On the Classicism of the “Classic” Phase of Franco-Saxon Manuscript Illumination

* I am indebted to the following libraries for allowing me to reproduce works in their collections: the Blbliothéque Nationale, Paris, the British Museum, London, and the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York. My work on this paper was supported by a grant from the Research Foundation of the State University of New York.

Abstract

The reintroduction of classical forms and their early Christian variants into the vocabulary of artists during the Carolingian period has been of great interest to scholars. Symptomatic of the classical revival in Carolingian manuscript illumination is the appearance of a kind of Hellenistic-Roman illusionism in the treatment of the human figure, backgrounds, and landscapes; the substitution for the geometric and zoomorphic ornament associated with Merovingian and Insular art of plant ornament, particularly the acanthus motif; and the use of certain types of classically derived architectural motifs. Most significant for some scholars is the renewed interest in the iconographic tradition of classical mythology, which is reflected in the paintings of some Carolingian works.¹