Guda | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Nationality | German |
| Known for | Limner |
| Patron(s) | Catholic Church |
Guda was a 12th-century nun and illuminator from Germany. [1] She was one of the first woman to create a self-portrait in a manuscript, [2] setting a precedent for female medieval illuminators and manuscript writers in the subsequent centuries.
Guda created a self-portrait in an initial letter in the 12th century Homiliary of St. Bartholomew (now in the Frankfurt am Main, Staatsbibliothek). [1] Her self portrait was symbolically placed in the ninth homily of St. John Chrysostom, a position ideal for witnessing the Second Coming of Christ. Her inscription, "Guda, a sinner, wrote and painted this book," was used to confess to her sinful way, along with describing herself as an artist in hope of increasing her chance for salvation. [1] In addition to serving as a self-portrait, this illustrated initial can also be considered a portrait signature, identifying Guda as both an individual and a scribe.
Scholars today credit Guda with being one of the first women in western civilization to create a signed self-portrait. [3] Although there may have been other female illuminators such as Claricia, a laywoman in a Bavarian Scriptorium, [1] there is no concrete evidence of her exact involvement with these illuminations.
Guda's influence on later nuns in the later centuries is apparent. This is seen through manuscript paintings like "The Heart on the Cross," which depicts a nun exchanging vows with a mystical bridegroom inside the heart of Jesus nailed to a cross. [4] Placing the nun at the heart instead of around the periphery of the painting broke traditional restrictions for female placement within religious paintings, showing that female involvement in illuminations gave the platform to emphasize their role in religious institutions.
Female involvement in manuscript writing and illuminations is best seen with Herrad of Landsberg and her work on the Hortus deliciarum. [5] Herrad's imprint and proof of her authorship is consistent on this manuscript. This is demonstrated through the omitting and inclusion of religious writing depending on her liking, [5] editing sources to make the manuscript more accessible for the nuns of the Hohenbourg Abbey, [5] and even criticisms of the clergy as seen in the removed depiction of hell that she attempted to include. [5] Herrad's work in this manuscript built on the foundation that Guda set for women to show expression, identity, and call for reform via manuscripts and illuminations.
Further demonstrations of calls for reform via illuminations and manuscripts are seen through 15th century nuns and their orders. Sister Magdalena Kremerin wrote about founding mothers having difficulties incorporating women's communities into the Dominican Order, leading to inspiration for a successful protest directed at the pope that led to their acceptance. [6] The altered illuminations in manuscripts from nuns at St. Maria Magdalena put themselves more front and center in various religious works, [6] calling for a change in how valued the nuns were in their order, along trying to strengthen their connection with God. Manuscript writing even preserved the existence of these reformed orders, as seen with the nuns of Kremerin's order who were able to fend off Duke Eberhard's attempts to sabotage their advocacy for change by compiling a letter towards nobles and burghers that convinced them to defend their order against the Duke. [7]
Guda's contribution towards female Medieval illumination and manuscript writing not only opened up new avenues for expression and identity that was not possible before, but also led the way towards social, political, and religious reform through these tools.
An illuminated manuscript is a formally prepared document where the text is decorated with flourishes such as borders and miniature illustrations. Illuminated manuscripts include liturgical books such as psalters, courtly literature, and documents such as proclamations.
A scriptorium was a writing room in medieval European monasteries for the copying and illuminating of manuscripts by scribes.
Gothic art was a style of medieval art that developed in Northern France out of Romanesque art in the 12th century AD, led by the concurrent development of Gothic architecture. It spread to all of Western Europe, and much of Northern, Southern and Central Europe, never quite effacing more classical styles in Italy. In the late 14th century, the sophisticated court style of International Gothic developed, which continued to evolve until the late 15th century. In many areas, especially Germany, Late Gothic art continued well into the 16th century, before being subsumed into Renaissance art. Primary media in the Gothic period included sculpture, panel painting, stained glass, fresco and illuminated manuscripts. The easily recognizable shifts in architecture from Romanesque to Gothic, and Gothic to Renaissance styles, are typically used to define the periods in art in all media, although in many ways figurative art developed at a different pace.
A miniature is a small illustration used to decorate an ancient or medieval illuminated manuscript; the simple illustrations of the early codices having been miniated or delineated with that pigment. The generally small scale of such medieval pictures has led to etymological confusion with minuteness and to its application to small paintings, especially portrait miniatures, which did however grow from the same tradition and at least initially used similar techniques.
Evangelist portraits are a specific type of miniature included in ancient and mediaeval illuminated manuscript Gospel Books, and later in Bibles and other books, as well as other media. Each Gospel of the Four Evangelists, the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John, may be prefaced by a portrait of the Evangelist, usually occupying a full page. Their symbols may be shown with them, or separately. Often they are the only figurative illumination in the manuscript. They are a common feature in larger Gospel Books from the earliest examples in the 6th century until the decline of that format for illustrated books in the High Middle Ages, by which time their conventions were being used for portraits of other authors.
The absence of women from the canon of Western art has been a subject of inquiry and reconsideration since the early 1970s. Linda Nochlin's influential 1971 essay, "Why Have There Been No Great Women Artists?", examined the social and institutional barriers that blocked most women from entering artistic professions throughout history, prompted a new focus on women artists, their art and experiences, and contributed inspiration to the Feminist art movement. Although women artists have been involved in the making of art throughout history, their work, when compared to that of their male counterparts, has been often obfuscated, overlooked and undervalued. The Western canon has historically valued men's work over women's and attached gendered stereotypes to certain media, such as textile or fiber arts, to be primarily associated with women.
Ende is the first Spanish female manuscript illuminator to have her work documented through inscription: ENDE PINTRIX ET D(E)I AIUTRIX in the colophon of the Gerona Beatus. Most information about her comes down to the inscription in her artwork as there was no other record. Her lifetime is not known but can be assumed based on the inscription era in the Gerona Beatus: AD 975. The appellation of “dei aiutrix” alludes to the fact that she was probably a nun however it has been found what her foundation was. There are a number of hands discernible in the manuscripts. The chief scribe was a priest called Senior. Historians have also attributed elements of the manuscripts to Emetrius, whose style is attributable in comparison to an earlier signed work. However, based on painting style attributes, some theorists conclude that nearly all of the manuscript illustrations were completed by Ende.
Catherine of Bologna [Caterina de' Vigri] was an Italian Poor Clare, writer, teacher, mystic, artist, and saint. The patron saint of artists and against temptations, Catherine de' Vigri was venerated for nearly three centuries in her native Bologna before being formally canonized in 1712 by Pope Clement XI. Her feast day is 9 March.
Beatrice of Nazareth, also known as Beatrice of Tienen, was a Flemish Cistercian nun, visionary and mystic. Remembered chiefly through a medieval adaptation of her writings, of which the originals are now mostly lost, she is venerated as Blessed by the Catholic Church.
Herrad of Landsberg was a 12th-century Alsatian nun and abbess of Hohenburg Abbey in the Vosges mountains. She was known as the author of the pictorial encyclopedia Hortus deliciarum.
The Hortus deliciarum was a medieval manuscript compiled by Herrad of Landsberg at the Hohenburg Abbey in Alsace, better known today as Mont Sainte-Odile.
The bliaut or bliaud is an overgarment that was worn by both sexes from the eleventh to the thirteenth century in Western Europe, featuring voluminous skirts and horizontal puckering or pleating across a snugly fitted under bust abdomen. The sleeves are the most immediately notable difference when comparing the bliaut to other female outer clothing of the Middle Ages. They fit closely from the shoulder to approximately the elbow, and then widen from the elbow to drape to floor- or nearly floor-length. This garment's usage appears to be geographically limited to areas of French influence, with some works depicting the garment or the garment in transition as far away as Rome and modern Germany.
Lucas Horenbout, often called Hornebolte in England, was a Flemish artist who moved to England in the mid-1520s and worked there as "King's Painter" and court miniaturist to King Henry VIII from 1525 until his death. He was trained in the final phase of Netherlandish illuminated manuscript painting, in which his father Gerard was an important figure, and was the founding painter of the long and distinct English tradition of portrait miniature painting. He has been suggested as the Master of the Cast Shadow Workshop, who produced royal portraits on panel in the 1520s or 1530s.
Clemence of Barking was a 12th-century Benedictine nun and Anglo-Norman poet-translator of Barking Abbey. She is noted for writing a translation of the biography, the Life of Saint Catherine. Clemence's hagiography of Saint Catherine of Alexandria is widely regarded as, what would be considered today, a feminist text.
TheCopenhagen Psalter is a 12th-century illuminated manuscript psalter, made in England. It may have been created for the education of the boy king, King Canute VI of Denmark. This manuscript is known for the many artists who contributed to the full-page illuminations. The Copenhagen Psalter is currently in Denmark.
Eufrasia Burlamacchi (1482–1548) was an Italian nun who practiced the art of manuscript illumination.
Maria Ormani, was an Italian Augustinian Hermit nun-scribe and manuscript illustrator.
Adelheid Langmann was a German Roman Catholic nun, belonging to the Dominican order at Engelthal Abbey in the 14th century. She is best known for her text, Revelations, which consists of autobiographical details, prayers, and religious instruction. She was a renowned spiritual teacher during her lifetime.
The Women of the Book Collection is the largest gathering of rare books, pamphlets, manuscripts, and ephemera dedicated entirely to the lives and cultural experiences of early modern women, circa 1450–1800. It is held at the Special Collections Department of Johns Hopkins University's The Sheridan Libraries. What distinguishes the collection is its singular focus on Roman Catholic women religious, in particular nuns, female mystics and miracle workers, and lay holy women.
The Guta-Sintram Codex is an illuminated manuscript copied in twelfth-century Alsace. The manuscript is well-known for its depiction of its scribe and its illuminator. It was produced for the female Augustinian community of Schwartzenthann in 1154. The codex received its name from those of its scribe and illuminator, Guta and Sintram. Guta was a canoness at Schwartzenthann. She identified herself as scribe multiple times within the manuscript. Sintram was a canon and priest at Marbach and the artist who completed the manuscript’s illuminations. The dedicatory miniature depicts the Virgin Mary (centre), Sintram, and Guta. This is one of the only known depictions of a female scribe from the Middle Ages.
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