Vienna Genesis
Type:
Illuminated manuscripts
Date:
First half of the sixth century
Medium:
Parchment
Dimensions:
Approximately 30 × 26 cm (variable)
Description:
This illustrated manuscript of the book of Genesis in Greek is named after the institution that currently owns it (the Austrian National Library in Vienna). The text is written in silver on purple-dyed parchment and twenty-four of its bottom-of-page illustrations have survived. Over time, the silver ink has corroded the parchment. Although the manuscript was likely made in the eastern Mediterranean, its exact place of production is unknown (possibilities include Antioch and Alexandria).
The narrative illustrations often compress multiple moments in time into a single, flowing composition. For example, in the illustration for the text of Genesis 24:15–20, the artist has marked three different phases in the narrative through the inclusion of the city—the starting point—and the two successive incarnations of Rebecca (a technique called simultaneous narrative). The spring itself appears as a bare-breasted personification pouring water from a vessel.
The narrative illustrations often compress multiple moments in time into a single, flowing composition. For example, in the illustration for the text of Genesis 24:15–20, the artist has marked three different phases in the narrative through the inclusion of the city—the starting point—and the two successive incarnations of Rebecca (a technique called simultaneous narrative). The spring itself appears as a bare-breasted personification pouring water from a vessel.
Relevant Textbook Chapter(s):
3
Repository and Online Resources:
Look through the surviving parts of the manuscript on the website of the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek.
