Armenian Gospels of Gladzor: The Life of Christ Illuminated FROM THE PUBLISHER
The magnificent book known as the Gladzor Gospels is a masterpiece of fourteenth-century Armenian art. Now at the Charles E. Young Research Library at the University of California, Los Angeles, it is one of the great Armenian manuscripts in an American collection.
Written and decorated in about 1300 by learned monks in the Armenian province of Siunik', the Gospel book offers significant insight into Armenian religious beliefs and practice of the time. The text -- the four Gospel accounts of the life of Christ -- is embellished by a remarkable program of brilliantly colored illumination that includes dozens of scenes from the life of Christ, as well as portraits of the text's saintly authors. The text's elaborate illumination also brings to life a vibrant artistic center, the Monastery of Gladzor, which long ago disappeared.
The Armenian Gospels of Gladzor includes sixty color reproductions of the manuscript's illuminated pages, ten black-and-white illustrations, and two maps along with an essay that explores the book's artistic richness and theological complexity.
FROM THE CRITICS
Library Journal
The Armenian Gospels of Gladzor is the catalog for an exhibition at the Getty Museum highlighting the Gladzor Gospels. This early 14th-century book, currently disbound for conservation, was loaned from its neighbor institution, the Young Research Library at UCLA. Mathews (Inst. of Fine Arts, NYU) and Taylor (West Los Angeles Coll. and exhibition organizer) discuss its art history within the complex Armenian political history (a map is included). A chapter on themes within these Gospels from Gladzor includes a fascinating section on the prominence of women in the pictures. The 60 full-page color plates are stunning, and while Persian, Greek Orthodox, Syrian, and Western Christian influences can be seen, they have their own uniquely Armenian character. Thus, although Treasures from the Ark places illuminated manuscripts within the context of other types of religious art (like sculptures and liturgical textiles), The Armenian Gospels of Gladzor focuses in depth on one specific manuscript. And just as its title emphasizes, The Bible in the Armenian Tradition itself uses illuminations as a means to understand and remember the biblical text. Libraries in cities with Armenian populations, like Los Angeles, will want all three books. Yet precisely because they are not mainstream, other academic and public libraries may want to consider one or all of these titles to introduce more people to the aesthetic appeal and intense devotion manifested in Christian Armenian art. Anne Marie Lane, American Heritage Ctr., Laramie, WY Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.
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