Quomodo decoretur pictura librorum: Materiales y técnicas de la iluminación medieval

Abstract

The illumination of manuscripts was one of the most important sumptuary arts from the 6 th to the 13 th centuries, due to the symbolic and material value of the illuminated codex. As one of the tempera painting techniques, illumination followed the same guidelines regarding the preparation and use of pigments and colorants, taking into account the peculiarities of a fl exible support such as parchment. The paper will study the materials and techniques of medieval illumination, using as primary sources contemporary treatises on art technology. These technical data will be associated with documentary information regarding the concept and work of the painterilluminator in order to highlight the importance of one of the main ars mecanicae in the Middle Ages.