The Utrecht Psalter in Medieval Art

The Utrecht Psalter, made about 820-835 at the Benedictine monastery of Hautvillers, near Epernay, is the masterpiece of the Carolingian Renaissance. Its artists created the most comprehensive surviving cycle of illustrations to the Book of Psalms, a book of the Old Testament that was of central importance in both monastic observance and lay devotion in the Middle Ages. The illustrations were drawn by artists from the School of Rheims, which first flourished under the patronage of the colourful Ebbo, archbishop of Rheims from 816 to 835. The artists of the Utrecht Psalter portrayed individual words and phrases of the Psalmist's imagery in a manner both accessible and appealing even in the late twentieth century. Their ingenuity was matched by their artistry, and the expressive and illusionistic style of the 166 pen drawings has provoked the admiration of commentators throughout the world. The Utrecht Psalter has been the subject of scholarly investigation for over one hundred years, yet remains one of the great enigmas of western art. The present book provides a broad-ranging and authoritative treatment of the many issues surrounding the Utrecht Psalter and its related masterworks. It includes a series of definitive essays on the historical, stylistic and iconographic context of this pivotal masterpiece: Rosamond McKitterick writes on the cultural achievement of Charlemagne and his heirs; Koert van der Horst discusses the Utrecht Psalter itself and its place in the history of the Book; Kathleen Corrigan provides an overview of medieval Psalter illustration in Byzantium and the West; Florentine Mütherich surveys expertly the Rheims School of illumination; and William Noel analyses the use and interpretation of the Utrecht Psalter in England by artists working in the high Middle Ages. The volume is designed to accompany the 1996 exhibition on the Utrecht Psalter at the Museum Catharijneconvent, Utrecht, and it also contains a catalogue of the objects exhibited, written by Wilhelmina C.M. Wiistefcld in co-operation with William Noel and Koert van der Horst. Among these objects arc the great Carolingian Aachen and Ebbo Gospels, the Byzantine Khludov Psalter, and the later English Harley, Eadwine and Paris Psalters. The book is lavishly illustrated with over 200 colour plates as well as many monochrome illustrations. Such was the importance of the Psalms in medieval culture, and such also was the inspiration provided by the Utrecht Psalter to medieval artists, that this book is essential reading for those who wish to know more about the visual culture of the period from late antiquity to the dawn of the Renaissance.