CHAPTER XIX

THE FURTHER DEVELOPMENT OF ILLUMINATION

The style of decoration suggested in the previous chapter was based, to a large extent, on pen-work. The examples indicated in Fig. 32 show a further development, in which brush-work plays a more prominent part.

A suggestion for an illuminated version of the Twenty-third Psalm is shown in (_d_). The decoration here may appear somewhat stiff, but it is difficult to show in black and white the effect that colour gives. This simple and somewhat severe type of decoration is, however, much easier for the beginner than the freer kind of ornament.

It is rather difficult to suggest in writing the exact colouring, as so much depends on the various shades used to form the general colour scheme. Possibly the following notes may be useful to the student as indicating roughly the colours that may be used.

The writing is in black with the capital letters in red. The background of the initial and border, _viz._, the parts indicated by horizontal shading, should be blue. This colour should be neither too dark nor too light, also it should not tend towards either purple or green. The student should take special note of the blues used by the mediæval artists. The large initial T should be painted in a warm shade of red, not quite so vivid as vermilion, nor yet a cool crimson. The centre of this initial and also the centres of the blossoms, with the background of the small circles formed by the stems, are of raised burnished gold, as also are the small buds in the line work. The stems should be painted in a neutral tint and may be heightened up in places with touches of clean bright colour. The leaves may be green shaded with a lighter tint of the same colour. The flowers might be a pale creamy tint with the centres shaded with orange. The scroll-work on the colour may be painted either in white or in a lighter tint of the background colour upon which it is painted. The initial T may be treated in this way, and also shaded with a darker red.

In (_e_) an arrangement is shown for a page with the border completely surrounding it. Some endeavour should be made to get good pattern with the masses of gold and colour. In the page suggested in (_f_) the decoration is formed down one side, springing from the initial P. The initial B that is shown here is in raised gold, the flowers in the centre also being in gold, as well as the berries in the pen-work springing from the letter. The background of the letter is blue and red--blue where the shading is indicated by horizontal strokes and red where vertical strokes are used.

A study of plant form is very useful to the illuminator. The decoration used by the mediæval artist was practically all based on natural forms, and some of the best advice that can be given to the modern illuminator is that he should study nature. In doing this the student should remember that the object is primarily decoration and not representation. He should not degrade this art into a mere realistic rendering of sprays of flowers, insects, etc., but rather aim at producing decoration as the direct result of his study of nature. As an example, some of the ivy-leaf decoration that was so much used during the fourteenth century is shown here. The importance of study from nature cannot be emphasized too strongly. Drawing from plant-form is one of the best exercises the illuminator can have. Possibly a few hints on this important study will be of service to the student.

In the first place, when drawing a plant, or indeed any natural object, one should be careful to avoid drawing it like drawing a map, _i.e._, without realising that it is form. If this is persisted in, the result will be that the drawing will be lacking in vitality, besides being not nearly so intelligible. If the endeavour be made to keep constantly before the mind the fact that it is _form_ that one is drawing, and everything is carefully reasoned out before attempting to draw it, the finished drawing will not only have far more life in it, but it will also be much easier to understand.

One should also strive to draw with feeling; there is a great difference between a _living_ plant and an artificial reproduction of it. The drawings of plants and flowers made by some students remind one of paper flowers and foliage, as they are drawn in such a hard and severe manner. A natural leaf is a thing of beauty, there is nothing rigid or stiff about it, but one that is cut out of paper is dead and unyielding in every respect and is absolutely devoid of all feeling. One should get all the life and feeling possible into one’s drawing, and this comes from plenty of practice in careful and thoughtful drawing from nature.

When making plant studies for one’s own use in design there is no need to limit oneself by making outline drawings in pen and ink, as when they are intended to be reproduced by means of line-blocks. The aim of the artist should be to make the drawing as much as possible like the original. It is not advisable to go in for sketchy effects; everything should be made perfectly intelligible so that it is possible to understand every detail of the drawing.

Of course, some parts of the plant should be painted in colours, so as to form a record of the actual colours, but for general drawing a soft black-lead pencil, such as a 3 or 4B, is very useful. One should be careful to observe all the details, such as the way the branches attach themselves to the main stem, also the manner in which the leaves and flowers arrange themselves. The feeling of unity which runs throughout the whole of the plant should be carefully noted, how there is a distinct relationship between every leaf and bud with the main stem.

There is no need to confine one’s nature study to actual plant-drawing. If one’s powers of perception are trained to observe, there is a great deal to be learned from a walk in the country. Attention should be given to the pattern that abounds everywhere in nature; flowery banks and hedgerows are rich in suggestion. The meadow spangled with buttercups and daisies is a delightful example. A field of barley when it is just beginning to change colour offers a wealth of possibilities both in pattern and colour. Then take trees, their different structure and foliage. No two species of trees are exactly alike in the arrangement of foliage, etc. One should not, however, give too much attention to detail to the neglect of considering things as a whole. For example, a tree as a whole should be noted, attention being given to the way in which the trunk springs from the ground and the general massing of the branches and foliage.

The use of a sketch-book for noting things down is very useful, but too much reliance should not be placed on this. If one’s powers of perception are trained to observe, the memory will be stored with an abundance of suggestions and ideas from the study of nature that has been going on almost unconsciously day by day.

As well as nature study, the student should also make careful study of some of the best illuminated work of the mediæval period, especially on the lines indicated in the chapter on the Initial Letter. The use of a note-book will prove to be very serviceable for this purpose. Quick sketches of the arrangement of the pages, as suggested in Fig. 33, should help the student very much in arranging the decoration of the page. Of course, the drawing of details is also useful, as by carefully copying some of the initials and decoration he is able to gain some experience of the mediæval artists’ methods of working.

Possibly it may be as well to say a few words about miniature painting in connection with illumination. As has often been explained, the term “miniature” when used with reference to illuminated MSS. must not be confounded with the modern idea of miniature painting, _i.e._, painting on a small scale in a minute fashion, as the word “miniature” is derived from the Latin word _minium_, the red pigment used in the decoration of MSS., therefore the original meaning is writing or painting with minium. There is also no reason at all why miniatures, when painted on vellum and used in conjunction with illumination, should be stippled and worked up in the minute fashion that is usual with the ordinary miniatures on ivory.

It is not advisable to paint these in a similar way to the ordinary water-colour painting. It is very difficult to paint on vellum in this way. Undoubtedly the best way is to paint fairly direct, using body colour. The miniatures should be nicely finished without any excessive laboured finish produced by stippling or other similar methods.

A miniature should always be treated as part of the decoration, and not as a picture added to it. If the student examines carefully the best work of the mediæval period he will notice that it is practically impossible to separate the miniature from the rest of the decoration. A strong feeling of unity runs throughout the whole. The greater part of modern work, however, differs in this respect. The miniature is often quite good, so also is the decoration, but they are independent of each other. It would be quite possible to replace the miniature by another totally different. The ideal that he should endeavour to attain to is to make the miniature with the rest of the decoration form one harmonious whole.

Although the miniature should be essentially decorative, there is no need to make it too rigid and conventional. A fair amount of sketching from nature will go a good way towards preventing this. It is not a bad plan for the student to practise making small quick sketches in oils from nature, treating the subject broadly and going for colour. This will help him very much in painting his miniatures in a direct fashion, and, if this is combined with plenty of careful drawing, it should enable him to develop his style of decoration considerably.

With regard to the decoration as a whole, it has often been said that it is impossible to teach one how to design, but that it is possible to direct one in the right way; and there is no better method than that suggested above, _viz._, a study of nature combined with good examples of work that has been done in the past.

When designing, it is a great mistake to strive after originality. The way to be original is to be natural and do the work in the best way that one is able. If the artist does this he is certain to be original, as he cannot help himself. If he strives after originality the work produced will be of an unhealthy type, and will show signs of affectation which will be anything but pleasant.

Imitating someone else is equally foolish, as an imitation can never be equal to the real thing. Art is worth nothing unless it springs spontaneously from the joy of working, without any concentration on its æsthetic aspects. Therefore the thing for the modern illuminator to do is not to imitate either ancient or modern artists, but simply seek to do his best, giving the best workmanship that he is capable of. There are untold possibilities in the future for the development of schools of illumination as great as any of those that have existed in the past.

There are quite a number of different ways in which illumination might be used in the present day. Perhaps it might be useful to suggest a few of these.

The Illuminated Address and the Illuminated MS. Book are so important that separate chapters have been devoted to these.

One of the most important things that illumination can be used for is for the service of the Church.

Altar tablets offer plenty of scope for the modern illuminator. They should, of course, be on vellum and be framed quite simply.

Service Books, such as the Communion Service, also provide another application for illumination. Books should be written in sections. (See