Medieval Art

Here is a medieval woodcut print depicting a scene from the bible where Jesus is teaching his followers.  This incunable print comes from a 1488 Flemish work titled “Dat Boeck Vanden Leven Ons Liefs Heeren Jhesu Christi” which roughly translates from the Middle Dutch as “The Book of the Life of Our Good Lord, Jesus Christ”.  The biblical theme, rubrication and striking monochromatic art style are absolutely typical of medieval woodcut prints from the late 15th and early 16th centuries.  It cost less than $100 on eBay.

As the old saying goes, “time waits for no man”.  Naïve youth doesn’t fully understand the full weight of these words.  But those of us who have lived on this earth for at least a few decades comprehend their true meaning all too well.

Although time might march relentlessly onward – leaving the debris of both people and history in its path – some things stand tall against its implacable ravages.  Medieval woodcut prints are among these hallowed things.  These masterpieces of the paper-crafter’s art often look as beautiful and captivating today as they did when they were first printed some 500 years ago.

Early woodcut prints reflect the soul of late medieval European thought.  They portray the most important topics of the period, including biblical scenes, episodes from Classical mythology, exotic animals, botanical renderings, famous cityscapes and maps.  Depictions of the noblest chivalry, grandest kings’ courts and idyllic rural scenes grace these gorgeous works of gothic art.  They are medieval culture personified and ready to hang on your wall.

The origins of medieval woodcut prints date to mid 15th century Continental Europe.  During that time in the walled German metropolis of Mainz, Johannes Gutenberg commercialized one of the world’s greatest inventions – the movable type printing press.  The greatest consequence of Gutenberg’s invention was an explosion in the production of books in late medieval Europe.

Until the mid 15th century, all books produced in Europe were illuminated manuscripts.  These works of art were painstakingly handcrafted by highly trained scribes on parchment (processed animal skin).  This method was so slow and arduous that a single book could take years to produce and would sell for a small fortune.  Libraries were the lofty domain of royalty, nobility and monasteries.

But within just a few decades of Gutenberg’s invention, newly printed books flooded Europe, radically driving down their prices while simultaneously increasing their accessibility.

The most visually striking feature of late medieval books are their woodcut print illustrations.  Before the invention of the printing press, a book could only be illustrated through hand illumination, a very tedious and time consuming process.  But alongside the advent of movable type printing, another allied technology – the woodcut print – was also developed.

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In this process a slab of wood was carved with an illustration or design by a highly trained artist.  The resulting woodcut was then mounted on the printing press, either with or without movable type, depending on the page arrangement.   Multiple copies could then be created with much greater ease and efficiency than hand illumination.

Medieval woodcut prints were so popular that they were sometimes printed as standalone art pieces too, known as single-leaf woodcuts.  Woodcut prints found in late medieval books were often as large as possible, occupying either a full page or half page.  However, it isn’t uncommon to find smaller woodcut print illustrations or margin designs peppered throughout early books.

Woodcut carving was an incredibly demanding skill that required years of apprenticeship to a master.  In fact, many of the greatest artists of the late medieval period experimented with woodcut prints in addition to other art mediums.

A perfect example of this is the renowned Northern Renaissance artist Albrecht Durer.  Active from the mid 1480s until near his death in 1528, Durer was an artistic genius – a true renaissance man.  He had trained as a goldsmith during his youth and later became not only a master painter and engraver, but also perhaps the finest woodcut carver of all time.  His works have a level of detail and refinement that was unrivaled in his time.  Consequently, Durer’s prints usually command a premium compared to other contemporary woodcut artists; his paintings are only found in museums.

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Late medieval printed books created before the year 1500 are known as incunables or incunabula.  This name derives from the Latin term for “cradle”, referring to the inception of the printing industry.  Post-incunables are books printed after the year 1500 but before circa 1540.

The dates used to divide incunable and post-incunable works are necessarily arbitrary in nature; the year 1500 did not see any significant advances in print technology.  Similarly, the end date applied to post-incunables is open to discussion, with some authorities preferring an earlier date of 1520 or a later date of 1550.

Another interesting aspect of medieval woodcut prints is the paper they were printed on.  The paper used in late medieval printing is completely different from modern paper and superior to it in every way.  Present-day paper is made from crushed wood pulp that is then chemically bleached.  This results in paper that is not only relatively fragile but also acidic in nature.  As a result, modern paper tends to yellow and turn brittle after only a couple decades.

In sharp contrast, the paper found in 15th and 16th century printed books, called laid paper, was made from pulverized cotton or linen rags.  Due to the longer fibers of cotton and linen, laid paper possesses far greater strength than modern wood pulp papers.  It is also naturally acid free.  This means that laid paper often survives vast spans of time – even centuries – in good condition.

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Laid paper was manufactured by mixing shredded cotton or linen rags together in a vat with water.  This pulpy mixture was then poured into a mold with a wire mesh bottom.  The water drained through this wire sieve, leaving a single sheet of high quality, very durable paper once dry.

The wire mesh used in the fabrication process leaves a characteristic patterning effect on laid paper.  This crisscrossing pattern consists of narrowly spaced laid lines and more widely spaced chain lines oriented at a 90 degree angle to the laid lines.

Laid paper can best be identified by backlighting the sheet and looking for the network of crosshatched lines.

Although less difficult to produce than animal parchment, laid paper manufacturing was still relatively labor-intensive and time-consuming.  Consequently, laid paper production was almost completely supplanted by new paper manufacturing techniques during the Industrial Revolution in the late 18th century.

Post-Incunable Medieval Woodcut Prints for Sale on eBay

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As a general rule, incunable medieval woodcut prints from before 1500 are somewhat more expensive than later, post-incunable examples.  While the end date of the post-incunable period is still open to scholarly debate, it would be wise to only purchase prints produced before circa 1550, unless they are from known artists.

Size also influences pricing, with larger prints naturally being more desirable than smaller prints.  Rubrication, or the coloring of the initial, capital letter of a page with red, is another attractive feature of some incunable and post-incunable medieval woodcut prints.  Subject matter also significantly impacts price, with well-known biblical scenes fetching strong premiums.  Botanical prints and patterns typically trade at substantial discounts and should be avoided if investment return is a primary consideration.

Condition, as always, is a key factor of paramount importance.  Torn, excessively water stained or extensively holed prints should be avoided.  Likewise, pieces that have had their margins heavily trimmed or have had the print illustration cut out from the text on the page are not investable.

Woodcut prints from known masters bring the best prices, with works by Albrecht Durer standing at the top of this elite group.  Beware of later copies of famous prints which are substantially less valuable.

Medieval Woodcut Prints from Known Artists for Sale on eBay

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Late medieval, single-leaf woodcut prints are not only impressive artworks but also tremendously underrated in today’s market.  These works exude a wonderfully medieval, gothic sensibility that would magnificently complement a private library, study or master bedroom.  Pricing starts at around $50 to $75 for more common examples, but quickly escalates into the hundreds for prints by famous makers.

Highly desirable pieces by Albrecht Durer in pristine condition can venture into the thousands.  Fully intact incunable and post incunable books are very rare and easily command thousands or even tens of thousands of dollars.  Time may never stand still, but you would never know it when gazing at these spectacular medieval works of art.

Read more in-depth Antique Sage medieval art investment guides here.

Here is a brilliantly colored leaf from a 13th century illuminated manuscript depicting scenes from the Aeneid, a classical work by the Latin poet Virgil.  The lavish use of bright colors like blue, red and gold is typical of high quality medieval illuminated works.

Long ago, in a more genteel age, the famous Lebanese poet Kahlil Gibran wrote in his moving poem “Sand and Foam” that “We live only to discover beauty.  All else is a form of waiting.”  This is a Truth that we all too often forget as the harsh demands of our hectic day-to-day lives relentlessly engulf us.

It is also an adage that underscores what makes art so special.  Art is concentrated beauty given tangible form.  Regardless of the medium used to create it, each stroke of the artist’s paintbrush, stylus or pen is made with the intention of distilling the divine essence of beauty into a physical form.  And nowhere is this striving for unearthly beauty more obvious then when looking at the sumptuous designs and rich colors of medieval European illuminated manuscripts.

An illuminated manuscript is a handwritten book (or single page of such a book) that has been decorated with colored pigments.  European illuminated manuscripts were manufactured during the medieval period from approximately 600 CE to circa 1550 CE and were usually in Latin, the lingua franca of medieval Europe.

Illuminated manuscript production was driven by two different institutions.  European monasteries, the last bastions of literacy during the dark ages, became centers of book production after the collapse of the Roman Empire.  Later in the Middle Ages, as European commerce and wealth grew, private scribes’ guilds began to form.  These corporate-like guilds typically produced gorgeously illuminated manuscripts for wealthy clients who could afford the high cost of production.

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Illuminated manuscripts cover a wide range of topics, but most of them are religious in nature.  The most common types of texts encountered are Bibles, Psalters, Books of Hours, Breviaries, Bestiaries and musical/antiphonal manuscripts.

Psalters were religious documents intended for private use that contained excerpts from the Old Testament book of Psalms.  Bestiaries were encyclopedic tomes that contained entries of different types of animals, some real and some fantasy.  Breviaries were prayer books used by monks to guide their periodic daily prayers.

Books of Hours were personal prayer books used by private individuals.  Some of the most magnificent illuminated manuscripts to survive from the later middle ages are Books of Hours that were commissioned by extravagantly wealthy patrons.  A good example of this opulence is the priceless Tres Riches Heures of the early 15^th century French nobleman, Jean le Duc de Berry.

The creation of an illuminated manuscript was an involved and time consuming process that involved many different stages.  These precious documents were committed to dried animal skin – usually sheep or cow – which was known as parchment, or vellum, if made from calfskin.  Parchment is extremely durable and will easily last for centuries, if not millennia, as long as it is stored in a climate controlled environment.

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Parchment preparation could take months by itself, and a full book might require the skin of 100 cows.  After the parchment was ready, it was ruled so that the written text would be straight.  Then the text itself was added via quill or reed pen.  Next, initials, borders and figures were outlined followed by the application of gold or silver leaf and other pigments.  Finally, all the pages were assembled and bound, usually in a leather or wooden cover.

A typical illuminated tome might have easily taken many different highly skilled medieval craftsmen hundreds of man hours to create.  By the later Middle Ages these steps were usually executed in a proto assembly line process by different individuals, each of whom was a master in his own area of expertise.

Illuminated manuscripts were produced in a time before synthetic dyes.  This meant that saturated, vibrant colors were rare, highly prized and exceedingly expensive.

Gold and silver colors were produced by delicately applying paper-thin gold or silver leaf to a document.  Vermillion, a high quality red, was made from a powdered ore of mercury called cinnabar.  An intense green came from crushed malachite, a semi-precious copper carbonate mineral, while the renowned deep blue of ultramarine originated from another exotic, semi-precious stone called lapis lazuli.  Malachite and lapis lazuli were rare in Europe and had to be imported thousands of miles from the remotest, most inaccessible mountains and deserts of Asia.

Other, more common materials, like lead, iron, or organic matter, were also used in the production of various pigments, but these often resulted in less intense colors.

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The invention of Gutenberg’s famous movable type printing press in 1453 signaled a sea-change in the way books were produced.  Until that time the effort and materials that went into an illuminated manuscript meant that books were expensive luxury items.  And the more richly illuminated a book was the more expensive it became to produce.  In an age of drab earth tones, only the very wealthiest members of society could afford these brilliantly hued repositories of treasured wisdom.

Over the course of the century following its introduction, the printing press changed that situation completely.  Book production ballooned after the advent of Gutenberg’s press, increasing dramatically between 1450 CE and 1550 CE due to the new technology.  Traditional, labor-intensive illumination techniques were wholly unable to compete with the cheaper, faster printing press.  Consequently, illuminated manuscript production rapidly declined until output was essentially nil by the middle of the 16th century.

People crave beauty.  Once our more basic biological needs have been met – food, water and shelter – it is only natural for humans to seek out exquisite objects of refinement and elegance.  And there are few things of greater artistry than medieval illuminated manuscripts.  Laboriously, painstakingly crafted by hand at every stage of their creation, medieval European illuminated manuscripts represent the pinnacle of late medieval art.  And yet these wonders of human ingenuity can be wonderfully affordable investments.

A single illuminated page with modest yet enchanting adornments can be acquired for only around $300.  More complex and colorful individual leaves that radiate distinctive medieval European style are readily available to the connoisseur for around $1,000.  Prices escalate quickly as the amount of decoration increases however, and vibrant, fully illustrated pages can easily sell for several thousands of dollars each.

Fully intact books are usually prohibitively expensive, routinely selling for tens of thousands of dollars – even if imperfect or pedestrian in execution.  Exceptionally fine, complete manuscripts command even higher prices and rapidly enter the lofty domain of major museums and the ultra-wealthy.

If we all live to discover beauty, then surely medieval European illuminated manuscripts are beauty made manifest, descended to earth as a revelation to us.

Read more in-depth Antique Sage medieval art investment guides here.