![]() ![]() One 16th-century example in Illuminating Women shows Denise Poncher being approached by a skeleton, three corpses in its wake. And sometimes, an image of the reader would be illustrated right in the book. “These things made it much more appealing and understandable to a reader at that time, who could picture themselves in the role of Mary,” Sciacca explained. Yet the saints and biblical figures on their pages weren’t represented in their ancient eras instead, they were illustrated in medieval settings, dressed like their intended readers. Obedience and motherhood are repeating themes, which were reinforced in the pocket-sized books of hours used by medieval women for religious contemplation. “At the same time, we learn a lot about the perceptions of medieval women by medieval society,” Sciacca said. Master of Sir John Fastolf, “Saint Anne Teaching the Virgin to Read” (France, about 1430 – 1440), tempera colors, gold leaf, and ink on parchment Leaf: 4 3/4 × 3 5/8 inches (courtesy the J. A portrait of Saint Anne teaching the Virgin Mary to read - a scene which likely never happened - may have reflected a mother’s interest in literacy for her daughters, while images of peasant women spinning wool offer visual insight into their work in the textile industry. She also authored an accompanying publication that includes manuscripts beyond the around 23 selected objects from the Getty, such as those by late medieval author Christine de Pizan. In images of saints, queens, the Virgin Mary, female martyrs, and aristocratic women who commissioned manuscripts, are traces of their overlooked lives. Paul Getty Museum’s Getty Center in Los Angeles, where she delved into its collection of illuminated manuscripts to find these lost voices of medieval women. Sciacca is the curator of Illuminating Women in the Medieval World, now at the J. “A lot of the records that come down to us were written by men and they’re about men’s deeds.” Paul Getty Museum and now associate curator of European art at the Walters Art Museum, told Hyperallergic. ![]() “We don’t have a lot of records of women’s voices in the Middle Ages,” Christine Sciacca, former assistant curator of manuscripts at the J. Master of the Chronique scandaleuse, “Denise Poncher before a Vision of Death” (Paris, France, about 1500), tempera colors, ink and gold on parchment Leaf: (5 1/4 × 3 7/16 inches) (courtesy the J.
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