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“The brilliance of illumination” exhibition

The exhibition “The Brilliance of Illumination” was organized by the Diocesan Museum of Toruń in cooperation with the Pionowy Wymiar Kultury Foundation. In the beautifully arranged exhibition, I was able to present dozens of manuscript paintings and calligraphic works.

 

 

The exhibition was open from 6 December 2017 to 28 February 2018. During the vernissage visitors could attend a fascinating lecture given by my friend Dr. Magdalena Łanuszka, as well as a Gregorian singing performance by the singers of Schola Cantorum Thorunensis, under the direction of Paweł Głowiński.

 

This is how the exhibition was described in the folders that accompanied the event:

 

The word illumination derives from the Latin iluminare http://opelz-blog.de/bokstaven-h/index.html , i.e. to lighten up. Originally, it meant decorating the book’s pages with gold. During the heyday of the Middle Ages, it took the form of decorative drawings made with the use of painting techniques on the pages of manuscripts, and later, also prints. They delighted as historiated initials or border illuminations. One of the most famous examples of illuminated works is the Irish gospel book of Kells, dating back to the 9th century, in which text and image were interwoven and occupied the whole card. The term illumination itself is traditionally used only in reference to the Middle Ages, while the concept of manuscript painting refers to all forms of manual decoration of book pages, both manuscript and printed, whose origins go back to ancient times.
Miniature painting is a much more complicated process than it might seem at first glance. Mastering the art of calligraphy, the knowledge of pigments and the symbolic meaning of colours , types of parchment and gold plating, and above all the technique of painting miniatures itself, are only an introduction on the way to learning this art. It would seem that an art that reaches back to medieval scriptoria remains forgotten and exists only on the old, dusty pages of books viewed through the glass windows of museum showcases. However, it is worth remembering that this art is cultivated to this day, and what is more, it is expanding its circle of enthusiasts every day. We invite you to the extraordinary world of contemporary illuminations, whose brilliance remains alive.

 

For the organization of this exhibition I would like to thank the President of the Pionowy Wymiar Kultury Foundation, Ms Joanna Bielska-Krawczyk and the team of the Diocesan Museum in Toruń.

 

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