Learning OutcomesApply key terms for analyzing and discussing the art and architecture of western Europe in the early and central Middle AgesDemonstrate ability to use digital library collections for viewing and analyzing artAnalyze and formally articulate the iconography, style, and composition of a page from an early medieval illuminated manuscriptIntroductionFor this assignment, you will write a formal analysis on a full-page illumination of your choosing from an early 9th century Hiberno-Saxon Gospel book known as the Book of Kells. The Book of Kells was made around the year 800, probably at the Benedictine Monastery at Iona, Scotland. Today it is housed at Trinity College library in Dublin, Ireland.InstructionsNote: Do not use outside sources for this assignment. This is not a research paper. The only sources you should be using for this assignment are the Trinity College website and this week’s assigned lecture and Stokstad reading on Hiberno-Saxon/Insular manuscript illumination. Consulting outside sources distracts from the purpose of this assignment and makes it difficult for me to assess your work because I don’t know what’s your original ideas and what’s content you might be copying from somewhere else. Exception: if you’re trying to understand what’s going on in the scene you’ve chosen, it’s okay to read elsewhere about the iconography. Limit your use of outside sources exclusively to this purpose and cite the source.In a separate document, write a 2-page double-spaced formal analysis on your chosen page from the Book of Kells. Use Times New Roman 12 point font with standard margins.1) After reading the assigned Stokstad pages and watching this week’s lecture on Germanic & Celtic Art in the Early Middle Ages, go to the Trinity College library website and read the introduction on the Book of Kells The Book of Kells (https://www.tcd.ie/library/manuscripts/book-of-kells.php)2) After reading the introduction, access the webpage with digital reproductions of each of the folios (pages) of the Book of Kells. Folios of the Book of Kells (https://digitalcollections.tcd.ie/home/index.php?DRIS_ID=MS58_003v )(at the top right of the screen, you must click “OK” to their cookie policy before being able to continue to the site).3) View each of the full-page illuminations of the book, using the scroll bar at the left. The images are zoomable for a closer look. The “click for more information” link on the menu bar at the top left of the screen identifies the content and subject matter of the page you are looking at.4) Choose one of the full-page illuminations to write a formal analysis on. Your options are: 7v, 8r, 27v, 28v, 29r, 32v, 33r, 114r, 114v, 124r, 129v, 130r, 183r, 187v, 188r, 202v, 203r, 285r, 290v, 291v, 292r (“r” stands for “recto,” meaning the front side of the page; “v” stands for “verso,” meaning the reverse side of the page). Do NOT choose a folio that’s not on the above list of options.5) Structure your paper as seven paragraphs:i) Introductory paragraph identifying the page you selected and its content/subject matter (you get this information from the “click for more information” link at the top left of the screen). Be sure to include the folio number; if that information is not included I cannot evaluate your work and you will receive an automatic 0 on the assignment. Some of these pages belong to one of the three types of Gospel book pages discussed in lecture and reading: author pages, initial pages, and carpet pages. Is your page one of these three? If so, indicate which one. If not, say so.ii) Body consisting of five paragraphs analyzing the composition and style of the illumination, based on the formal principles you’ve been learning about and using in this course. Use as many relevant technical terms as possible. Be sure to zoom in to get a close-up look at different parts and features of the illumination. Write one paragraph addressing each of the following five prompts (i.e. five body paragraphs total, not including your intro and conclusion):Is the imagery representational (identifiable forms in nature) or non-representational (pure ornamentation or abstract symbols)? If it’s non-representational, what kind of imagery is it? What kinds of patterns, motifs, or ornamental designs did the artist use? Is there both representational and non-representational imagery present? Explain what’s what.How would you characterize the picture plane? Is it deep? Shallow? Explain your conclusion and be specific. Why does it look this way? What technique/s did the artist use (or not use) that resulted in this effect?How is the composition constructed? How are the forms organized on the page? How are they positioned or integrated? Is there a dominant form or forms that unify the composition? Explain. Is there a strong axis? What kind? Does the artist use negative space? If so, how? In what way does the artist use negative space as a compositional element? Is there a total lack of negative space? If so, what overall effect does that give? If there are both figural and non-figural forms, what is their compositional relationship? Are they integrated or strictly separated on the page? Explain. How did the artist use color as a compositional element (don’t just describe what colors you see–analyze how the artist used color strategically).If relevant, how did the artist treat anatomy? What techniques did he use to render human forms? Think about all the different techniques we’ve discussed in this course for rendering forms in 2D art (e.g. line work, modeling, foreshortening, etc.) Which of these techniques did the artist use in your illumination? If there are no human or human-like forms in your image (i.e. your image is pure ornament), you can skip this paragraphTaking into consideration all of the above aspects, how would you characterize the overall style of the image? Think about the spectrum of artistic styles we’ve examined in lectures and Stokad readings, and the terms we’ve used to describe them. What descriptive terms best fit here? Explain what the style has to do with the meaning of the work (What was the artist emphasizing or prioritizing? What was he seeking to achieve by applying this very distinctive style?)iii) Short concluding paragraph6) Upload your paperI will upload the rubric and the lecture for you.
