Walters Art Museum, Ms. W.199
(L'Image du monde)
Codicology
Produced: | France?, 1489 |
Current Location: | Walters Art Museum, Baltimore, Maryland, USA |
Manuscript Type: | Encyclopedia |
Language: | French |
Folios: | 136 |
Author: | Goissun de Metz |
Illustrated: | No |
Media: | Parchment |
Dimensions: | Height: 27.9 cm Width: 21.3 cm |
Description
L'Image du monde, an encyclopedia by Gossuin de Metz in French prose. The animal descriptions are in the section on the regions and geography of the world; none are illustrated.
The manuscript provides descriptions of the seven liberal arts along with astronomical theories, especially about the earth, the creatures that inhabit it, and its movements within the universe. Each one of the liberal arts is illustrated with a small miniature in grisaille, and extraordinary geometric astronomical diagrams recur throughout the book. The importance of W.199 is both textual and pictorial. Illuminated by followers of Willem Vrelant, active in Bruges 1454-1481, the manuscript reveals affinity of format and content with a 1464 copy of the Mirror of the World made in Bruges (London, British Library, Royal 19 A.IX). - {Walters catalog]
Additional Descriptions
Editions and Facsimiles
Digital facsimiles