Exhibition

Switzerland’s illuminated treasures - Sacred and profane manuscripts

To celebrate the fifteenth anniversary of the e-codices project, the exhibitions of the Abbey Library of St. Gall and the Fondation Martin Bodmer in Cologny are showcasing many of the highlights of book illumination from more than 15 Swiss libraries. The visitor is transported to the secret world of a medieval book painter and gains an insight into the workshops of the period.

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Abbey Library of St Gall

Switzerland’s illuminated treasures - Sacred manuscripts

10 March to 8 November 2020

The Abbey Library of St. Gall opens for you Switzerland’s most beautiful pages. Illuminated manuscripts make their texts shine and also shed light in a metaphorical sense as images explain the world. They make texts clearer and encourage reflection and contemplation. Decorated manuscripts serve to praise God and display the wealth of their patrons.

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Fondation Martin Bodmer

Switzerland’s illuminated treasures - Profane manuscripts

9 april - 6 september 2020

A proverb from the Middle Ages said about the work of copyists: "Tres digiti scribunt, sed totum corpus laborat", three fingers write, but the whole body works. For centuries, calligraphers and illuminators worked in monastic or urban workshops throughout Europe, tirelessly copying and illustrating parchment leaves for books, some of which still exist today.

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