Publication Date

1999

Document Type

Dissertation/Thesis

First Advisor

Mustari, Louis Frank, 1930-

Degree Name

M.A. (Master of Arts)

Legacy Department

Department of Art

LCSH

Illumination of books and manuscripts; Italian--History; Illumination of books and manuscripts--Italy--History; Illumination of books and manuscripts; Renaissance--Italy--History

Abstract

This thesis seeks specifically to clarify the origin and dissemination of the fifteenth -century Italian manuscript illumination, a border decoration known as bianchi girari, which can be translated as "white vine meanderings". The whitevine tendril emerged in the mid -eleventh century as a motif in manuscript illumination. Cultivated in Tuscany it quickly spread throughout Italy and became a predominant motif. The motif is identified by the use of a leafy or vine-like foliage within the interstices of an initial. It can be colored in white or left with vellum or parchment showing through. The methodology employed in my research was to start from the motif itself in its fully developed form as it appeared at the end of the fifteenth century and work backwards. The scholars whose works were initially consulted did not concern themselves with where the motif had originated, making the path difficult to trace. Fortunately, I recognized a common thread in the appearance of the motif in central Italian illumination and proceeded from there. It was not until I was far into my research that I came upon a book by Knut Berg entitled Studies in Tuscan Twelfth -Century Illumination that targeted the primary precursor of the white-vine tendril motif or, as Berg calls it, the geometric initial. The white-vine tendril underwent four distinctive stages in its Tuscan development: early, transitional, middle, and late geometric initial phases. Each phase absorbed regional styles and was transformed accordingly. The origin of the Tuscan geometric initial is debatable. The most likely arguments attribute it to Ottoman, Franco-Insular, and English origins, and it is likely that all three played an important role in influencing the various stages of its development. The motif fell out of use soon after the twelfth century and did not appear again until the Humanists revived it in fifteenth -century Italy. Attributing the motif to antique Roman origins, the Humanists adopted and adapted the motif, transforming it into the complex, geometrical motif used almost exclusively in manuscript illumination initials and borders. The resultant motif is referred to as bianchi girari.

Comments

Includes bibliographical references (pages [94]-98).

Extent

xii, 98 pages

Language

eng

Publisher

Northern Illinois University

Rights Statement

In Copyright

Rights Statement 2

NIU theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from Huskie Commons for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without the written permission of the authors.

Media Type

Text

Download

Share

COinS