A very pretty effect may be obtained in a small and not very formal manuscript by painting into the spaces left for the capitals little squares of red and blue, and painting upon these the letters and ornament—all in gold powder—very freely and quickly. The kind of treatment is rather crudely suggested by fig. 113. The pleasant appearance of the pages—as though they were scattered over with tiny squares of cloth of gold and red and blue—is produced with comparative ease, while the use of leaf gold might entail an expenditure of more time and pains than the book was worth. In the finest class of manuscripts, however, these matt gold letters would be somewhat informal and out of place.
BURNISHED GOLD
Gold is always raised and burnished as bright as possible, unless there is a special reason for using matt gold.
The height to which it is raised varies, according to the effect desired, from a considerable thickness to the thinnest possible coat of “size.” Extremely thin and extremely thick raising are both objectionable (see p. 150): roughly speaking, a suitable height for any ordinary purpose is between 1100 and 132 of an inch.
The surface, in the case of large forms, is generally made as smooth and perfect as possible, so that, as Cennino Cennini says, the burnished gold “will appear almost dark from its own brightness”; and its [p185] brightness is only seen when the light falls on it at a particular angle. The gilding of a manuscript, however, is slightly flexible, and a large gilded surface is likely to be bent, so that some part of it is sure to catch the light.
Small surfaces highly burnished very often do not show the effect of, or “tell” as, gold, unless they catch the light by accident. It is well, therefore, where the forms are small to have several on the page, so that one or another will always shine out and explain the rest. And while the proper craftsman tries always to get the best finish which he reasonably can, the natural, slight unevennesses or varying planes of small gilded forms may be of advantage to the whole effect. The pleasant effect of such natural variations may be seen in thirteenth-century Initials, where numbers of little gold pieces are fitted into the backgrounds, and their changing surfaces cause the whole to be lit up with little sparkles of light. A parallel to this may be found in the hand-tooling of a book-cover, which sparkles with gold, because the binder could not press in each piece of gold-leaf absolutely level. On the other hand, the “deadness” of a machine-stamped cover is largely due to the dead level of its gilding.
Black and Gold.—One of the finest effects in calligraphy can be obtained by the simple contrast of gold capitals with black writing (see p. 299).
While, as in the case of black and red, the strongest effects are obtained by a marked contrast, gold may yet be very effectively used for small capitals throughout the black text. It does not lose or blend its brilliance with the black of the writing as colour is apt to do, but lights up and illuminates the page. For this reason gold will [p186] “help out” and make agreeable a black and colour effect which, by itself, would have been a failure (see p. 134).
BURNISHED GOLD FORMS & OUTLINES
Plain gold letters, symbols, and other detached forms, not having backgrounds, are usually not outlined. An outline cheapens their effect, making them darker and heavier, and, if the line be at all thick, concealing the true form of the letter, and giving it a clumsy appearance.
It is an instructive experiment to make a gold (or plain white) letter with a thick outline (a, fig. 114), and then paint a background round it. The effect is quite altered, and greatly improved (b, fig. 114). The outline no longer tells as the outer line of the form, but partakes more of the nature of the background, in which it cuts out, as one might say, a little niche for the letter to rest in.
Gold-leaf forms on coloured backgrounds are [p187] outlined—generally in black—in order that letter and background may together form a flat design, stable and at rest in the page.
The distinction between the use of gold “paint” and the treatment of a leaf gold form should be carefully observed: the matt gold powder lies upon colour, and may appear to blend with it (p. 183); the bright gold-leaf constitutes a distinct form, which either lies upon the surface of a page, or is, as it were, set in a background.
Gold (leaf) Floral Ornament, &c.—If the stalk and leaves are both gold: they are commonly not outlined, unless on a background.
If there be a thin stalk in black or colour with gold leaves: the leaves are outlined with the stalk-colour (they were commonly furred: c, fig. 115).
If there be a thick coloured stalk with gold leaves: both stalk and leaves commonly have a black outline, the “leaves” often being treated as spots of gold (below).
Gold Spots or Dots are usually outlined and furred with black (fig. 115). The effect produced is of a bright gold form on a grey background.
A simple “leaf” or detached spot of gold has a formless look, much as a small blot of colour or ink would have. The black outline and the grey background-effect seem in this case to give form and interest to the spot; at least they give it a place to rest in—a nest to hold the small golden egg. [p188]
Even a stalk and tendril (d, fig. 115) has the same effect of giving intention and meaning to what might otherwise be a mere blot.
When several spots of gold (or colour) are arranged in a simple design, together they constitute a simple form which does not require a background. Thus the line-finishing (a, fig. 126) has a formal and intentional arrangement in itself, and therefore need not be outlined.
BACKGROUND CAPITALS
Background Capitals or Initials frequently employ burnished gold, either for the letters or the ground. All the parts (including “solid” patterns) are generally outlined in black, or dark colour.
The commonest colours for grounds are Reds and Blues. The grounds are frequently countercharged, or made one colour inside and another outside the initial (p. 190). Sometimes little or no gold is used, and many fine white lines are employed to separate and harmonise the colours of the Initial and the ground. It is well, however, for the beginner to keep the letter and the ground distinct, by observing the Herald’s maxim, and using “Metal on colour, or colour on metal.”
The forms of the letters vary from those of ordinary capitals in being thicker in proportion to their height, and frequently in having no serifs. A very thin line or serif is apt to be lost in the background.
A very good form of background initial may be [p189] made out of the ROMAN CAPITAL (a, fig. 116) by thickening all its parts; in place of the serifs, curving out and shaping the ends of the stems (b, d) to a sort of “blunderbuss” pattern (g).
APPLYING THE BACKGROUND
It is well first to make the letter,40 and then to apply the background to it (as though it were a sort of mosaic). The background is packed tightly round the letter, and the letter occupies the background, [p190] so that they appear to be in the same plane (a, fig. 117).
Such “flatness” is secured even more certainly and effectively by using two colours (e.g. red and blue) in the background—one inside and one outside the letter (see Plate XII.).
The curves of the gold letter may with advantage slightly project, and so break the hard, square outline of the background.
The letter should not have the appearance of being “stuck on,” as it is apt to if the background is large and empty, or if the ornament passes behind the letter (b, fig. 117).
In the case of letters with projecting stems or tails: the tail may be outside the background (a, [p191] fig. 118), or the background may be prolonged on one or both sides of the tail (b and c), or the whole “field” may be enlarged to take in the complete letter (d).
There is no limit to the variety of shapes which backgrounds may take—symmetrical or asymmetrical, regular or irregular—provided they fit the initial or the ornament (which may itself partially, or entirely, bound them), are properly balanced (see Plate XII., and p. 419), and take their right place on the page.
ORNAMENT OF BACKGROUNDS
The ornament, as a rule, covers the background evenly, and is closely packed or fitted into its place.
Gold grounds are generally plain, sometimes bearing patterns in dots. These are indented in the surface by means of a point (p. 172) which is not too sharp. It presses the gold-leaf into tiny pits, but does not pierce it. Gold grounds may be broken up into small parts by coloured chequers (p. 215) or floral patterns. [p192]
Coloured grounds are, as a rule, more or less evenly covered with some form of decoration in thin white or matt gold lines, or in “solid” patterns in various colours (see pp. 202, 212). A simple and pretty diaper pattern may be made by diagonal lines of matt gold, cutting up the colour into small “lozenges,” each alternate lozenge having a fleur-de-lis or little cross, or other simple ornament (fig. 119).
A bolder design, in a broad white or coloured line, may be, as it were, woven through counterfeited slits in the letter (fig. 120). This helps to preserve the general flatness of the letter, [p193] background, and ornament, and gives additional interest.
The mimic slits are made by black lines drawn on the burnished gold of the letter. Where the stem of the ornament comes over the gold, the size is cut away with a pen-knife; the part hollowed out is painted with white to cover any blemishes, and then painted with the stem colour, and outlined.
A plain or pale stem may have a faint or brown outline, and be “shaded” at the sides (with greys, browns, or yellows) to give an effect of solidity; a stem that is painted in strong colour (e.g. red or blue) may have a central white line painted upon it.
Note that where the initials have backgrounds, the line-finishings are commonly made with backgrounds to match, though their treatment is naturally much simpler (see Plates XV., XVII.).
CHAPTER XI A THEORY OF ILLUMINATION Illumination — “Barbaric, or Colour-Work, Illumination” — “Filigree, or Pen-Work, Illumination” — “Natural, or Limner’s, Illumination.”
ILLUMINATION
It is convenient to give a wide meaning to the word when we speak of an “illuminated manuscript,” for the scribe works with a very free hand, and when he wishes to decorate his pages he can [p194] write the words themselves in red, green, or blue, as easily as he could have written them in black. He can take a clean pen and a new colour and initial and “flourish” any part of the work to his heart’s content. He may acquire the art of laying and burnishing gold, and no possible brilliance of effect is denied him—within the limits of his skill as an illuminator (see also pp. 298–299).
A limited number of specially prepared printed books can likewise be illuminated. But the greater the number of copies, the less labour may be spent on each one, and the more their illumination tends to be simple “rubrication”—adding coloured capitals, flourishes, and the like (see p. 127). And, if a large edition is to be decorated, the printer must be content to use black, or black and red, in woodcut or “process” work (see pp. 365, 372).
Illumination proper may be defined as the decoration by hand, in bright gold or colours, of writing or printing.
There are three broad types of illumination, which for want of better terms I distinguish as “Barbaric” (or colour-work), “Filigree” (or pen-work), and “Natural” (or limner’s). These types run naturally one into another, and they may be blended or combined in every possible way, but it is convenient to consider them and the distinctive treatments which they involve separately.
“BARBARIC, OR COLOUR-WORK, ILLUMINATION”
(See also pp. 203,
208, 209, 215–18,
414, 421, 422)
This is mainly a colour treatment in which forms seem to be regarded chiefly as vehicles for [p195] colour. Its effect appeals to the senses, rather than to the imagination; and such interest as the forms have lies greatly in their skilful disposal or intricate arrangement. Sometimes in their fantasy—where organic forms are introduced—as the “great fish” in the act of swallowing Jonah (in order to make the T of ET), Plate XII. This type of illumination appears to have reached its climax of barbaric splendour in the twelfth and thirteenth centuries.
Though its revival nowadays might seem a little out of keeping with the more sedate and grown-up point of view of modern life, we cannot doubt that it is still lawful to decorate our work with the brilliance and splendour of gold and colours. Whether it is expedient or not depends upon how it is done: to justify our work, it must succeed; it must be bright and splendid, and really gladden our eyes. And we must really take pleasure in the making of it, for if we do not, we can hardly expect that it will give pleasure to others.
Simple and Complex Forms.—Between simple forms—which are in a sense permanent—and complex forms—which are always changing—it is necessary to make a careful distinction.
An equilateral triangle drawn by “Euclid” and one drawn by a modern Senior Wrangler are, or ought to be, practically the same thing. If the ancients made an ornamental band of geometrical forms, that is no bar to us; we also are at liberty to make decorative bands of circles, lozenges, or triangles.
The ancient Romans made a capital A—its essential form (see fig. 142) two strokes sloped together and joined by a cross-bar (very like the [p196] “Pons Asinorum”), it could hardly be simpler—they used chisels and pens, which gave it its more characteristic and finished form. If we use chisels and pens properly we shall get a similar result—not absolutely the same—for no two chisels or two hands can be quite the same—but closely resembling it and belonging to our own time as much as to any other.
The essential form of the “Roman” A is a purely abstract form, the common property of every rational age and country,41 and its characterisation is mainly the product of tools and materials not peculiar to the ancient Romans.
But when there is any real complexity of form and arrangement, or sentiment, we may reasonably suppose that it is peculiar to its time, and that the life and virtue of it cannot be restored.
It was common enough in the Middle Ages to make an initial A of two dragons firmly locked together by claws and teeth. Such forms fitted the humour of the time, and were part of the then natural “scheme of things.” But we should beware of using such antique fantasies and “organisms”; for medieval humour, together with its fauna and flora, belong to the past. And our own work is only honest when made in our own humour, time, and place.
There are, however, an infinite variety of simple abstract forms and symbols, such as circles, crosses, squares, lozenges, triangles, and a number of Alphabets, such as Square and Round Capitals, [p197] Small Letters—upright and sloping—which—weeded of archaisms—we may use freely. And all these forms can be diversified by the tools with which they are made, and the manner in which the tools are used, and be glorified by the addition of bright colours and silver and gold. Very effective “designs” can be made with “chequers” and diaper patterns, and with the very letters themselves. And I have little doubt that an excellent modern style of illumination is quite feasible, in which the greatest possible richness of colour effect is achieved together with extreme simplicity of form.
“FILIGREE, OR PEN-WORK, ILLUMINATION”
(See also pp. 205–208,
209, 218–20,
425, 428–29;
figs.
79, 92,
125–26,
150, 188–89;
Plates XI., XIII.,
XIV., XVII.)
This is a type of illumination which can safely be attempted by one who, having learnt to write, is desirous of illuminating his writing; for it is the direct outcome of penmanship (see p. 204), and consists mainly of pen flourishes, or semi-formal lines and shapes which can be made with a pen, suitably applied to the part to be decorated. Its effect may be very charming and restful: no colour standing out as in a positive colour scheme, no individual form catching the eye; but the whole having a richness of simple detail and smooth colouring more or less intricate and agreeably bewildering.
It may be compared to the tooling of a book-cover, both in the method of producing it, and in its effect. A book-binder has a number of stamps which bear the simplest forms and symbols, such as [p198] little circles and “leaves” and stars and curved lines, and with these simple elements he builds up a pleasant “design,” which he tools, usually in gold-leaf, upon the cover.
The scribe can vary the forms which his pen produces, and the colours which he gives them, with a freedom that the set form and the method of using the binder’s tools do not allow. But the skilled penman will find that his pen (or, at any rate, his penmanship) largely determines the forms of his freest flourishes and strokes, and that the semi-formal nature of such ornament demands a certain simplicity and repetition of form and colour, which do not unduly tax his skill as a craftsman.
Suppose, for example, that the scribe wishes to illuminate the border of a page of writing. He may choose a limited number of simple, pen-made forms for the elements of his design; say, a circle, a “leaf,” and a “tendril,” and a few curved flourishes and strokes (fig. 121), and with these cover the allotted space evenly and agreeably. [p199]
The ornament being treated as though it were a sort of floral growth, requires a starting point or “root.” The initial letter is the natural origin of the border ornament, the stalk of which generally springs from the side or from one of the extremities of the letter. The main stem and branches are first made with a very free pen, forming a skeleton pattern (fig. 122).
Note.—The numbers in the diagram indicate the order in which the strokes were made. The main stem (111) sweeps over and occupies most of the ground; the secondary stem (222) occupies the remainder; the main branches (333, &c.) make the occupation secure. [p200]
Next the minor branches are added to cover the space evenly, and then the flowers, fruit, and buds—made up of combinations of the “leaves,” circles, &c.—are more or less evenly disposed in the spaces formed by the large, round curves at the ends of the branches (fig. 123). [p201]
The “leaves” are placed all over, wherever there is convenient room for them (just as the leaves of a real plant are). Then the stalks of the leaves are added, and, lastly, the interspaces are filled with “tendrils,” which greatly contribute to the pleasant intricacy of the design (fig. 124). [p202]
Colour Schemes.—The safest treatment of such a “design” is in black and gold (see p. 187). The leaves, which are kept rather flat, may be outlined after gilding. The flowers, &c., may be made up in red and blue (tempered with white: see p. 182). This is the colour treatment of the example, Plate XVII.
If the leaves are green, the stem and outline may be more delicately drawn in pale or grey-brown ink, and the green may be a delicate pale olive or grey-green. (A strong, black stem with bright green leaves is apt to look crude and hard.) In such a delicate green plant border, delicate blue and red flowers, and one or two rather flat gold “berries” (single, or in threes) may be placed.
A very effective colour decoration of a much simpler type may be made in red and green (or blue) pen-work—using the pen and the colours with which the Versal letters and line-finishings are made. A red flourished stem with red leaves or tendrils, and green berries (or leaves), or a green stem with green leaves and red berries.
A floral pattern may also be made in plain burnished gold—both stem and leaves—not outlined (p. 187 & Plate XXII.).
A more complex decoration resembling the “floral filigree” has a “solid” stem in light or dark colour on a dark or light ground (or on a gold ground), as suggested in the rough diagram, fig. 120.
The examples of Italian fifteenth-century work in Plates XVIII. and XIX. show a related type of illumination, known as the “white vine pattern.” Very carefully and beautifully drawn, it strongly suggests natural form.
“NATURAL, OR LIMNER’S,42 ILLUMINATION”
(See also pp. 212,
219–21, 227, 423–24, 426–28, 486; figs. 131a–141; Plates
XV., XVI., XXIII.)
This, the finest type of illumination, has very great possibilities; and it is to be hoped that some craftsmen, who have the necessary skill, will find an opening for their work in this direction. [p203]
Plate XV. is a thirteenth-century example of the transition from the “barbaric” to the “natural.” The dragon-tailed initial with its wonderful scroll-work and “ivy-leaf” being the perfection of barbaric form, carrying brilliant colour and serving to support and frame the delicate and beautiful drawing which it contains.43 But in the drawing itself the skill of a fine illuminator combines with the fancy of a cunning draughtsman to satisfy an æsthetic taste and appeal to the imagination.
Plate XVI. shows a rare, and singularly beautiful, treatment of an Italian fourteenth-century MS. decorated with plant and insect forms (p. 427).
Plate XXIII. (modern) show a border of wild roses and climbing plants: the colour treatment in the original is very brilliant (see p. 486).
The “natural” type depends very much on the beauty and interest of its form; and a draughtsman before he had become an illuminator, might be content to decorate MSS. and printed books with pen drawings only faintly coloured or tinted; but when he had mastered the limitations which the craft would impose on his drawing for pure and bright colour, there is no degree of brilliance, even unto “barbaric splendour,” which he might not lay upon his trained and delicate forms. [p204]
CHAPTER XII THE DEVELOPMENT OF ILLUMINATION44 The Development of Illumination — Line-Finishings — Initial Letters — Borders & Backgrounds.
THE DEVELOPMENT OF ILLUMINATION
An art or craft is so largely dependent on the tools and materials which are used by the craftsman, that we may reasonably say that it begins with the tools and materials, through which it has been produced. Now, “illumination” can be traced back step by step to simple penmanship. And its true development is most graphically sketched by Ruskin (“Lectures on Art,” No. V.) when he says—
“The pen . . . is not only the great instrument for the finest sketching, but its right use is the foundation of the art of illumination. . . . Perfect illumination is only writing made lovely; . . . But to make writing itself beautiful—to make the sweep of the pen lovely—is the true art of illumination;” And also that those who have acquired “a habit of deliberate, legible and lovely penmanship in their daily use of the pen, . . . may next discipline their hands into the control of lines of any length, and, finally, add the beauty of colour and form to the flowing of these perfect lines.” [p205]
LINE-FINISHINGS
Line-finishings are used to preserve the evenness of the text when lines of writing fall short. When the space left is small, or occurs in the middle of a sentence, a quick stroke of the pen—often a continuation of the last letter, or springing from it—is sufficient (fig. 125); but where there are many and long gaps (as, for example, in a psalter at the ends of the verses), they may be filled in with dots (see Plate VIII.) or flourishes (a, b, c, fig. 126) either made in black with the script pen, or with another pen, in colour or gold.
Line-finishings commonly echo the treatment of the initials (see p. 181). In twelfth-century MSS. long delicate flourishes are commonly found, in red, blue, or green—matching the colours of the Versals, and probably made with the same pen. The latter being rather finer than the text pen keeps these flourishes from appearing too prominent (see e, f, fig. 126).
Such work should be simple and characteristic pen-work, showing the thicks and thins and crisp curves, the result of the position of the pen, which is usually “slanted” (see p. 43).
Bands of pen-made “geometrical” patterns—used with rather close writing—may be very simple and direct, though appearing pleasantly elaborate (see figs. 87 and (g) 126, Plate XIV., and pp. 215 & 25).
INITIAL LETTERS
(See also pp. 16,
48, 112–14,
124, 134, 181,
188–193,
193–99, 211–15,
and the Collotype Plates)
The development of Illumination proper was—and still is—bound up with the growth and decoration of the Initial Letter.