THE GOLDEN BIBLE IN THE CENTURY WHEN FAITH SPOKE ABOUT ART

Marco Buonocore

On the occasion of the International Year of the Book, promoted by UNESCO in 1972, the Vatican's Apostolic Library set up in the Sistine Hall a splendid exposition of the principle and most authoritative manuscripts referring to the Old and New Testament, whose rich catalogue was under the telling title of «The Book of books». Those who had the fortune, as well as the privilege of being able to compare that exceptional exhibit, were able to recuperate numerous illustrated pages related to the Word of Christ, in the most complete triumph of miniaturisitic art, in the harmony of the insignias of traditions: a casing, together with a synopsis of the story of evangelization, with various endearing moments, in the fullness of the pages which most represented the Word of Our Lord, and gave It a more charismatic value. Together they found telling versions in Greek, Hebrew, Oriental and Latin, from the IV to the XV centuries, each with the most famous witness, up to the first membranaceous edition of the Latin Bible, probably published between the years 1454/1456 by J. Gutenberg in Magonza, on two columns with incisive characters and imprinted in a superb manner imitating the gothic literary German scripture and ornate with the print of paragraphing and miniatures. It could only have been this, the first printed book, in the absolute sense, that same book, and for its manuscript witnesses which are so frequent in the ancient «Scriptures», continues even today to be in editions which are more or less luxurious and have the most vast audience despite the times and ways.

Twenty-five years after that exceptional event, here we have a new product of human knowledge, in which the varying needs are well harmonized by the most up-dated scientific culture, which allows us to retrace the extraordinary luck that the «Book of books» had in the centuries, from the Middle Ages to the Renaissance. In line with the richest traditions of German publishing, which Gutenberg demonstrated with his first experience, the BelserVerlag, already known for its intense and qualified editorial activity which foresaw even the facsimile reproduction of the most important miniature codes of the Vatican Library, now cemented in collaboration with the Katholisches Bibelwerk of Stockholm, there has been the limited printing of 2,500 numbered unites of the Golden Bible of the Century, Die Goldene Jahrhundert Bibel, an exceptional witness to the Word of God at the beginning of the Third Millennium, and of which a copy was presented and offered to the Holy Father Pope John Paul II in the general audience last November 26.

Its a magnificent editorial undertaking, which is in one volume, of the following dimensions, mm. 260 X 370 X 70 compact in 1,024 pages in which the Sacred Scriptures in German (but we also foresee a French, English and Italian edition), is filled with 280 illustrations, of which almost all are the full length of the page, and still 1,400 initials, all reproduced in the original chromatic colors with the borders gold-plates. It is easy to be impressed and fascinated by flipping the pages of this volume, in which the miniatures, even those limited in space, offer both a vast gamma of chromatic colors with numerous shades, and a richness measured in the particular figures always within the dimensions and the forms.

But next to this particular tech-publishing, which in itself would justify the attention of not just the Library-goer but also the simple interested reader, is the search for the choice of the subjects and defining those moments in the Sacred Scripture which affect all of us, giving us the possibility of flipping through this editorial monument. The reader has the comfort of a comparison with the most important and authoritative miniatures of the tradition, in close connection with the text, with the comment and the gloss, a visible patrimony so conceived that if up to now it had been fit for chosen scholars, it becomes thanks to this impressive publication, finally available to all.

The codes of the Vatican Library are chosen with care and sensitivity together with those carried in the over 70 international cultural institutions of worldwide acclaim. It is only necessary to look at the index of the 126 manuscripts to have a complete idea of the richness of the reviewed material. We move from the precious Bible of the Pantheon and the Duke of Berry to the end of the XIV century, to the New Testament of 1250 written in Verona, to the German translation of 1430, now in Berlin, to the Bibbia Urbinate, the most famous manuscript of the Renaissance pertinent to the Sacred Scriptures, a fantastic rendition of the miniature Florentine paintings, in which we recognize the hands of Ghirlandaio and of Attavante, a work which easily compares to the no less famous Bibbia di Borsso d'Este, of the Ferrarese school and now in conservation at the Biblioteca Estense of Modena. And along with those, we could not but list the miniatures of the noteworthy Bibles of Gumbertus (Erlangen), Hamilton and Heisterbach (Berlin), Lambeth (London), and Wenzel (Vienna).

Here then, the comparison of some of the most precious Libri d'Ore, where the art of the painter, left usually always to his own fantasy and responsibility, could express itself in the best way; there were often codes prepared by nobles or rulers who were behind the growing sumptuousness, as opposed to the other liturgical objects, from to truly minuscule dimensions, in which the French schools (famous for the balance and elegance of the composition and for the refined figures on whole pages), Flemish and Italian produced extraordinary examples of beauty: from the numerous witness presented in the volumes there is an idea of the precious and refined aspects of this kind of manuscripts, powerfully developing and reaching high levels of quality, especially in the XV century: among the numerous examples we site those of French Gothic dated 1485, the work of Jean Bourdichon, now in the Vatican, and that of the Duke of Berry, now in the Musee Conde of Chantilly.

And then the choice of the Missals: to adorn with miniature art the liturgical books containing the passages of the Gospel which are read during the solemn mass, and then to safeguard them in precious and refined wrappings, this dates back to the first centuries of Christianity, reaching its height between the IX and X centuries; Missals like those offered to the Abbey of Soissons by Ludovico Pil in the year 826, that of Lotario by the school of Tous (circa 849) or that of Ebbon by the school of Reims (IX century) they cannot be silently passed on; also belonging to this period is the noted Missal of Lorsch, the most belated and complicated of these codes written in gold unicle on two columns; but even that celebrated one of Reichenau, written around the year 1,000 with 11 miniature tables or that one ordered by Henry II in the Abby of San Emmerano of Ratibona, a real jewel of Othonian art, no less worthy.

And what can be said about the choice made by the Salteri, born of the Faith and nourished by the Faith, a unique witness of humanity and feelings? From joy to pain, from stupor to bitterness, all melts in the cantos; 150 Psalms, as well as a literary worldly wonder, they are the expression of prayer more used in the centuries, the object of unbeatable art on the part of those miniature painters who wanted to cement themselves in the figurative proposition, especially in David who plays the harp or in the Crucifixion, and which chosen in the volume completely demonstrates the descriptive efficiency. We compare, for example, the miniatures of Salteri Ingeborg in the Musee Conde di Chantilly, of Queen Beatrice of Hungary of 1476-1484 to the Herzog August Bibliothek of Wolfenbuttel, that of King of France Ludovick IX (1214-1270) in Paris, the Greek one of Constantinople in the X century still kept in Paris.

There is also a place for the images of the Bibliae pauperum, those special books of devotion containing the fundamental moments of the life of Christ along with the stories of the Old Testament accompanied by the images of the prophets, destined for those poor clergy, who, not able to procure themselves with a complete edition of the Sacred Scriptures, had to know the Bible, or at least the indispensable minimum in order to teach and preach. Naturally, with time there were various editions which were always more enriched in the particulars of the icons, but obviously losing the primary use of service for a reader who was not a student; in fact, for the XIV and XV centuries we are in the possession of numerous manuscripts, coming from Germany and Austria, admirable for their splendid miniatures with which they are adorned. Here is the pointed choice, therefore, of the two principle witnesses, that of the Vatican Library and that of the University Library of Heidelberg. The numerous xylographic manuscripts and books related to the Biblia pauperum have also run the course of divulging the Word of Christ, from the Annunciation to the Universal Judgment, even while being compendiums, did not in any way reduce the charismatic value. Actually, the immense diffusion of this single category of manuscripts, so finely and richly illustrated, can explain without a doubt the extraordinary iconographic influence on the monumental paintings of the late Middle Ages, especially in Germany.

Missing, however are the miniatures gathered by the Legionaires, like that one of Cluny of 1100 circa now in Pairs; to the Sacraments, amongst which are the two most noted Sacramental of Fulda the first of 975 now in the University Library of Gottingen, the second at the beginning of the XI century and currently preserved in the Vatican; from the Breviari, like that of extraordinary sumptuousness of Mattia Corvino which came from the studio of Florence where Attavante worked and now in the Vatican; from the Missals, amongst which are that of the Baptistery of Florence at the end of the XV century and that of Ferdinando the Catholic, produced in Naples, both in the Vatican; from the Menologi, like that Greek one of Basil II at the end of the X century. A finally witness, this the product of Belser-Verlag, of the value of figurative art in relation to the illustrated document; something, therefore, which is truly precious and unique, this Goldene Jahrhundert-Bibel! Here we again see how the need for the search of the Word of Christ is demonstrated and did not find stylistic aridity in the figurative arts: the diversification of the chromatic themes, even in the repetition of some subjects, again confirms the splendid marriage and the perfect symbiosis between the content and from according to a classic style which is now universally recognized and respected.