Left: Miniature from a Latin Bible: St. Luke, ca. 1100. France, Burgundy, Abbey of Cluny. Ink, tempera, and gold on vellum; 6 3/4 x 6 5/16 in. (17.30 x 16.10 cm). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund (1968.190). Right: The Winchester Bible's opening initial showing St. Jerome at his desk (fol. 1) (detail), ca. 1150–80. Winchester Cathedral Priory of St, Swithun. Tempera and gold on parchment. Lent by the Chapter of Winchester Cathedral. Image courtesy of the author
In the course of the last three months, we have had the privilege of exhibiting the Winchester Bible—one of the masterpieces of medieval painting—and seeing it reunited with the Morgan Leaf, one of most spectacular paintings from the year 1200 and originally part of the Bible. Because of the possibility of displaying multiple openings of volume one of the Bible and three bi-folios of volume two—currently in the midst of conservation treatment and rebinding—one was able to compare and contrast the multiple artists who created this special work.
Several remarkable juxtapositions drove home the international character of some of the artists illuminating the Bible. As we looked at the larger context of the art of the Winchester Bible, the Museum's own illuminated initials from a Bible made for the Cistercian Abbey of Pontigny in Burgundy proved to be so surprisingly similar in design, palette, and artistic temperament that one would think that the same painter made them both, or, at least, there was a direct artistic interchange between Burgundy and Winchester.
This French connection was also emphasized by medieval art historian and librarian Christopher de Hamel's Sunday at the Met talk in February. He suggested that there was a stronger artistic association between the great Benedictine Abbey of Cluny in Burgundy and the Winchester Bible because the patron of the Winchester Bible, Bishop Henry of Blois, was initially trained there and returned with some frequency. By comparing a cutting from an early twelfth-century Cluny Bible, which shows the Evangelist St. Luke, now in the Cleveland Museum of Art, and the Winchester Bible's opening initial, which shows St. Jerome at his desk, by the Master of the Genesis initial (both pictured above), one senses that a visual cord is established. Historical circumstances make it possible since Henry came from Cluny to Glastonbury Abbey by 1126 and then became Bishop of Winchester in 1129.
Many visitors were intrigued by the way the illuminators of the Winchester Bible interacted with the principal scribe to create such extraordinarily grand initials for the openings of the books of the Bible. The last of those exhibited in volume one, folio 99v, shows a great initial F, beginning the word "Factum" (For it came to pass), and occupies the full column of text, with the narrative bursting from the confines of the letter. The initial shows pure creative genius at work; the text alone gives dramatic inspiration to the artist.
Many visitors were astonished at the brilliance of the pigments used in the illuminations, and especially the abundant use of a luminous deep blue, most evident in the Morgan Leaf. Made from the semi-precious stone lapis lazuli, the deep blue color was highly prized in the ancient world due to its rarity; originating mainly from Afghanistan and Iran, it was difficult to find, making it even more precious and costly than gold. As a celestial color, the blue signified divine presence and majesty. As a result, it logically became connected to the Virgin Mary and to royalty in the Middle Ages. In the Winchester Bible, its lavish use becomes a hallmark of luxury, magnificence, and pure beauty.
The idea of magnificence is visually expressed throughout the Bible—and not just in the color blue. In its day, a reference to the Bible called it "a masterpiece created for the glory of God." This sentiment carries through the ages. When it arrived here for the opening in early December, The Very Reverend James Atwell, Dean of Winchester Cathedral, who greatly facilitated the loan, reflected: "The Winchester Bible has the power to connect you with the beauty of holiness." This sentiment was just as valid when it was created as it is today.
When the volumes of the Bible return to Winchester, and the conservation treatment and rebinding of all four volumes are completed, they will reside in a new exhibition area within the transept of the cathedral, where the Bible can be admired for generations to come.