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July 2017

20170705
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Strange Garden. Trees in Medieval Miniatures

Date: 05.07.2017 - 28.07.2017
Place: Jagiellonian Library, ul. Oleandry 3
Event website: www.bj.uj.edu.pl
Strange Garden. Trees in Medieval Miniatures

The Jagiellonian Library is hosting the exhibition entitled Strange garden. Trees in Medieval Miniatures, which presents miniatures made in accordance with medieval techniques, whose common denominator is the presence of trees.

Trees are an inherent part of our landscape. This has been even more distinct in the Middle Ages, when Europe was a thickly forested area. Wood was used in many aspects of everyday routine. It was a source of heat for the home and for cooking. Many everyday objects were made of wood. Trees were a source of edible fruit. For these reasons, trees are naturally a frequent motif in medieval miniatures, even though they usually remain discretely in the background, playing a supporting role.

“To emphasise the outdoor character of many scenes shown in miniatures, the painters often put trees in depictions of animals from medieval bestiaries, hunting scenes from Livre de Chasse or biblical scenes, for instance depictions of Mary Magdalene’s meeting with resurrected Christ, Nebuchadnezzar’s dream, creation of the world, and many more”, reads the press release from the Jagiellonian Library.

Besides, trees play the main roles in medieval miniatures in treatises concerning plants, such as the medieval healthy lifestyle handbook Tacuinum sanitatis, Historia Plantarum or Tudor Pattern Book.

The exhibition is open from 5 to 28 July, during the Jagiellonian Library opening hours.