The Art Histori The Book Of Kells

Improved Essays
The Book of Kells is not only a book of gospels rich with information that could be studied to understand the theological aspects of north west Europe in the 8th century, but also as a wonderful and fascinating work of art. Also known as the illuminated manuscript, this piece of art gives us such great depth and insight into early Christianity and the creative expression of the monks in the said era. This essay will explain why this manuscript is of such great importance to the art historian.

The Book of Kells contains a large number of full page illustrations, some of which are portraits of Jesus. Many of the artworks included very intricate and elaborate designs that were very detailed. Its pages are made of the finest vellum and its text is
…show more content…
The extravagant depictions matched with brilliant colours and elaborate ornamentation make this one of the most stunning representations of not only a bible, but also art in this 8th century. Although the origins of the Book of Kells is somewhat controversial and mostly debatable, this does not deviate from the fact that the book itself gives an amazing peek into 8th century North West Europe in both religion and art.

The book itself is important as art historians can learn about the worship of Christianity in the past. To the art historian, it shows the power of Christianity and the strong belief it had in this time. It is a true testament to the preservation of Christianity that this book has survived the tides of time. T technical aspect of the book aids the historian as many things can be learned about that era such as the materials and dyes used.

The contents of the book paint a more detailed picture of medieval art. It gives us great insight

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    Turning Points: Decisive Moments in the History of Christianity is an over-arching study of Christianity beginning with the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70. It is organized around fourteen points considered by author Mark Noll to be the most critical to the formation of Christianity as we know it. This book serves those who are researching the topic in an academic manner or who wish to have a survey of Christian history in totality. This book is not for some who have a casual interest in the growth and change that the church has encountered, due to it is vast amount of material and somewhat confusing arrangement.…

    • 2220 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Most people stopped doing religious drawings to having their minds flow and creating one’s unique work. As a result, portraits and landscapes from around 1300s to the modern time had become more realistic than before 1300s with the help of increasing individualism in the…

    • 1168 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Renaissance Art Dbq

    • 671 Words
    • 3 Pages

    6. The Renaissance was not restricted to Italy. It spread to northern countries such as France and Germany. One of the cities that benefited greatly from the Renaissance was Burges. The city Burges is in the Flemish region of what is now considered Belgium.…

    • 671 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Middle Ages DBQ

    • 621 Words
    • 3 Pages

    In the Middle Ages art was made to support the church and certain things were not accepted by the church. In the Renaissance art was open to the public and new ideas. Also with the church’s power slowly digressing, art had…

    • 621 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    It was customary in Medieval art to portray the martyrs standing on the weapons of their murderers. In this piece, Christ is trending on the lion and the adder, a metaphorical representation of the devil himself. The artist makes this triumph look effortless, showing Christ’s face with a calm, reassuring expression, which emphasizes the foreordination and necessity of Christ’s victory as an infinite, all-powerful creator over this finite, powerless creature. This portrayal of Christ the conquerer upheld the Aristotelian belief in the attainable possibility of immortality through an infinitely powerful Christ, if virtue and goodness were pursued by the faithful. This notable expansion of the doctrine of Christ from a divine, aloof judge into other roles like priest, teacher, and conquerer, is a hallmark example of how Christian theology continued to develop a clearer picture of who Christ really is as time and cultures passed away.…

    • 1727 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The period of Medieval Art has many sub categories, one of which is Byzantine art, which originally spawned from Greek and Roman styles. During the medieval times artworks such as paintings and sculptures in the round were no longer being created, so the arts of the time were often mosaics (on the interior walls of churches), manuscripts in richly decorated bibles and architecture. Mosaics, specifically, changed over this period. Transforming from the classical style of the Greeks and Romans, with the realistic and naturalistic forms, developing its own methods, becoming denatured and adding an abundance of symbolism to the pieces. Two such examples are the Justinian and Theodora mosaics at San Vitale.…

    • 2115 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Who Is Beowulf?

    • 260 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The Germanic Tribes told a few stories one of which was Beowulf. The epic, Beowulf “was the first monumental literary composition in a European vernacular language” (Fiero 123). That way everyone in European could understand the poem at the time. This epic’s purpose was to “celebrate the deeds of warrior heroes” as well as to entertain the audience with song (Fiero 123). Beowulf's original story is unknown, since this tale came to existents far before the written word was generalized.…

    • 260 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In my Humanities essay 1 paper, I will be discussing how Christ was found in many Byzantine mosaics and icons. I will also discuss what these symbols represented and the many values that were and represented and not represented. To fully understand what these symbols meant you have to first under the full history behind Byzantine art meant. I am going to fully explain this concept in my essay, and give an understanding of how Mosaic were used and formed during this time and how many artworks were created. I will also explain the rise and fall of new Christianity and old Christianity.…

    • 884 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Vienna Coronation Gospels was created before the year, ca. 800. It is an illuminated manuscript hand-written by the scribes and miniaturists at Charlemagne’s court in Aachen. The Coronation Gospels contains four full page evangelist portraits. These images are richly illuminated with each page being written on purple dyed parchment in gold and silver ink.…

    • 995 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Middle Ages Influence

    • 578 Words
    • 3 Pages

    This caused all advances to be minimal, it was challenging to focus on a study when from dawn to dusk life was centered on providing for yourself, family and your lords. The monks who spent hours “pouring over books in cloisters” (Chaucer, 1993, line 189) and writing scripture were the artists of this era. While spending hours copying Latin text the monks would draw the activities and the world around them. The Luttrell Psalter, written in the fourteenth century, is a very decorated manuscript commissioned for a wealthy landowner. It is renowned for its illustrations of Lord Luttrell’s life and beautifully shows the artistic ability and depth of the Middle Ages.…

    • 578 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Calligraphy In Islamic Culture

    • 1779 Words
    • 8 Pages
    • 10 Works Cited

    Writing was widely used as a decorative element (Rosenthal 54) and became the "most important means" of ornamentation (Schimmel, Islamic 3-4). According to Khatibi and Sijelmassi, "the rhythmic movement of the way in which letters are joined and the harmonious nature of their forms combine to confer a sense of strength and elegance upon the buildings" (191). All aspects of buildings were decorated by painting or carving sacred text as art work (191). Mosques, madrasahs, and mausoleums were decorated with "both Qur'anic verses and historical dates" (Schimmel, Islamic 4). In fact, any place where man wanted to glorify God and Muhammad, the "splendors of calligraphy" were used to provide "the final touch of grandeur" to develop the reputation of the building (Khatibi and Sijelmassi 191).…

    • 1779 Words
    • 8 Pages
    • 10 Works Cited
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Analytical Essay on the Renaissance Art During the Renaissance period painters had the desire to demonstrate art that showed happiness in the human form that depicted the beauty in life’s pleasures. Renaissance art is very realistic compared to the art of the Middle Ages. Throughout the Middle Ages, art remained more religious. Renaissance artist perceived art in many different ways.…

    • 703 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Mary, The Mother Of God

    • 1302 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Our Mother Revealed Throughout the course of history, art and religion have been connected. “Art is created and enjoyed by many people for many reasons.” One of art’s earliest ambitions was the practice of religious ritual (Jirousek, Charlotte). Over the span of many centuries, the Church was the number one supporter of artists.…

    • 1302 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Art Work Analysis Christian world by Andrew Wyeth is one of the famous work of art in the American History. The art is conveyed through a drawing that depicts the religious and social status of the people during that particular age. In essence, Christian World is a picture art that was drawn in the year 1948. The medium of the modern art acquired the land scape painting from the Macbeth Gallery. Nevertheless, the art is available for public view and analysis at the Museum of Modern Art in the New York City.…

    • 771 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Roman Art Research Paper

    • 807 Words
    • 4 Pages

    Whether it’s art from ancient times or art made yesterday, people around the world appreciate art and the brief history that it provides about the period of time that it came from. Art is something that was made in every single time period including the Medieval time period and Renaissance period. Artist in each period painted, sculpted, drew and did many other things to produce art that relates to them and the time period they were apart of. When one looks at art from back then, one will have a good idea of some of the things that occurred either in that artist life or around them. Some of the famous types of art that will be researched will be ancient Egyptian art, Ancient Roman art, and Anicient Chinese art.…

    • 807 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays