!["Master B.F.,” Decorated letter P from the Santi Angelo e Niccolò at Villanova Sillaro choirbooks; Lombardy, ca. 1500. The Free Library of Philadelphia, Lewis E M 76:52](/sites/default/files/2019-11/biblio.jpg)
Occurring in conjunction with the 2020 annual meeting of the Renaissance Society of America in Philadelphia (April 2–4, 2020), this exhibition will examine the making of the hand-written and hand-illuminated book during a time of great political, religious, and technological transformation in Europe. Through approximately forty loans from ten regional institutions, as well another forty items from Penn’s own collections, the exhibition will examine the full intellectual and artistic depth of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries through a varied selection of extraordinary manuscripts, cuttings, and incunables, many of which have never before been exhibited.
A first section, "Crafting the Codex," will introduce the visitor to the patrons and collectors that were so often the genesis of these books, while conveying the role of humanist scribes and decorators in establishing aesthetic conventions that continue to this day. A middle section, "Showcasing Salvation," will vividly demonstrate the astonishing variety of artistic and codicological solutions devised to illustrate the increasingly complex rituals of private and public devotion. The final and largest section, entitled "Transmitting Knowledge," will showcase the intellectual world of the Renaissance by examining the re-birth of classical scholarship, the rise of a liberal arts curriculum, the growth of the mercantile class, and the exploration of new geographic frontiers.
The exhibition will provide an ideal opportunity to showcase the wonderfully diverse collections of Philadelphia institutions, as well as the research discoveries made during the course of the Bibliotheca Philadelphiensis regional cataloguing and digitization project.
A fully illustrated scholarly catalogue, written by curator Dr. Nicholas Herman, accompanies the exhibition. 352 pages, 8.5 x 11, full color pbk with French flaps. The catalogue may be ordered here.
Join us on Tuesday, February 11th for our exhibition opening celebration.
!["Master B.F.,” Decorated letter P from the Santi Angelo e Niccolò at Villanova Sillaro choirbooks; Lombardy, ca. 1500. The Free Library of Philadelphia, Lewis E M 76:52](/sites/default/files/2019-11/biblio_index_sq.jpg)
The Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies, The Philadelphia Area Consortium of Special Collections Libraries, and The Philobiblon Club are pleased to invite you to the opening reception and catalogue launch of Making the Renaissance Manuscript: Discoveries from Philadelphia Libraries.
Tuesday, February 11, 2020
5:15PM Exhibition tour
6:00PM Lecture by exhibition curator Dr. Nicholas Herman
Reception to follow
!["Master B.F.,” Decorated letter P from the Santi Angelo e Niccolò at Villanova Sillaro choirbooks; Lombardy, ca. 1500. The Free Library of Philadelphia, Lewis E M 76:52](/sites/default/files/2019-12/feature-rect-making-ren-ms.jpg)
![Making the Renaissance Manuscript Introduction Making the Renaissance Manuscript Introduction](/sites/default/files/2020-03/renaissance_003.jpg)
![Section - Crafting the Codex; Case 1 - Authors, Patrons, and Bibliophiles Section - Crafting the Codex; Case 1 - Authors, Patrons, and Bibliophiles](/sites/default/files/2020-03/renaissance_006.jpg)
![Section - Crafting the Codex; Case 2 - The Humanist Scribe at Work
Section - Crafting the Codex; Case 2 - The Humanist Scribe at Work](/sites/default/files/2020-03/renaissance_016.jpg)
![Section - Crafting the Codex; detail of Case 2 - The Humanist Scribe at Work
Section - Crafting the Codex; detail of Case 2 - The Humanist Scribe at Work](/sites/default/files/2020-03/renaissance_018.jpg)
![Section - Crafting the Codex; detail of Case 2 - The Humanist Scribe at Work
Section - Crafting the Codex; detail of Case 2 - The Humanist Scribe at Work](/sites/default/files/2020-03/renaissance_021.jpg)
![Section - Crafting the Codex; detail of Case 3 - All’antica : Between Ornament and Display Section - Crafting the Codex; detail of Case 3 - All’antica : Between Ornament and Display](/sites/default/files/2020-03/renaissance_031.jpg)
![Section - Crafting the Codex; Case 3 - All’antica : Between Ornament and Display Section - Crafting the Codex; Case 3 - All’antica : Between Ornament and Display](/sites/default/files/2020-03/renaissance_032.jpg)
![Section - Crafting the Codex; Case 4 -From Pen to Press and Back Again Section - Crafting the Codex; Case 4 -From Pen to Press and Back Again](/sites/default/files/2020-03/renaissance_053.jpg)
![Section - Showcasing Salvation; Case 5 - Devotion by Design Section - Showcasing Salvation; Case 5 - Devotion by Design](/sites/default/files/2020-03/renaissance_063.jpg)
![Section - Showcasing Salvation; detail of Case 5 - Devotion by Design Section - Showcasing Salvation; detail of Case 5 - Devotion by Design](/sites/default/files/2020-03/renaissance_064.jpg)
![Section - Showcasing Salvation; detail of Case 5 - Devotion by Design Section - Showcasing Salvation; detail of Case 5 - Devotion by Design](/sites/default/files/2020-03/renaissance_068.jpg)
![Section - Showcasing Salvation; Case 6 - Innovating for the Liturgy Section - Showcasing Salvation; Case 6 - Innovating for the Liturgy](/sites/default/files/2020-03/renaissance_080.jpg)
![Section - Showcasing Salvation; wall detail of Case 6 - Innovating for the Liturgy Section - Showcasing Salvation; wall detail of Case 6 - Innovating for the Liturgy](/sites/default/files/2020-04/renaissance_086.jpg)
![Section - Showcasing Salvation; detail of Case 6 - Innovating for the Liturgy Section - Showcasing Salvation; detail of Case 6 - Innovating for the Liturgy](/sites/default/files/2020-03/renaissance_088.jpg)
![Section - Showcasing Salvation; detail of Case 6 - Innovating for the Liturgy Section - Showcasing Salvation; detail of Case 6 - Innovating for the Liturgy](/sites/default/files/2020-03/renaissance_090_0.jpg)
![Section - Showcasing Salvation; Case 7 - Prayer, Sermon, and Song Section - Showcasing Salvation; Case 7 - Prayer, Sermon, and Song](/sites/default/files/2020-03/renaissance_091.jpg)
![Section - Transmitting Knowledge; Case 8 - Recasting Roman History Section - Transmitting Knowledge; Case 8 - Recasting Roman History](/sites/default/files/2020-03/renaissance_094.jpg)
![Section - Transmitting Knowledge; detail of Case 8 - Recasting Roman History Section - Transmitting Knowledge; detail of Case 8 - Recasting Roman History](/sites/default/files/2020-04/renaissance_099.jpg)
![Section - Transmitting Knowledge; Case 9 - Greek Scholarship Reborn Section - Transmitting Knowledge; Case 9 - Greek Scholarship Reborn](/sites/default/files/2020-03/renaissaince_101.jpg)
![Section - Transmitting Knowledge; Case 10 - The Trivium: Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric Section - Transmitting Knowledge; Case 10 - The Trivium: Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric](/sites/default/files/2020-03/renaissaince_106.jpg)
![Section - Transmitting Knowledge; detail of Case 10 - The Trivium: Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric Section - Transmitting Knowledge; detail of Case 10 - The Trivium: Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric](/sites/default/files/2020-03/renaissaince_109.jpg)
![Section - Transmitting Knowledge; detail of Case 10 - The Trivium: Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric Section - Transmitting Knowledge; detail of Case 10 - The Trivium: Grammar, Logic, and Rhetoric](/sites/default/files/2020-04/renaissaince_110.jpg)
![Overall view of Making the Renaissance Manuscript Overall view of Making the Renaissance Manuscript](/sites/default/files/2020-03/renaissaince_112.jpg)
![Section - Transmitting Knowledge; Case 11 - The Quadrivium: Arithmetic, Geometry, Astronomy, and Music Section - Transmitting Knowledge; Case 11 - The Quadrivium: Arithmetic, Geometry, Astronomy, and Music](/sites/default/files/2020-03/renaissaince_113.jpg)
![Section - Transmitting Knowledge; detail of Case 11 - The Quadrivium: Arithmetic, Geometry, Astronomy, and Music Section - Transmitting Knowledge; detail of Case 11 - The Quadrivium: Arithmetic, Geometry, Astronomy, and Music](/sites/default/files/2020-03/renaissaince_115.jpg)
![Section - Transmitting Knowledge; detail of Case 11 - The Quadrivium: Arithmetic, Geometry, Astronomy, and Music Section - Transmitting Knowledge; detail of Case 11 - The Quadrivium: Arithmetic, Geometry, Astronomy, and Music](/sites/default/files/2020-03/renaissaince_118.jpg)
![Section - Transmitting Knowledge; Case 12 - Politics, Economics, and the Merchant Class Section - Transmitting Knowledge; Case 12 - Politics, Economics, and the Merchant Class](/sites/default/files/2020-03/renaissaince_122.jpg)
![Section - Transmitting Knowledge; detail of Case 12 - Politics, Economics, and the Merchant Class Section - Transmitting Knowledge; detail of Case 12 - Politics, Economics, and the Merchant Class](/sites/default/files/2020-03/renaissaince_123.jpg)
![Section - Transmitting Knowledge; detail of Case 12 - Politics, Economics, and the Merchant Class Section - Transmitting Knowledge; detail of Case 12 - Politics, Economics, and the Merchant Class](/sites/default/files/2020-03/renaissaince_124.jpg)
![Section - Transmitting Knowledge; Case 13 - Tradition and Innovation in Medicine Section - Transmitting Knowledge; Case 13 - Tradition and Innovation in Medicine](/sites/default/files/2020-03/renaissaince_134.jpg)
![Section - Transmitting Knowledge; detail of Case 13 - Tradition and Innovation in Medicine Section - Transmitting Knowledge; detail of Case 13 - Tradition and Innovation in Medicine](/sites/default/files/2020-03/renaissaince_136.jpg)
![Section - Transmitting Knowledge; Case 14 - Navigating a New World Section - Transmitting Knowledge; Case 14 - Navigating a New World](/sites/default/files/2020-03/renaissaince_143.jpg)
![Section - Transmitting Knowledge; detail of Case 14 - Navigating a New World Section - Transmitting Knowledge; detail of Case 14 - Navigating a New World](/sites/default/files/2020-03/renaissaince_144.jpg)
![Making the Renaissance Manuscript Acknowledgments Making the Renaissance Manuscript Acknowledgments](/sites/default/files/2020-03/renaissaince_150.jpg)