Exploring the complex social role of monsters in the Middle Ages, the exhibition prompts viewers to consider the function of these creatures in medieval art, how they were received by their intended viewer, and how they served as a way of engaging with the foreign, the unknown, and the supernatural. Some of these sumptuously decorated works were illuminated by notable artists, such as Jean Poyer and Simon Bening, or belonged to well-known patrons, including Henry VIII of England, Anne of Brittany, Yolande de Soissons, and Catherine of Cleves. The manuscripts, covering devotional, liturgical, and secular functions, date from the 800s to the late 1500s. Organized by the Morgan Library & Museum, the groundbreaking exhibition Medieval Monsters investigates this subject for the first time, through the pages of some 60 illuminated manuscripts from the Morgan’s renowned collection. Appearing across media-in sculpture, metalwork, ivory, and textiles-they are especially evident within the margins and miniatures of illuminated medieval manuscripts. Monsters are ever-present in medieval art, even perching atop stone capitals of Romanesque cloisters or lurking within sculpted portals of Gothic cathedrals. These also included monsters now largely forgotten, alien, and unknown: cynocephali, dogheaded men sciapods, creatures with one giant foot blemmyes, headless men with their faces in their chests and panotii, creatures with giant ears. Medieval artists possessed an encyclopedic knowledge of such creatures, some of which may still be familiar to us, namely dragons, harpies, griffins, basilisks, and sirens. Medieval authors appropriated and adapted these images, while philosopher Saint Augustine referenced their existence and medieval theologians taught that they were part of God’s divine plan. The origins of medieval monsters often derived from ancient writers like Pliny the Elder (AD 23–79), who wrote of strange creatures and races of humans living on the outer margins of the known world. 20v)Įvery culture and civilization throughout history, including our own, has its monsters. The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, Purchased by Pierpont Morgan (1837–1913), 1905, MS M.50 (fol. It has much resemblance to Medival times with the type and colors.Saint Margaret in Prison with the Dragon from the Prayer Book of Anne de Bretagne, in Latin and French c. The main colors seen are blue, red, green, and gold. This duel between the knight and the dragon may symbolize the spiritual struggle of the monks. The knight is wearing no armor and seems unmoved by the evil dragon. The gold represents the power the knight has, while the blue is more of a meek color, showing weakness. His squire is wearing a similar gown but in blue. The knight is draped in a long golden gown. In this piece of art, the artist has translated the theme into Romanesque. Ornamented initials go back to the Hiberno-Saxon period. The knight is a slender regal figure who raises his sword and shield to fight the dragons, while the squire is crouching below him. The letter “R” is of the salutation ‘Reverentissimo’. Currently located in Bibliothque Municipale, Dijon.Ī knight, his squire, and two roaring dragons form the letter “R”. Ink and tempera on vellum, approximently 1’ 1 3/4” x 9 1/4”. This is from Folio 4 verso of the Moralia In Job from Citeaux, France made between 115-1125 BCE.
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