The Portfolio of Villard de Honnecourt: A New Critical Edition and Color Facsimile (Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, MS Fr 19093) with a ... the History of Medieval Technology, Scienc) - Hardcover

Barnes Jr., Carl F.

Hardcover

ISBN 10: 0754651029 ISBN 13: 9780754651024

Publisher: Routledge, 2009

Synopsis

This new facsimile edition of the Portfolio of the 13th-century Picard artist Villard de Honnecourt is the first ever to be published in color. The thirty-three leaves are reproduced at actual size from high-quality color transparencies to ensure the best possible color reproduction of the drawings. One can now see variations in inks and quill strokes, traces of preliminary drawings, and corrections made by the artist. This study is also the first to give a thorough description of the condition of the leaves, analysis of each drawing in the portfolio individually, and new transcriptions and literal and free translations of the inscriptions. The opening chapter covers the history and physical condition of the portfolio, including reassigning "hands" to text found on the leaves. The author analyses the tools and inks used, Villard's drawing technique and style, and evaluates Villard as an artist-draftsman. Chapter II, the body of the book, is devoted to detailed analyses of the leaves, one by one, and their drawings and inscriptions. These analyses are of interest to those concerned with medieval technology and theology as well as to those interested in medieval art and architecture. Chapter III is a new biography of Villard that challenges the many wild speculations of the last century and a half about Villard, separating obvious fiction from possible fact. Barnes analyzes in detail Villard's drawings of different Gothic buildings and makes a case for Villard having been a lay representative of the cathedral chapter at Cambrai, one of the buildings Villard drew. An extensive bibliography of Villard studies and a glossary of Villard's technical and artistic terms complete this important new study.

About this title

About the Author

Carl F. Barnes, Jr, is Professor Emeritus of Art History at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, USA, where he taught for 30 years. A graduate of Washington and Lee University (B.A., 1957) and Columbia University (M.A., 1959; Ph.D., 1967), Barnes has published extensively on the Cathedral of Sts. Gervase and Protase at Soissons, France, and on the Portfolio of Villard de Honnecourt. He maintains an Internet site (http://www.villardman.net) with extensive information about the portfolio, including Barnes’ bibliography of writings on the Villard portfolio from 1666 to the present. Barnes has served in a number of scholarly administrative positions, including terms as president of ICMA (The International Center of Medieval Art) and AVISTA (Association Villard de Honnecourt for the Study of Medieval Technology, Science, and Art).

Review

'... a wonderfully rich and informative volume, and a great scholarly achievement.' --Medium Aevum

About this edition

• Publisher: Routledge
• Publication date: 2009
• ISBN 10: 0754651029
• ISBN 13: 9780754651024
• Binding: Hardcover
• Number of pages: 396