As a response to the cultural and social instability of the late 1700s and early 1800s, this bygone era came to be idealized for its perceived unity, piety, romance and chivalry.
The 19th century ushered in a widespread fascination with the Middle Ages. The Spanish friar Murúa carried the manuscript throughout Peru before returning to Spain, where it became part of the royal collection, was seized as loot by Joseph Bonaparte and then finally surrendered to the Duke of Wellington, who brought the manuscript to England during the Napoleonic wars. This is demonstrated by the epic journey of the Getty’s famed Murúa manuscript, an illustrated history of the eminent line of Inca kings and their customs. Catastrophic world events or even a simple change of ownership can obscure the origin of manuscripts, but diligent research can sometimes bring these tumultuous stories into view.Īs was often the case throughout history, wars were a catalyst for the re-appropriation of manuscripts. Each piece in the exhibition has its own life story, whether it journeyed through the mountains of Peru or graced the courts of kings.Įvidence of ownership in manuscripts, including bookplates, inscriptions, coats of arms, collectors’ marks, or notes tucked between the pages enable a reconstruction of the many hands through which these books passed. The show offers a historical overview alongside a display of some of the Getty’s most treasured manuscripts. The exhibition is the product of a collaboration between outside scholar and former Getty graduate intern Abby Kornfeld the Getty Museum’s Kristen Collins, associate curator of manuscripts and Nancy Turner, manuscripts conservator. “Untold Stories: Collecting and Transforming Medieval Manuscripts,” on view through May 12 at the Getty Center, includes medieval books, leaves, and cuttings with a variety of rich stories to be told. They have at times been valued for their beauty, for their spiritual significance, or simply for the strength of their parchment pages. They have survived wars, fires, floods, religious conflict, political tumult, the invention of printing and changes in taste. Historiated initial from an Antiphonal, third quarter of 14th century, tempera colors, gold leaf and ink on parchment.įor hundreds of years, medieval manuscripts have been bought and sold, given as gifts and stolen, preserved and rearranged, loved and forgotten, hidden and displayed, cut into pieces, hung on walls, and glued into albums.
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