Four pictorial panels, each with a gold-plated wooden frame measuring 33.8 x 27 cm, comprise a total of 64 fantastic miniatures by the great master in a format of 7.2 x 5.3 cm. In this compactness, the Stein Quadriptych has remained unique right through to the present day. Across a tiny area, it reveals Bening\u2019s entire panoply of skills \u2013 a man revered even during his lifetime as \u201cEurope\u2019s unrivalled master illuminator\u201d.<\/p>\n
SIMON BENING \u2013 THE APOTHEOSIS OF ILLUMINATION<\/p>\n
Bening can indisputably be seen as a synonym for illumination. No-one else comes close to him in this regard. His clients and customers included secular and clerical princes, kings and emperors who regarded the Ghent-Bruges School as the apogee and inimitable guarantor of supreme book art \u2013 at a time when handwritten books were already being superseded by Gutenberg\u2019s printing press. Illumination reached its apotheosis with Simon Bening.<\/p>\n
AN EPIC ACCOUNT OF THE LIFE OF CHRIST IN PICTURES<\/p>\n
The first panel begins with an illustration of the legend of the Virgin Mary before going on to describe the birth and childhood of Jesus. The subsequent panel depicts 16 paintings, heightened with gold, which\u00a0lead us from Christ\u2019s baptism in the River Jordan to his being mocked in the events leading to the Crucifixion. The viewer then experiences the actual Passion and Death on the Cross in bold, very lurid colours. The pictures on the final panel begin with Christ being taken down from the Cross and continue through until the miracle of Pentecost before returning, almost as a bookend to the life of the Blessed Virgin, to Mary\u2019s death and her ascension into heaven. The cycle concludes with the Last Judgement.<\/p>\n
The 64 miniatures are full of iconographic subtleties and ambiguities. They point to a painstaking representation of objects taken from daily life. Above all, the miniatures represent a striking form of vivacity and liveliness conveyed in powerful emotions, in gestures and facial expressions. The story of Jesus is told so expressively that its visual composition leads the viewer to a deeper understanding of the miracle of Christ\u2019s resurrection. What\u2019s more, Bening\u2019s hand is clearly also able to express the human aspect underpinning the story of Jesus\u2019 life and self-sacrifice of the Passion.<\/p>\n
THE FINE ART FACSIMILE EDITION<\/p>\n
The original: Walters Art Museum Baltimore, W 442<\/i><\/p>\n
4 tables with 16 miniatures respectively (each table 33.8 x 27 cm, each miniature 7.2 x 5.3 cm)<\/i><\/p>\n
Each table in gilded wooden frame\u00a0<\/i><\/p>\n
Commentary volume in English by Lynn Ransom (Rare Book & Manuscript Library \u2013Van Pelt-Dietrich Library Center, University of Pennsylvania)<\/i><\/p>\n
Limited edition: 800 numbered copies worldwide.<\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
A FLEMISH ALTAR WITH 64 BRILLIANT MINIATURES OF CHRIST\u2019S LIFE<\/p>\n
When people start talking about miniatures, one inevitably tends to think of the astounding images in manuscripts which European art has created over the centuries. This is why we feel all the more amazed and fascinated the first time we view the masterpiece whose physical embodiment has nothing to do at all with manuscripts \u2013 and yet is now considered one of the greatest works by probably the most famous illuminator in art history: the Stein Quadriptych by Simon Bening.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":5673,"template":"","meta":{"episode_type":"","audio_file":"","cover_image":"","cover_image_id":"","duration":"","filesize":"","date_recorded":"","explicit":"","block":"","filesize_raw":""},"product_cat":[641,508,510,506,609,616],"product_tag":[],"yoast_head":"\n