Age of Dürer and Holbein

Butts, Barbara

The court of Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II produced nothing more amazing than the Mira calligraphiae monumenta, a brilliant demonstration of two arts - calligraphy and miniature painting. The project began when Rudolf's predecessor commissioned the master calligrapher Georg Bocskay to create a model book of calligraphy. A pre-eminent scribe, Bocskay assembled a vast selection of contemporary and historic scripts ranging from the latest Italic and humanist writing to antique Roman and German Gothic. Many were intended not for practical use but for virtuosic display - lines filled with vines, mirror writing, and tiny micrography. Years later, at Rudolf's behest, court artist Joris Hoefnagel filled the spaces on each manuscript page with images of fruit, flowers, insects, and other natural minutiae. The combination of word and image is rare and constitutes one of the marvels of the Central European Renaissance. The manuscript is now in the collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum. A selection from its pages is presented here as testimony to the artistic imagination and skill of its creators.

The Art of the Pen: Calligraphy from the Court of the Emperor Rudolf II

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Hendrix, Lee. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Books by Hendrix, Lee

See the best price to sell, buy, or rent books by Hendrix, Lee. BookScouter helps to compare book prices from 25+ online bookstores and 30+ buyback vendors with a single search.

Mira Calligraphiae Monumenta: Illuminated Alphabets from the Library of Emperor Rudolf II: An Abecedarium

The Art of the Pen : Calligraphy from the Court of the Emperor Rudolf II

Mira calligraphiae monumenta

European Drawings 2: Catalogue of the Collections (J PAUL GETTY MUSEUM//EUROPEAN DRAWINGS)

An Abecedarium: Illuminated Alphabets from the Court of Emperor Rudolf II

Nature Illuminated: Flora and Fauna from the Court of Emperor Rudolf II (Getty Trust Publications: J. Paul Getty Museum)

European Drawings 3: Catalogue of the Collections (J PAUL GETTY MUSEUM//EUROPEAN DRAWINGS)

Painting on Light: Drawings and Stained Glass in the Age of Dürer and Holbein

Painting on Light: Drawings and Stained Glass in the Age of Dürer and Holbein

The Art of the Pen: Calligraphy from the Court of the Emperor Rudolf II