Saturday, July 15, 2006

Award of Arms

Award of Arms

Based on the Luttrell Psalter, made in England, c. 1325-35.

 The original had a weird cross between an orangutan and a raccoon which I replaced with the grinning gryphon. The smile was actually an accident but everyone comments on that before anything else. The stance of the gryphon really cried out to me. It is taken off of a period chandalier or something like that. I love how the wings curved up like a sphinx and the tail curled in different directions. The original color scheme was more of a peach color than gold, but I didn't want to do another peach and blue piece. The scan makes it look more lemon than gold, but it really is darker in person. I chose this piece because of all the fun whitework on the geometric ornamentation.

Cero e Luce Scroll

Cero e Luce - Grifon


Based on Lancelot du Lac. La Quête du Sant Graal. La Mort le roi Artu.

This book was created for Antoine Vérard, bookseller to Charles VIII, King of France, in 1494. The book was a series of large woodcuts that were overpainted with miniatures. The illumination was by Jaques de Besançon.

Gifford Prosser, Tesnière, Marie-Hélène Creating French Culture: Treasures from the Bibliotèque Nationale de France.
The Library of Congress and the Bibliotèque Nationale de France, 1995. pp 124-125