The First Shelter-In-Place Scribal War
Summer of 2020
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It all started with a challenge...
It all started with a challenge...
It was nicknamed the Great Scribal War and we were competing across kingdoms for a variety of categories. It was a lot of fun, and I am proud I represented the Kingdom of the West for the letter P. I won my category (Historiated Initial P) and had a lot of fun at the same time!
The Contest: Create an Historiated Initial
The Contest: Create an Historiated Initial
Originally named The Battle of the Illuminated Capitals, the war consisted of a single objective: Each entrant was provided with (2) 4" x 3" pieces of parchment or vellum of varying quality and finish. On one, we were asked to produce an outline format of a single illuminated capital (letter) of the size 3" x 2" The second piece will have the same illuminated capital letter, same 3" x 2" size, fully illuminated to completion.
Our "Western Scribal War Band" decided to enter the Best historiated Alphabet category.
Layout and Design
Layout and Design
To meet the contest objectives, I looked for an illuminated letter that appealed to me and my painting style. Not one to miss an opportunity to better my abilities, I looked for examples that would expand my knowledge and skillset in addition to being pleasing to the eye.
I also placed an emphasis on locating and evaluating separated pieces. Those are when you find pages that have been cut out of a book or parts of pages of an unknown manuscript that have been cut off a page for quick resale by private art collectors.
Keeping in mind that color and harmony are #1 most important aspect to a good layout and good final result, I chose two pieces to merge together to form my unique submission
What makes an Illuminated letter an Historiated Initial?
What makes an Illuminated letter an Historiated Initial?
Illuminated letters are differentiated from Historiated Initials by the message they are intending to convey. Historiated initials as illuminated letters on an illuminated manuscript that have been decorated with animals, flowers, or other designs and have a narrative or symbolic purpose.
Basically they are there to tell a story
I found an Historiated initial that I liked, and made a layout. Only problem was the complexity of the scene in the middle would be too busy for the space allowed. So I had to look for a different Historiated scene.
I found an Historiated initial that I liked, and made a layout. Only problem was the complexity of the scene in the middle would be too busy for the space allowed. So I had to look for a different Historiated scene.
Historiated initial H depicting the Nativity, from a choir piece, on Calfskin vellum. Painted by the Master of Burgo de Osma, Italy (fl.1400-20)
Currently in the Osma-Soria Chapter House, Soria, Spain at the Bridgeman Art Library
I found a smaller image for the inside of the initial. Came from an Historiated initial G depicting St. Agnes, on vellum, year and origin unknown.
I found a smaller image for the inside of the initial. Came from an Historiated initial G depicting St. Agnes, on vellum, year and origin unknown.
St. Agnes of Rome is the patron saint of chastity, girls, betrothed women (she chose Christ as her betrothed), rape victims, virgins and gardeners, since virginity is symbolized as a closed garden.
The color Palette
The color Palette
Then one of the more important aspects of fine art begins - establishing the project color palette. Color and Harmony are one of the most important aspects to a good final result.
This piece uses an indigo pigment as it's main color (main color means you see it almost everywhere), and a lovely rose madder that was very very popular in Italy at the time as a complementary color.
Both pigments have a hidden hue of violet which under the right light and conditions comes out in the work. That color was the real harmony that I was working to achieve
A little bit about the use of Indigo and Rose Madder Lake in 'period'.
A little bit about the use of Indigo and Rose Madder Lake in 'period'.
Rose Madder Lake
Rose Madder Lake
The pink pigment NR9 is what we know as Rose Madder lake. It is a fugitive color derived from the dried and mashed roots of Garance/Rubia Tinctorum and is also known for making the period form of Alizarin Crimson - PR83. This lovely violet red pigment is a color that was used by early Greeks and Romans in antiquity.
In the 12th century, madder roots and dyed fabrics were sold in Paris. Later on, these fabrics were sold to Italy under the name of the cities of origin, such as Scarlet of Caen.
Indigo
Indigo
The lush blue violet of Indigo has been known since antiquity. NB1 is known to come various plant sources such as Indian woad and other plants world-wide, dependent on locality. It is a slightly toxic dye and is known as a fugitive color. Manuscript painting is a perfect fit for fugitive pigments as the pigment isn't exposed to light and air very often.
The use of indigo as a pigment makes sense in lesser important manuscript paintings, such as a choir piece - like my source material - as it's affordable and easy to acquire.
What makes a pigment Madder?
What makes a pigment Madder?
In this case, the Rose Madder pigment was created from a plant called Madder. So the pigments derived from the Madder plant are Madder pigments.
The Madder plant is the mother pigment to many different paint colors, but most famously Alizarin Crimson - a workhorse of a pigment that by combining with other pigments creates fabulous purples and violets, as well as simply dulling down vivid colors or warming them up, accordingly
What makes a pigment Lake?
What makes a pigment Lake?
A lake pigment is a pigment made by wetting a dye with an inert binder, or "mordant". As in the case of gouache, the wetting agent is Gum Arabic.
Unlike vermilion, ultramarine, and other pigments made from ground minerals, lake pigments are organic. The Madder root's resulting pink/violet/crimson pigment is a perfect example of a period lake Pigment.
Basically using the term Lake is saying this pigment is also a paint.
Outlining the first piece
Outlining the first piece
I made the outline and got to work tracing and inking onto my sheepskin
To the right is a time-lapse video of my outline. It was pretty fun to make. As you can see, there is a point where the ink outline gets too confusing and tight. It's easy to see from this video why this the busy and tight style of late-period illumination art is not suited to charters and other line art medium.
Modeling out the images and motifs
Modeling out the images and motifs
After researching and documenting the letter and images I wanted to use, I carefully modeled out my chosen images' various motif's and styles to make sure I would be ready to paint them accurately and to this very very small scale.
dime for scale. This is some testing to learn how to do the vines on the left column. I added a dime for scale as you can see this whole project was very small
teeny tiny leaves. Detailed testing happened to make sure I was able to paint and shade attractively at this small scale. At this scale its nearly impossible to achieve any sort of blending, and so it wasn't as smooth as I'd of liked. I was forced to cut a brush to be smaller than a 40/0 size to do the details.
Getting organized to work
Getting organized to work
My strategy for staying organized
Gilding on
Gilding on
... and painting is FINALLY started.
... and painting is FINALLY started.
The one on the right is Pergamenata and the one of the left is the sheepskin from the contest organizer. It was MUCH easier to paint on pergamenata and as a result the image is smoother and has better color harmony. I wasn't able to finish the pergamenata one for my own archives before the contest deadline. I plan to finish it soon.
THE WINNING LETTER!!
THE WINNING LETTER!!
This was the entry I sent in. It was an Historiated initial of the letter P and was painted with M. Graham gouache and sumi gold on sheepskin. The halo was gilded using instacol and 23kt blattgold patent gold leaves.
The letter P is modeled after the letter H from a partial page cut from a music sheet created by an anonymous artist within the workshop known as the Master of Burgo de Osma, Italy (fl.1400-20). The inside is a depiction of Saint Agnes of Rome, who is the patron saint of chastity, girls, betrothed women, rape victims, virgins and gardeners.
The palette I picked for the Historiated Initial is based off the original's delicate hue's of indigo and rose madder, two period pigments that were very popular in Italy during the era in which my source image was painted. I chose to pump up the madder (the lotus pink hue) so as to emphasize the lovely lavender undertones that indigo can pick up when placed next to a perfect pink.
It took approximately 20 hours to design and paint and it now lives in Oregon with the contest judge.
Jocelyn's Artisan Display for March Crown 2021 consists of four pages. Here is a site map for ease of access:
Jocelyn's Artisan Display for March Crown 2021 consists of four pages. Here is a site map for ease of access:
Jocelyn's Main Display page - links to other pages and a small gallery of other art further down the page
The Great Scribal War of 2020 Page - You are currently on this page
Scroll Gallery - several of my featured scrolls including three never before displayed
Trading Cards and Occasional Art page - with some of my cutest art as well as pieces I have made as research for future projects
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