Color Symbolism in the Castilian Atlantic Bibles: Initials and Scenes from the Bible of Avila (BNM, Vit. 15-1)

Keywords: color, Romanesque miniature, image and didactics, Bible of Avila, Christian iconography

Abstract

The Atlantic Bibles of the Umbro-Roman school are associated with the needs of the Gregorian Reform, which began at the end of the 11th century. Their first impression is one of great ornamental sobriety, in accordance with the early stages of what Garrison and Berg have labelled the “geometric style.” This was first manifested in the decoration we find concentrated in the initials heading the individual books of the Bible. In Castile, one outstanding example is the Bible of Avila, begun by the Umbro-Roman school and finished in a Castilian scriptorium. This double perspective can be observed in a similarly double palette of color: Italian and Spanish.

It is especially in this second phase when a reduction to the minimum of polychromy leads us to think that color has here a symbolic use. Red and blue, having had symbolic connotations since the birth of Christian iconography, are the principal colors of the scenes illustrated in the Bible of Avila, with the addition of green and yellow, which are also rich with symbolism. This possible symbolism of color may work to reinforce the conceptual nature of these miniatures, in direct relation to the text they decorate and to the liturgy they accompany. The Bible in the Middle Ages, in the context of monastic schools, was the most important manuscript for teaching and learning. Its miniatures and the symbolism of its colors contribute to the transmission of meanings.

References

Ainaud de Lasarte, J. (1966). La pittura romànica in Spagna. Milan: Fratelli Fabbri Editori.

Ayres, L. M. (1993–1994). An early Christian legacy in Italian Romanesque miniature painting. Wiener Jahrbuch Für Kunstgeschichte, XLVI-XLVII, 37–44.

Ayres, L. M. (1994). The Italian giant bibles: Aspects of their Touronian ancestry and early history. In R. Gameson (Ed.), The early medieval bible: Its production, decoration and use (pp. 125–154). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Ayres, L. M. (2000). La Bibbie atlantiche. Dalla riforma alla difussione in Europa. In M. Maniaci & G. Orofino (Eds.), Le Bibbie atlantiche: il libro delle Scritture tra monumentalità e rappresentazione (pp. 27–39). Milan: Centro Tibaldi.

Azcárate Luxán, M. (2002). Las pinturas murales de las iglesias de San Justo y San Clemente de Segovia. Segovia: Caja Segovia.

Berg, K. (1968). Studies in Tuscan twelfth-century illumination. Oslo: Universitetsforlaget.

Boynton, S. (2011). The Bible and the liturgy. In S. Boynton & D. J. Reilly (Eds.), The practice of the Bible in the Middle Ages: Production, reception, and performance in Western Christianity (pp. 10–34). New York: Columbia University Press.

Cahn, W. (1982). La Bible romane: Chefs d’œuvre de l’enluminure. Fribourg: Office du livre.

Capitani, O. (2000). La Riforma Gregoriana. In M. Maniaci & G. Orofino (Eds.), Le Bibbie atlantiche: il libro delle Scritture tra monumentalità e rappresentazione (pp. 7–13). Milan: Centro Tibaldi.

Castiñeiras, M., & Verdaguer, J. (2014). Pintar fa mil anys. Els colors i l’ofici del pintor romànic. Barcelona: Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona.

Cennini, C. (2009). El libro del Arte. Madrid: Akal.

Clarke, M. (1901). Mediaeval painters’ materials and techniques. The Montpellier Liber diversarum arcium. London: Archetype.

Cochelin, I. (2011). When the monks were the book: The Bible and monasticism. In S. Boynton & D. J. Reilly (Eds.), The practice of the Bible in the Middle Ages: Production, reception, and performance in Western Christianity (pp. 61–77). New York: Columbia University Press.

Dalli Regoli, G. (1978). Per una storia del libro illustrato. Note sulla tipologia di alcune Bibbie miniate in Italia fra l’ XI e il XII secolo. In C. Maltese (Ed.), 1º Congresso Nazionale di Storia dell’Arte (pp. 515–528). Rome: Consiglio Nazionale della Ricerche.

de la Morena Bartolomé, A. (1995). Pintura románica. In R. Menéndez Pidal (Ed.), Historia de España (p. 450). Madrid: Espasa Calpe.

di Napoli, G. (2006). Il colore dipinto. Teorie, percezione e tecniche. Turin: Einaudi.

Fernández Somoza, G. (1999). El ciclo de la pasión en las pinturas murales de la iglesia de San Justo (Segovia). In V. Balaguer, V. Collado, & J. J. Azanza (Eds.), La Biblia en el arte y en la literatura (pp. 227–240). Valencia: Fundación Bíblica Española.

Frosinini, C. (2015). L’oltremare. Il blu dei santi e dei re. In M. Sframeli (Ed.), Lapislazzuli. Magia del blu (pp. 125–133). Livorno: Sillabe.

Gage, J. (2001). Color and culture: Practice and meaning from Antiquity to abstraction. London: Thames and Hudson.

Garrison, E. B. (1953–1961). Studies in the history of Medieval Italian painting (Vols. 1–4). Florence: Pindar Press.

Guilmain, J. (1960). Interlace decoration and the influence of the North on Mozarabic illumination. The Art Bulletin, 42, 211–218.

Kitzinger, E. (1982). The Arts: Rome and Italy. In R. Benson (Ed.), Renaissance and renewal in the twelfth century (pp. 960–1000). Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

Klange Addabbo, B. (1979). Fogli senesi inediti dei secoli XI e XII. In G. V. Schoenburg (Ed.), La miniatura italiana in eta romanica e gotica. Atti del I Congresso di Storia della Miniatura Italiana (pp. 103–117). Florence: Leo S. Olschky Editore.

le Goff, J. (1985). El nacimiento del purgatorio. Madrid: Taurus.

Lobrichon, G. (2000). Riforma eclesiástica y testo della Bibbia. In M. Maniaci & G. Orofino (Eds.), Le Bibbie atlantiche: il libro delle Scritture tra monumentalità e rappresentazione (pp. 15–27). Milan: Centro Tibaldi.

Lowden, J. (1988). Illuminated prophet books: A study of Byzantine manuscripts of the major and minor prophets. University Park, PA: Penn State University Press.

Pächt, O. (1987). La miniatura medieval. Madrid: Alianza Editorial.

Pastoreau, M. (2012). Symboles du Moyen Age. Animaux, végétaux, couleurs, objets. París: Le Léopard d’Or.

Pirani, E. (1966). Miniatura románica. Milan: Fratelli Fabbri Editori.

Rodríguez Velasco, M. (1999). Iconografía en el Nuevo Testamento en la Biblia de Ávila (Bibl. Nac. Madrid Vit. 15-1). In V. Balaguer, V. Collado, & J. J. Azanza (Eds.), La Biblia en el arte y en la literatura (pp. 353–367). Valencia: Fundación Bíblica Española.

Rodríguez Velasco, M. (2010). Iconografía de Prendimiento, Crucifixión y Descendimiento de Cristo en la miniatura románica: El programa decorativo del folio CCCXXIIIIr de la Biblia de Avila. In F. J. Campos (Ed.), Los Crucificados: religiosidad, cofradías y arte (pp. 541–558). Madrid: Real Centro Universitario Escorial-María Cristina.

Rodríguez Velasco, M. (2012). Creer con imágenes. Iniciales miniadas e iconografía narrativa en las biblias románicas de la escuela umbro romana. Codex Aquilarensis, 28,131–148.

Rodríguez Velasco, M. (2013). Las Biblias atlánticas: Una manifestación de la miniatura románica en los scriptoria umbro romanos del siglo XII. Románico 17, 30–39.

Salmi, M. (1962). La miniatura italiana. Barcelona: Labor.

Sanz, J. C. (1985). El lenguaje del color. Madrid: Hermann Blume.

Silva y Verástegui, S. (1999). La miniatura en el Monasterio de San Millán de la Cogolla. Una contribución al estudio de los códices miniados en los siglos XI al XIII. Logroño: Instituto de Estudios Riojanos.

Supino Martini, P. (1987). Roma e l’area grafica romanesca (secoli XI–XII). Alexandría: Ed. Dell’Orso.

Theophilus. (1979). On divers arts: The foremost Medieval treatise on painting, glassmaking, and metalwork (J. G. Hawthorne & C. S. Smith, Trans.). New York: Dover. Original work published ca. 1120

Toesca, P. (1912). La pittura e la miniatura nella Lomabardia. Da piú antichi monumenti alla metá del quattrocento. Milan: U. Hoepli.

Toesca, P. (1929). Miniature romane dei secoli XI e XII. Bibbie miniate. Rivista del Istituto d’Archeologia e Storia dell’Arte, I, 3–30.

Toubert, H. (2001). Un’arte orientata. Reforma gregoriana e iconografia. Milan: Jaca Book.

Yarza Luaces, J. (1990). La miniatura románica en España. Estado de la cuestión. Anuario del Departamento de Historia y Teoría del Arte, II, 9–25.

Published
2020-12-31
How to Cite
Rodriguez Velasco, M. (2020). Color Symbolism in the Castilian Atlantic Bibles: Initials and Scenes from the Bible of Avila (BNM, Vit. 15-1). Multidisciplinary Journal of School Education, 9((2) 18), 169-189. https://doi.org/10.35765/mjse.2020.0918.09