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Dover Fine Art, History of Art Ser.: The Book of Kells : Selected Plates in Full Color by Blanche Cirker (1982, Trade Paperback, Reprint)

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Product Information

"Here you may see the face of majesty, divinely drawn, here the mystic symbols of the Evangelists. . . . You will make out intricacies, so delicate and subtle, so exact and compact, so full of knots and links, with colours so fresh and vivid, that you might say that all this was the work of an angel, and not of a man." -- Giraldus Cambrensis, Topographia Hiberniae, ca. 1185. Gerald of Wales wrote his ecstatic description of what is most probably the Book of Kells 800 years ago, some 300 years after the work appeared. It remains the best description; he felt and conveyed the Book's power, the mystery that made it even then unique among early medieval manuscripts. While clearly subject to international influence (Celtic, British, Norman; possibly Italian, Byzantine, and Coptic), the Book of Kells' painters and scribes illumined their work with a purely idiosyncratic beauty. The Book of Kells is more an icon than a typical evangelistary; indeed, the Saint Jerome text of the gospels is frequently corrupt or carelessly rendered, so intent were the artists on their ornament and iconography. One may still see the glorious ornament on display at Trinity College, Dublin; a more accessible version is this, newly reproduced from a rare facsimile edition. Thirty-two full-page, full-color plates have been selected and painstakingly printed to retain the ineffable handpainted impression of the original leaves. All the full-page decorations, portraits, and illustrations are included, as well as a representative sampling of the textual leaves, in their graceful Insular (half-uncial) calligraphy, interspersed and initialed with an imaginative, fanciful, and even humorous bestiary of lions, lambs, eagles, otters, cats, dragons, birds, fish, and snakes; strange men are seen in the cross-armed Osiris position, entwined in lion's tails, snakes, vines, and peacock feathers. The interlacing and spiraling follow the Insular tradition; in botanical ornament the Book stands apart from that school. The illustrations include vital specimens of Western art: the first image of the Virgin and Child in a Western manuscript, and numerous early representations of the Apocalyptic visionary symbols of the Evangelists; symbols that lost their eeriness in later, diluted form, but that in the Book of Kells, according to one scholar, "retain their wild, unearthly quality. They are perhaps the most striking element in the decoration of the Book." Perusers of this Book, casual and serious students of art, religion, or Western culture, will echo Giraldus, who wrote: "For my part, the oftener I see the book, and the more carefully I study it, the more I am lost in ever fresh amazement, and I see more and more wonders in the book."

Product Identifiers

Publisher
Dover Publications, Incorporated
ISBN-10
0486243451
ISBN-13
9780486243450
eBay Product ID (ePID)
398220

Product Key Features

Book Title
Book of Kells : Selected Plates in Full Color
Author
Blanche Cirker
Format
Trade Paperback
Language
English
Features
Reprint
Topic
Book, Subjects & Themes / Religious, Europe / Ireland, History / General
Publication Year
1982
Genre
Design, Art, History
Number of Pages
32 Pages

Dimensions

Item Length
12.2in
Item Width
9.4in
Item Weight
4.8 Oz

Additional Product Features

Edition Description
Reprint
Target Audience
Trade
Series
Dover Fine Art, History of Art Ser.
Illustrated
Yes

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item 1 The Book of Kells: Selected Plates - Paperback, by Cirker Blanche - Acceptable
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item 2 The Book of Kells: Selected Plates in Full Color
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item 3 The Book of Kells: Selected Plates in Full Color - Paperback - ACCEPTABLE
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item 4 The Book of Kells: Selected Plates in Full Color - Paperback - GOOD
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item 5 The Book of Kells : Selected Plates in Full Color Paperback
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item 6 The Book of Kells : Selected Plates in Full Color Paperback
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item 7 Dover Fine Art, History of Art Ser.: The Book of Kells : Selected Plates in Full
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Most relevant reviews

5 out of 5 stars
by tren_janiSep 08, 2020
The Kell Book
I love this book. It is printed well.
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: Pre-owned
5 out of 5 stars
by 9MwCh-AFQDm@Del...Mar 13, 2011
Book of Kells
A very good reference book giving a taste for the entire work. The plates are excellent. I purchased the book in hopes of geting exactly what I did.

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