DIE LOTHRINGISCHE APOKALYPSE -- APOKALYPSE OF LORRAINE -- LI APOCALIPS QUE D.JEHANS VIT: Oc 5

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118 pages. 72 brightly colored miniatures richly decorated with gold and silver. Origin: between 1310 and 1325 in Metz. The text does not follow the New Testament book itself, but an allegorical commentary whose author remains unknown. It is probably a learned cleric from a Metz monastery who wrote the text in an East French vernacular of the type then in use in Lorraine. The portrayal of John in the Apocalypse is unique. The great wealth of variation, the numerous decorative elements, as well as the lovingly designed details, for example in the form of small animals in the initial decoration, as in the fine hallmarks of the gold background of some miniatures, which only become apparent to the viewer on closer inspection, make this manuscript a pearl of Gothic book art. Facsimile + Commentary. The book of Revelation, better known in medieval times as the Apocalypse, is one of the most enigmatic and fascinating books in the Bible and provided illuminators and miniaturists with wonderful opportunities to express their artistic talents. The fantastic images of these often terrifying events produced some of the greatest works of medieval art, including this magnificent masterpiece of Gothic illumination. 72 colorful miniatures with magnificent backgrounds made of shimmering gold leaf or elaborate patterns illustrate the wondrous events. It is also unusual that the work was not written in Latin but in the medieval Lorraine dialect for a presumably secular client in Metz. This is not only an exemplary document of Gothic illumination and the widespread genre of manuscripts of the Apocalypse, but also a work of art in its own right. Lorraine Apocalypse The Li apocalypse que S. Jehans vit, written in Lorraine in the first half of the 14th century, is one of the most beautiful manuscripts in the collections of the Saxon State Library in Dresden. Written in medieval Lorraine dialect and commissioned by a wealthy and demanding Metz patron, the manuscript elaborately depicts the events of the book of Revelation, also known as the Apocalypse. The prophetic text of St. John was one of the most influential texts of medieval philosophy and theology and remains one of the most fascinating biblical texts today. The text in this manuscript is written so precisely that one might think it was printed. It is structured with the help of elegant initials consisting of primary colors with gold leaf and flowering tendrils. 72 colorful miniatures illustrate the events. These often have carefully patterned backgrounds and are further refined by the liberal use of gold leaf but also silver, including numerous burnished gold backgrounds in the Byzantine style. The figures have **expressive faces, natural postures and are dressed in flowing robes with a realistic drape. All of these elements come together to make this Gothic work a fine example of medieval manuscript art.