...en francais!
There has always been a particular fascination on my part with medieval illuminated manuscripts. They are the Kodachrome 64 of their day: brilliant saturated color, lovely to behold. This exhibition at
La Biblioteque Nationale de France (BNF, French National Library) is one of the very best I've encountered. With many images, delightfully displayed with even a few audio presentations, it can enthrall for hours. There is an English language site, but I discovered it is not as extensive as the French site. If you can decipher French, it is well worth the small effort. Besides, you'll get some practice!
A corrollary site is
Le Livre de Chasse, the Book of the Hunt. Click on "l'image", then on "le mouvement" on the left side menu to view a compositional analysis of the painting. Perhaps it is because I studied physics and not art that I find it so educational. I think painters, and photographers, develop a natural eye for capturing motion within the still frame that is their art. The analyst here does a marvelous job of exposing the geometry and movement underlying the composition. The image below is a snip of the spiral elements within the painting. To the right are the various other elements used to convey the idea of motion.
Labels: art
