Illuminating more new art

In the post for Thursday, we told of three new pieces of art at King of Peace. The second, shown above, is the opening pages of the Gospel of John in the St. John's Bible, first mentioned at this site on June 27 of this year. The work of art now hanging over the sofa in the entry hall at King of Peace is just the opening spread of the Gospel of John from an entire illuminated Bible currently being created to "ignite the spiritual imagination of believers throughout the world." When completed, the orginal Bible, from which our print was taken, will be a monumental two feet tall and three feet wide and more than 1,000 pages bound in seven distinct volumes.

The book is being written on vellum using quills with natural, handmade inks and hand-ground pigments and augmented with gild such as gold and silver leaf. However, a work of its times, a computer is used to size text and define line breaks. The pages are laid out in full size spreads with sketches in position, then the artists use these layouts to guide their work done by hand.

The art hanging at King of Peace shows just one of the 160 illuminations that will appear in The Saint John’s Bible. And behind each there is a theological story worked on by a committee of artists, medievalists, theologians, biblical scholars and art historians which creates a theological brief. The samples given are the theological briefs on the raising of Lazarus: http://www.saintjohnsbible.org/educator/raising.htm and Luke's account of the birth of Jesus: http://www.saintjohnsbible.org/educator/birth.htm. With the theological brief in mind, the artist creates the illumination. Our work is based on the opening lines of the Gospel of John,

In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was in the beginning with God. All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him nothing came into being that has come into being. In Him was life, and the life was the Light of men. The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. There came a man sent from God, whose name was John. He came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe through him. He was not the Light, but he came to testify about the Light. There was the true Light which, coming into the world, enlightens every man. He was in the world, and the world was made through Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own, and those who were His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become children of God, even to those who believe in His name, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth.

The last installment introducing the new art at King of Peace will run after Christmas.