The next letter in my illuminated letters alphabet project is an E inspired by an Italian manuscript made in 1438. It is dominated by a dark, striking color palette and clear Romanesque influences.
When I drew up my initial, rough outline of which letter styles I was going to include in this project, I started simply with the manuscripts that have always attracted my eye, regardless of time period or geographical provenience. A 1438 Sacramentary housed in the Vatican Archive (Arch.Cap.S.Pietro.B.67), has always been on the list in some form or another. It's color palette stood out to me. It is strikingly dark and dramatic, which makes it somewhat unusual among manuscripts of its time. It is also characterized by swooping floral elements in interesting shapes. Lastly, it contains certain Romanesque aspects within the illuminated initials, despite being made a few centuries past the peak of that style. I am particularly enamored of Romanesque manuscripts and it's hard for me to resist making an entire alphabet just inspired by that one style.
As usual, I started with a drawing on graph paper, which I then inked and scanned to my computer. I do this for three reasons. The first is so I have a complete archive of every design I have ever made. The second is to make it easier to transfer the design to my final paper. I change the color of the line work in Photoshop and add some guide lines before printing it. By making the line work yellow-ish, I can see where I have traced more easily (I often make them purple-ish). The guide-lines help me to center the design better on my final paper. And, thirdly, if I make a mistake at this point in the process, I can just print a new copy and re-do the tracing.
And as for the paper itself, I tried a new one. I've been on something of a quest to find a paper, or other surface, that will take flat gilding techniques well. In general, most paper has too much texture to produce a truly flat, polished gild without raising the gold up on a bed of size (in which case it wouldn't be considered a 'flat gild' anymore). Flat gilding is much easier on vellum and parchment, which can be made with an extraordinarily smooth surface. But both of those materials are considerably tricky to use. They're also considerably more expensive. And, lastly, they aren't vegan-friendly. It's those final two characteristics that matter here, especially for my clients. Some do not want to pay the added expense of vellum or parchment. And while I'm not a vegan myself, others are and do not want their art work done on an animal skin. So, I try different papers.
The paper for my illuminated E is the best one I have tried so far. It is called Simili Japon and I have only found it through one American seller, Talas. It is very smooth without totally sacrificing an 'interesting' surface, unlike Bristol paper, which always looks sterile to me. It also takes paint well, which Bristol does not. Nor does the imitation parchment, Pergamenata. That paper looks good, but feels 'plastic-y' and buckles with the slightest bit of moisture. At some point, I might try a larger piece on the Simili Japon, but until I do, it might be my go-to for smaller works.
Anyway, without further ado, here is the finished piece.
A few things to note: in the original manuscript, these letters had a lot more black, especially between the swirls of the vines. I chose a very dark blue instead because I thought the black might be a little too dark. I'm still deciding if I regret it or not. Also, the 'slipper' shaped leaves at the ends of the vines were a bit less Romanesque in style in the original. But I love Romanesque, so....
Want to watch a little video that shows most of the process of making this illuminated letter? Click below.
Comments