Synopses & Reviews
'Today Renaissance-era prints are typically preserved behind glass or in solander boxes in museums, but these decorative objects were once a central part of everyday life.
Altered and Adorned is a delightful, surprising look at how prints were used: affixed on walls; glued into albums, books, and boxes; annotated; hand-colored; or cut apart.
This handsome volume introduces readers to the experimental world of printmaking in the mid-15th and 16th centuries and the array of objects it inspired, from illustrated books, sewing patterns, and wearable ornaments to printed sundials and anatomical charts. It features many never-before-published treasures from the Art Institute of Chicago\'s rich permanent collection, along with essays on the ways prints functionedin some cases as three-dimensional and interactive worksand how their condition communicates their use. '
Synopsis
This striking publication features important works of medieval art ranging from the early Christian era to the later Middle Ages, from both Western Europe and Byzantium. An introductory essay by Christina Nielsen focuses on the Art Institute's history of notable medieval acquisitions, including items from the famous Guelph Treasure, which captivated American audiences in the 1930s.
Written by a team of Art Institute curators, the catalogue section combines full-color reproductions and short entries on diverse works including drawings, glassware, carved ivories, illuminated manuscripts, metalwork, paintings, prints, textiles, and sculpture. Among the many highlights are a twelfth-century silver reliquary casket from Spain depicting the martyrdom of Saint Adrian; an early thirteenth-century head of an apostle from the cathedral of Notre-Dame, Paris; a fourteenth-century ivory triptych with scenes from the Life of Christ carved by the Berlin Master; Jacques de Baerze's Corpus of Christ, commissioned by the Duke of Burgundy around 1390; and a fifteenth-century book of hours, complete with twelve full-page miniatures, painted by the Ghent Privileges Master.
About the Author
'Suzanne Karr Schmidt is Andrew W. Mellon Curatorial Fellow in Prints and Drawings at the Art Institute of Chicago. Kimberly Nichols is Associate Conservator in Prints and Drawings at the Art Institute of Chicago. '