r/Medievalart

Black Raven is a soulslike hack and slash RPG set in a fictional slavic mythological world. Just recently launched on Kickstarter

Hi! I’ve been looking into medieval art lately but I’ve been struggling to identify a lot of the figures in artworks (I was never given a religious education so I’m unsure as to whether they are biblical characters or just random figures a lot of the time). I was wondering if anyone knew anything about the figures in this folio from the Psalter of Bonne de Luxembourg? (The two on either side of the coat of arms and also the one with the ladder - maybe a hybrid because of his legs?)

Very pleased with how he turned out and I won’t be selling him because his base body was over $300 and fully poseable 😂 he will stay in my personal collection til death due us part LOL ☠️

Just finished up a 4 day course by Julia Bangert! This is the result of the course, I had a lot of fun and think I found my new art style I want to learn.

I’m currently writing a dissertation on Hildegard of Bingen’s Scivias illustrations.

In Book 3 vision III she refers to the first two figures as wearing purple. The colours used are usually faithful to her descriptions, so I’m wondering if anyone knows why these figures are instead in white and red? I know purple was expensive to produce but I looked it up and apparently it was still somewhat common to use in the 12th century, and if they couldn’t get it they would often emulate it using blue and red mixtures.

Anyone have any idea why it wouldn’t be used?

My parents have had it on the wall for as long as I can remember, wondering if it’s original or a reproduction.
From my limited knowledge I know that;

1- the paint is authentic, definitely not a print, as it is raised, and as shown on the second slide is flaking.

2- It’s in latin and possibly a Gregorian chant? Still learning about this four line writing and how to read it but I’m getting there.

3- vellum? maybe?

If anyone has info on what exactly we’re looking at here please share, my art history major friend believes it is unoriginal but even so I would be curious to know when a reproduction would be made with so much care as this. most are just prints on some fancy paper, no? I hope I’ve come to the right place!

I’ve recently started publishing a historical documentary series made with charcoal drawings and historical maps.

The series focuses on the Eastern Roman / Byzantine Empire and the Sultanate of Rum / the Seljuks, their wars, politics, culture, and the changing landscape of medieval Anatolia.

The maps are prepared with great care, and much of the research is based on the work of Byzantine historian John Haldon and other academic studies. We work directly from scholarly material rather than Wikipedia summaries.

No AI tools are used in the production process. The drawings, maps, and visual compositions are all created by hand for this series.

Whenever a source is mentioned in the documentary, its reference appears on-screen in the lower left corner.

I also share sketch pages and preliminary charcoal studies from each episode in the community section for anyone interested in the making process.

Full sketch archive: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPX8OuBNh6a4Kq7FMXwXMhg/community

Video: https://youtu.be/BFKC0YEclBU

Andrés Marzal de Sas, or Andreu Marçal de Sax was a painter of Dutch origin who worked in Valencia, Spain. Based on his name, he was from Sas van Gent, although some sources indicate he may have been from Saxony. Between 1393 and 1399, he collaborated with Pere Nicolau. His only documented work is a "Doubting Thomas", now in the museum of Valencia Cathedral. A document from 1410 indicates that he was awarded a pension by the City Council, as he had become ill and fallen into poverty.

Together with Pere Nicolau, he is considered to be a major representative of the International Gothic style and helped introduce Early Netherlandish painting to Spain. He also worked with Guerau Gener from 1405 to 1407, and with Gonçal Peris Sarrià, in 1405, for a Nativity altarpiece. His influence on Gener is apparent in the Gothic altarpiece of Santes Creus, which Gener painted with Lluís Borrassà.

Some art historians have tentatively credited him with the "Altarpiece of Saint George" also known as the "Centenar de la Ploma", after a guard of crossbowmen, organized in 1365 by King Peter IV of Aragon, as an escort for the official banners of Valencia. The altarpiece also depicted the Battle of the Puig. That panel, dated c.1400, is now preserved at the Victoria and Albert Museum. It has also been suggested that he was merely a collaborator and that the central panels were largely the work of Miguel Alcañiz.

Cut from a copy of Vincent of Beauvais (d. 1264), Speculum historiale, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on vellum. France (Loire Valley, Nantes or Angers)

You can read my essay on if the later Middle Ages was a persecuting society here https://open.substack.com/pub/adiakesserwany/p/the-heretics-were-not-discovered?r=4sesf9&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web

Painted this 1/24 scale figure as Guillaume de Martel, a French knight from the mid-Hundred Years' War period. I aimed for historical accuracy by using his heraldic colors:

Yellow surcoat. House emblems hand-painted on the surcoat, horse cloth, and shield. A red banner with green trim, matching his visual identity

I tried to represent the proud and richly adorned French nobility of the 14th century. Open to feedback and discussion especially from fellow historical painters!

I started with a self-portrait inspired by "Lady with Red Flower" est 1400 :)

When I saw that piece, it reminded me of a photo from my wedding, so I ran with that.

It is a lot of fun to study the various styles of art from the Medieval era.

''Mama,can you hear me?''

Video STEP BY STEP with audio https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVvw1QJkhGY&t=4592s

I once stumbled upon a manuscript in the library of Charles V of France. Originally, I didn't understand what these miniatures represented as I was only focused on studying the art of the period and fell in love with this late 14th century international gothic masterpiece made in Paris. But now that I know a bit more about the history of philosophy and have gotten better at reading medieval iconography, I rediscovered this piece having come to appreciate it even more than before. Here is my analysis:

Politeca et economica was a 14th century book written by one of the greatest if not the greatest French medieval scientists/philosophers, Nicole Oresome. He sat at the bleeding edge of medieval intellectual culture having been born in the early 14th century. Despite a comparatively poor background, he managed to get into the university of Paris and became a master in the liberal arts. He wrote revolutionary works on many subjects including geometry and astronomy and astronomy. The manuscript in question is on politics and economics and was commissioned by king Charles V of France himself (This specific manuscript being made in 1376). A work that, if I’m not mistaken, is more of a summary of consensus than a source of new ideas. though Oresome did add his own thoughts into the work.

The first 2 miniatures of this manuscript are not only great examples of the international gothic style during the late 14th century, but also beautifully encapsulate the general views medieval academia and the broader social elite held regarding politics at the time. These views were heavily influenced by Aristotle's politics categorising political systems based on two axis: Who rules? and Why?. A more elaborate way of seeing things than the more modern approach which only cares about who is ruling. Each page features three compartments illustrating each political system. Three good and Three bad.

The compartments in the first page show bad versions of the political systems with the first being the tyranny. Where only one person rules for his own benefit (image 7). The idea of punishment and violence is central to this compartment as well as the other two. People are hacked and skinned showing the cruelty of the ruler. The leader(s) is/are shown wearing armour and weapons symbolising the thirst for power and control. The monarch is wearing the highest rank of plate armour of the time but also boasts gilded ornaments and a money pouch : Clear references to wealth and greed. All of this topped with the golden crown depict the ruler as a king : a bad king.

Similarly, we have the compartment representing democracy (image 4). Unlike the first compartment, this one features multiple rulers; the entire lower class. They are armed but less so than the tyrant bearing less plate, kettle hats, and less sophisticated military overgarments. The punishments are also less brutal featuring a pillory and whacking (public humiliation) rather than torture. Why is democracy depicted so negatively? Because according to Aristotelian thought, democracy is a system run by the lowest of the people (the majority of the population). The illiterate and ignorant. They rule without proper knowledge and with selfish intentions : The passengers kicking out the pilot. Keep in mind the reality of pre-modern society, where the common folk were really illiterate and didn't have any where near as much access to culture and knowledge as the elite. Furthermore, notice how everyone is pointing figurines? This shows authority and aggression as the sole source of structure.

So what did scholars generally see as a good government? There were three and they are all depicted in the second page. The good counterpart to democracy was the polity, a system where commoners held power (image 6). But only the ones capable of it. Wealthy city dwellers including merchants, lawmen, doctors, philosophers, notaries, merchants, and even master craftsmen. The mood of this compartment is strikingly different from the last three : The scene features discussion and debate. Something cherished by the clergy and academia in the medieval period, unlike what most like to believe today. The rulers are shown wearing regular clothes, in this case civilian attire from varying backgrounds implying a less violent and equal state of affairs. Looking at their hands, open palms represent discussion and leniency while pointed figures show authority. A balanced and stable order. A similar idea is the aristocracy (not to be confused with the negative oligarchy) where multiple rulers from the upper classes rule society for the good of the people. The rulers in that compartment are shown wearing clerical/scholarly garments. Others wear noble outfits and hold eagles. Clear representations of the clergy and the nobility (image 5).

But another system was even more prised than the polity and aristocracy : The royalty. A state ruled by a single man. Akin to the tyranny. But this man is in service to the law and the people (image 3). We see the king, unarmed and wearing everyday regal attire, surrounded by discussing noblemen and clerics. Far from the first miniature, here the king is seen with open palms. Clearly negotiating with the other courtiers who get a say. This king is less martial, less violent, and more thoughtful and counselled. Interestingly, the throne is sculpted with lion heads whereas the tyrant's throne has four dog heads looking around. Maybe there was an intended heraldic meaning behind this choice as lions represented magnanimity and nobility while the dogs represented (in this case expected and commanded) loyalty and servility.

This peace represented the political and royal ideal of the medieval period : A man who holds the highest authority but with wisdom and consideration of his subjects.

These two miniatures are a fascinating window into medieval society. It illustrates how ideas as far back as the 4th century bc influenced medieval academia and life. This can be seen by learning more traditional historical sources. For instance, many kings following the model of the ideal king. Charlemagne especially was both a prominent military figure but also an immense cultural one. He was an avid fan of religion and philosophy/science having brought to his court important Italian and insular minds leading to the promotion of intellectualism among nobles. He also brought the Carolingian renaissance, a set of reforms in writing/book culture, education, music, philosophy, and classical knowledge after efforts to erase it in the 6th and 7th centuries. Phillipe Augustus is also a good example of such a king with his political and infrastructural reforms.

Today, we see kings like the tyrant is represented in image 7. But back then, despite the knowledge of democracy and more democratic (in reality aristocratic and polity-like) systems existing in varying locations, kings were seen as, and expected to conform to the ideal ruler seen in image 3.

I made this with traditional medieval inks, pigments, glair, and parchment (goatskin, in this instance) as the cover for a friend’s book, which they’re releasing as an audiobook.

I found the goatskin to be much much cheaper than the sheep and calf I’ve used before, and pretty pleasant to use. I think I’m getting my hand in a bit with the watercolor-like approach to the pigments.