This recent book series is inspired by a visit to the San Marco Museum, a monastery and the first European public library in Florence, Italy. The feeling of awe and connection to ancient wisdom as I entered the room of illuminated manuscripts overcame me.
This large collection, written on the finest parchments, embellished with silver, gold, and precious jewels, had a profound connection for me to the Renaissance era itself.
The Renaissance encompasses European history from 1400 to the beginning of the 1600’s. This period in time marked the reconstruction of humanism and achievements in the field of art, literature, science and philosophy.
As civilization progressed, there became an unprecedented need for copies of books.
Illuminated manuscripts, in particular, evolved from papyrus scrolls of antiquities.
At San Marco, where walls are decorated with devotional frescos by Fra Angelico, cloistered monks copied sacred texts. The practice became a form of prayer and meditation itself.
Later, in the mid 1500’s, the invention of the letterhead press for the written word and the etching press for visual images came into existence. The technology of the etching press is the basis for my monotypes.
I begin by painting on a printmaking plate. The image transfers to paper as it passes between two rollers with even calibrated pressure.
This series became unique by defining the edges of the paper and layering collage with multiple passes through the press. Embellishments of silver and gold leaf with the addition of ribbon, twine, and embossing add an aged mystical glow.
It was 9/11/2001. My husband and I were in Provence, France. We made our way over the French Alps to Florence. Shortly after, we celebrated my birthday by experiencing Michael Angelo’s David in person. Awe-inspiring! Then a visit to San Marco. Senses were already heightened! Ten years later, sitting in my sub-conscious, the influence of that remembered day, birthed the book series. What a treasure of experience!
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