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    Things Unseen: Vision, Belief, and Experience in Illuminated Manuscripts

    July 12–September 25, 2016

    Getty Center

    The Seven Sorrows of the Virgin

    The Seven Sorrows of the Virgin, from Prayer Book of Cardinal Albrecht of Brandenburg, about 1525–1530, Bruges, Simon Bening. The J. Paul Getty Museum

  • The Agony in the Garden

    The Agony in the Garden, from Book of hours, about 1420, Paris, Spitz Master. The J. Paul Getty Museum

  • Initial B: The Trinity

    Initial B: The Trinity, cutting from a gradual, about 1460-70, Ferrara, Taddeo Crivelli. The J. Paul Getty Museum

  • Jacob's Dream

    Jacob's Dream, from World Chronicle, about 1400 - 1410, Regensburg, unknown. The J. Paul Getty Museum

  • Initial A: Christ Wiping Away the Tears of the Saints

    Initial A: Christ Wiping Away the Tears of the Saints, cutting from an antiphonal, about 1330-40, Florence or Pisa, attributed to the Master of the Antiphonary of San Giovanni Fuorcivitas. The J. Paul Getty Museum

  • Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata

    Saint Francis Receiving the Stigmata, from Book of hours, about 1430–1440, France or England, Master of Sir John Fastolf. The J. Paul Getty Museum

  • The Trinity (detail)

    The Trinity (detail), from Scientific miscellany, late 1400s, Ulm, unknown. The J. Paul Getty Museum

  • Adam and Eve Eating the Forbidden Fruit

    Adam and Eve Eating the Forbidden Fruit, from Arenberg Hours, early 1460s, Bruges, Willem Vrelant. The J. Paul Getty Museum

Things Unseen: Vision, Belief, and Experience in Illuminated Manuscripts

July 12–September 25, 2016, Getty Center

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Drawn primarily from the Getty Museum’s permanent collection of manuscripts, this exhibition explores the visual challenges artists faced as they sought to render miraculous encounters with the divine, grand visions of the end of time, the intricacies of belief, and the intimate communications of prayer. These “unseen” spiritual experiences, recorded by Jewish and Christian authors in antiquity, were translated in new ways by the illuminators of medieval and Renaissance books. Rather than simply narrating otherworldly events, the innovative images in this exhibition offer visual entry points to the ineffable nature of faith.

RELATED EVENTS

TALK
How Do We Depict Religious Experiences?

Religious experiences are deeply personal, yet throughout history individuals who have spiritual or mystical encounters have attempted to share their visions with wider audiences. And others further disseminated the details of these encounters through words and images. Whether trying to persuade skeptics or to share the miraculous with believers, oral and visual accounts must communicate an essential religious experience to others. Lacking direct evidence, such as a shared vision, or physical proof, like Juan Diego offering roses from Guadalupe, how can we convey metaphysical essence in physical form? This panel, presented with Zócalo Public Square, considers how painters, actors, and directors assist in translating such visions, or depicting the agony of the lone witness.
Thursday, September 15, 7:00 p.m.
Getty Center: Harold M. Williams Auditorium

MOBILE TOUR

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How did Medieval illuminators make the invisible spiritual world visible? Join manuscripts curator Rheagan Martin to discover how artists used vibrant color and shimmering gold to translate visions, miracles and faith into sumptuous illuminated manuscripts. Pick up a multimedia player free of charge in the Museum Entrance Hall.

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