Media Release
Priceless Medieval Manuscripts Bound for Melbourne
1 March 2008
Priceless illuminated manuscripts from Cambridge University join collections from Australia and New Zealand in the largest exhibition of medieval art ever seen in Australia – The Medieval Imagination: Illuminated Manuscripts from Cambridge, Australia and New Zealand.
Opening 28 March and showing only at the State Library Victoria, this once-in-a-lifetime exhibition draws together extraordinary illuminated manuscripts that span 800 years of European history, each a masterpiece of art and imagination.
The Medieval Imagination: Illuminated Manuscripts from Cambridge, Australia and New Zealand is the first collaborative exhibition of manuscripts on this scale in Australia, bringing together collections from 19 different institutions. It will show some 90 hand-made books from the Middle Ages through to the Renaissance, including the oldest European book to ever visit Australia.
Celebrated medieval scholar Emeritus Professor Margaret Manion AO, Professorial Fellow in Art History Melbourne University, is the guest curator of the exhibition. She believes The Medieval Imagination: Illuminated Manuscripts from Cambridge, Australia and New Zealand is the most ambitious exhibition of its kind to be mounted in the southern hemisphere.
‘This is an extraordinary collaboration and a major logistical undertaking for the State Library, Cambridge University and other participating institutions. The manuscripts coming to Melbourne are unique and irreplaceable. Because of their fragile nature we may never see an exhibition like this in Australia again,’ she said.
Dating from the 8th to the 16th centuries, the manuscripts include examples of deluxe book production from Byzantium, England, France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands and Spain.
Among the rare works on display is the exquisite Gospels of St Luke and St John, an early 8th-century book on loan from Corpus Christi College, Cambridge. Pre-dating the Book of Kells, it has illumination closely related to that of the famous Lindisfarne Gospels. From Trinity College, Cambridge, comes a 14th-century illuminated Apocalypse with over 90 illustrations, together with 24 coloured drawings of the life of St Edward, added in the early 15th century.
An important contribution from the State Library of Victoria’s own collection is a history of the Roman emperors which was made for renowned Florentine arts patron Lorenzo de' Medici. It features Lorenzo's arms and insignia on the opening page, and over 80 medallion portraits of the emperors. A splendidly illuminated Gospel Book from 12th-century Constantinople is being lent by the National Gallery of Victoria. A treatise on music by Boethius, illuminated in the 12th century and once belonging to the medieval library of Christ Church, Canterbury, is being lent by the Alexander Turnbull Library, Wellington. Loans from the Auckland City Libraries include a richly illuminated Breviary from Renaissance Perugia.
Anne-Marie Schwirtlich, CEO and State Librarian of the State Library Victoria, notes that The Medieval Imagination: Illuminated Manuscripts from Cambridge, Australia and New Zealand will be the first international exhibition held by the State Library.
‘The medieval imagination in Western Europe was grounded in knowledge transferred through books. These books were produced and reproduced by hand, and those that have survived remain the richest repository of western thought from the fall of the Roman Empire to the rise of printing.
I find it extremely gratifying that the Library has brought these marvellous treasures together for the first time and made them freely available for all to see. It would not be possible without the goodwill that exists between all the contributing institutions and generous support of the Library’s Foundation and exhibition sponsors,’ she said.
A lavishly illustrated catalogue, with contributions by scholars from England, Europe, the US, Australia and New Zealand, will be available for purchase, and the exhibition will be complemented by a program of talks, tours and activities at the State Library of Victoria.
The Medieval Imagination: Illuminated manuscripts from Cambridge, Australia and New Zealand
28 March–15 June 2008
State Library of Victoria, 328 Swanston Street, Melbourne
Open 10am–5pm daily (to 9pm Thursdays)
Free entry
The State Library Victoria gratefully acknowledges the generous support of the lenders to the exhibition:
Cambridge
Syndics of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Syndics of the University Library, Master and Fellows of Trinity College, Master and Fellows of Corpus Christi College
New Zealand
Alexander Turnbull Library, National Library of New Zealand, Auckland City Libraries, Dunedin Public Libraries, John Kinder Theological Library, St John’s College, Auckland
Australia
New South Wales
State Library of New South Wales, University of Sydney Library, The Franciscan Friars - Province of the Holy Spirit
Australian Capital Territory
National Library of Australia, National Gallery of Australia, The Classics Department at the Australian National University
South Australia
State Library of South Australia
Victoria
Ballarat Fine Art Gallery, National Gallery of Victoria, University of Melbourne, Baillieu Library
Exhibition sponsors
The Medieval Imagination is presented by:
The State Library of Victoria Foundation and the State Government of Victoria
Major sponsors
Qantas, Palace Cinemas, Yarra Trams
Sponsors and supporters
City of Melbourne, J.C. Decaux, AAMI, K.W. Doggett Fine Paper, Click, Victorian Managed Insurance Authority, Herald Sun, 3AW, The Sebel Melbourne, Citigate Melbourne, Reader’s Feast Bookstore, Swisse Vitamins, Metlink, Macmillian Publishers, V/Line, Avant Card, J.T. Reid Charitable Trust, Limelight Magazine
Media inquiries and image requests
Matthew van Hasselt
Media relations coordinator
State Library of Victoria
Ph: 03 8664 7263
Email: mvanhasselt@slv.vic.gov.au
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