My central concern in this thesis is to develop an artistic language that arises from the use of the Greek and Latin alphabet as well as from Greek and English words. In my native country, Greece, there is a tradition of great symbolic significance attached to letters and numbers. By examining the visual, the semiological as well as the psychological aspects of symbolism, I created artistic works that were based on the use of type and text in contemporary fine arts, through the female subjectivity.

During the first quarter of the twelfth century artists in the scriptoria of English monastic houses began using a painting technique with a more extensive range of colours than had been usual, and used with thicker and more opaque paint. Later, the use of gold leaf increased and gesso grounds were introduced. Such materials were reserved mainly for prestigious liturgical manuscripts such as Bibles and psalters, and also for illustrated saints’ lives. The prefatory miniatures in the St Albans Psalter and the illustrations in the Bury and Winchester Bibles are examples. This study provides a visual and physical examination of many important illuminations—their paint, gold and colour—and explores their relationship with the texts they illustrate. Original contributions to the scholarship can be found in the chapter on colour, which provides a focus for discussion not available in the previous literature; this includes a survey of colour words used in the Vulgate, and an analysis of the symbolic use of colours by the Alexis Master which reflected centuries of biblical exegesis; in the new analysis and interpretation of the ‘Elkanah’s Gift’ miniature in the Bury Bible; in a new understanding of the materiality of the Four Psalter Leaves; in a clearer view of how the use of vellum was modified to accommodate thicker and heavier materials; in a better understanding of how gold was used, including details of a previously unrecognized decorative technique in the Auct. Bible; in the analysis and identification of hands in some of the manuscripts; in the new identification of an artist’s mark in the Bury Bible, and in the emphasis on the writings of Jerome as a source of novel imagery.

The thesis examines eight twelfth-century English manuscripts with inhabited initials occupied by human heads. Such initials, also filled with foliage, struggling humans and animals, are a pronounced feature of English Romanesque manuscript illumination. Appearing after the Norman Conquest in manuscripts produced for ecclesiastical communities as part of the Anglo-Norman emphasis on theological reading, inhabited initials with human heads are the work of monastic and professional artists. An image encountered by a monk or a canon while engaged in meditative reading known as the lectio divina, the head assumes many delightful, evocative and inventive forms in order to attract the attention of the ruminating reader. The thesis analyses the application of a human head to an initial and sets initials into a framework of monastic reading in order to suggest ways in which audiences might have read these letters. Exploring the interaction between human heads and their surrounding texts, the thesis examines how inhabited initials function within selected twelfth-century English manuscripts. While some initials have been designed by the artist to hold specific meaning in relation to the text, others allow the reader to invest them with his own meaning. By creating a dialogue with the text that complements the reading process, the human heads in twelfth-century English initials may be regarded as text markers.

The purpose of this study is to trace the development of Qur'anio illumination and calligraphy under the Mamlukes from the earliest known Qur'an of 1304 down to and including the reign of Sultan Al- Aabräf ' Shaoban , 1363-1376.. when the finest manuscripts of the period were made. As this phenomenon needs to be set in context vis-a-vis not only what was happening in Egypt prior to 1363 , but also developments in Iraq and Iran whose manuscripts are believed ';. to have had a major influence ' those areas are also examined in detail. The initial introduction surveys the development of the Qur'an as a work of art down to the beginning of the Mamluke period'", to place Mainluke 9 Iranian and Iraqi manuscripts in proper historical perspective. Existing literature is surveyed and a statemnt of problems facing the student presented. Chapter One deals with Cairo up to 1330. Most of the manuscripts examined are the work of a team of craftsmen of whom we first become aware as the producers of the Qur'an of Baybars al-Jäshankir in the British Library , which in many ways may be regarded as the key manuscript of the period. The careers of the calligrapher Ibn al- Wahid and the illuminators are studied on the basis of: i) their known works; ii) works attributable to them : iii) historical sources. The Second and Third CUpters examine what, was happening in Iraq and Iran from 1304 to 1316 and study in detail the four great Qur'anic masterpieces of ths*century s three made for Oljaytu in Baghdad 9 Mosul and Hamadan ' and one probiably commissioned by his predecessor, Ghäzän. The careers of the calligraphers and illuminators involved in these Qur'ans is surveyed here y and in all subsequent chapters on the basis of i, ii and iii in the previous chapter. At the end of Chapter Two relations between Cairo and Iraq during the early years of the century are studied and evidence produced to show that painters familiar with developments in Baghdad were in Egypt several decades before the appearance of the Hamadan Qurtan 9 to which suoh importance is usually attatched. Chapter e. `greats Iran and deals with the problem of the Hamadan Qur'an , relating it to contemporary manuscripts made for 61jaytu , explaining how it came to Cairo and examining what effect it had there. In the same chapter another closely connected fragment is studied : the only surviving juxt from a Qur'an made for Rashid al-Din ' probably at the Rabc-i Rash3dT. Chapter Four traces developments in Egypt and Syria from 1320 to 1356 and concentrates s* two different categories of manuscript. First those copied and we believe illuminated by Ahmad al-Mutatabbib in Cairo around 1330. The location is given in several colophons. These aanusoripts demonstrate the decline of the Sandal tradition in Cairo (he being the master illuminator of the Baybare Qur'an). This CM be contrasted with the situation in Damecus Where, ke believe,, an, in porrtant Qur'an was copied and illuminated at the and of the fo th decade. 'In previous chapters we 'have 'dried to assemble, "info i` on Syrian calligraphers and artists prior to 1340 , though this is difficult due to the absence of manuscripts of unquestionable Syrian proven oe. In the same chapter two problem Qur' ane by calligraphers s of "the school of Yq ,t are dealt `tirithý One Was apparl tly copied in Cairo in 1344 ' while the other was certainly there in 1356. We believe that it can be shown that the first is genuine and adds a new fact to the sparse biography of the calligrapher I Mubärak-Shäh al-Suyüfi. In Chapter Five Iran and Iraq during roughly the same period are studied. Four major series of manuscripts are examined to show what was happening in those areas. Perhaps the most imp. - octant is that made by Yaby al-Sif in Shiraz in 1344-5 which Domains tul ' and virtually complete, documentation. We also deal with atiö er Vpro"blemv group : manuscripts with Turkic inter-linear translations. These we attempt to show all date from the fourteenth century 9 though whether of Anatolian Azerbeyjani I or perhaps Central Asian origin,, is unclear. Chapters Six and Seven examine the Qurans of Sultan Sha°bän 0 his mother Khwand Barakah and several of his amirs. These can de divided into three groups, I consists of minor works. II comprises several closely related manuscripts rightly regarded as a 'classic' Mamluke type. The calligraphy and especially the illumination of this group is studied in detail to show that its origins ( the illumination at least ) lie-, in earlier Mate work. Group III is entirely different. It consists of those manuscripts illuminated by Ibrähim al-Amid!. This outstanding painter is the illuminator of Cairo National Library Ws 10 s a fact we know from his own colophon. However, so unique and distinct is his style that it is possible to at-tribute a number of Qur'ans to his hand, An attempt to define exwtly the nature of his style is made and traced through several manuscripts. We believe that it can be e xn that the painter was trained in din Iraq and Western Iran , where he worked for it time before coming to Cairo in the thirteen-sixties. The illumination produced by him marks the culmination of the Iranian/Iraqi tradition in Cairo : one which makes its appearance in the earliest Mamluke Qur'an of Baybars al-Jäshanktr. All the inscriptions found in these manuscripts have been fully translated. The originals ' Figs 1-31 are located in an appendix at the end along with such important biographical information as we have been able to uncover in printed and manuscript sources. The thesis is accompanied by a portfolio of photographs to illustrate all points made.

The research uses Burgert (1998) and Brody Neuenschwander’s (2000) ideas of the ‘Linear Graphic’ to explore the creative and expressive qualities of the line. In addition, the characteristics of Ch’i are also analysed and identified. This is achieved by exploring and interpreting classic Chinese principles such as ‘Ch’i Yuen Shen Tung’ (Rhythmic Vitality), ‘Harmony of the Mind and Hand’ and ‘Stilling the Heart’. As a result, new approaches of ‘Simplicity’ and ‘Spontaneity’ have been developed for Western calligraphy. These approaches demonstrate the requirement of the control and integrity of the calligrapher. The research also places emphasis on the development of one’s ‘self-being’ to cultivate the internal and external aspects of calligraphy. This is achieved through the creation of calligraphy pieces as part of this developmental process. Digital media are also explored by using these same principles and approaches. New characteristics and processes such as ‘Layering’, ‘Reusability’ and ‘Simplicity and Complexity’ in print based calligraphy, as well as ‘Dynamism’, ‘Customisability’, ‘Impermanence’ and ‘Interactivity’, in computational calligraphy have emerged as a result.

This thesis is an iconographic study of the four earliest and relatively complete tenth-century manuscripts of Beatus’ Commentary on the Apocalypse: New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M. 644 (the Morgan Beatus); Valladolid, Biblioteca de la Universidad de Valladolid MS 433 (the Valladolid Beatus); Girona, Museu de la Catedral de Girona MS 7(11) (the Girona Beatus) and La Seu d’Urgell, Museu Diocesá de La Seu d’Urgell MS 501 (the Urgell Beatus). As a part of the tenth-century revival of Beatus’ text that initially was penned in the eighth-century, these works were created in monastic centres during a period when conflict between the Christian kingdoms in the north and Islamic rulers in the south was at a peak, the manuscripts’ iconographic innovations reflect the social, political and religious circumstances of their patrons, creators and audiences. While these manuscripts offer the possibility of furthering scholastic understanding of Iberia prior to the year 1000 the majority of past scholarship has been devoted to defining dates, stemma and the physical characteristics of the works. Debates over descriptions of style, labels and influence have overshadowed discussions of iconographic significance, which have begun to emerge only in the last few decades. Therefore, this thesis provides iconographic analysis of five under-studied scenes, which include the Mappamundi, the Four Beasts and the Statue, Noah’s Ark, the Palm Tree and the Fox and the Cock. While these images are just five of up to 120 included in the illustrative programmes of these manuscripts, they are the only scenes that illustrate the text of Beatus’ Commentary, rather than the narrative of Revelation. This is significant because these extra-apocalyptic scenes were selected and created specifically because of the messages within the Commentary that they enhance; the ideas promoted through these images are not restricted by the narrative of Revelation and therefore reveal much about the political, religious and social situation in the northern Iberian Christian communities that created them. By discussing the visual elements of these five images in conjunction with iconographic traditions from other parts of western Europe, the Byzantine world, the Mediterranean and the Islamic world, this thesis will examine the Beatus illustrations and, on a larger scale, the production of these manuscripts, in relation to the historical struggles of the time. Informed by postcolonial theory, it will not only diverge from the standard ways of approaching these works, but also will bring new insight into the Christian perspective of Muslim occupation in medieval Iberia, suggesting that monastic communities were attempting to combat the Muslim threat by encouraging participation in and dispersal of the Christian faith in order to maintain Christian practices and beliefs on the Iberian Peninsula and furthermore to assert Christian dominance at the Judgment.

Depuis les années 1940, l’art dans le monde arabe traverse des questionnements quant à son authenticité et son identité. Cette thèse souligne dans sa première partie l’importance et l’influence du patrimoine et de l’héritage culturel de la peinture arabe contemporaine. La deuxième partie détaille les éléments culturels provenant de l’héritage patrimonial, dont la complémentarité entre la calligraphie et l’arabesque. Dans la calligraphie contemporaine, des artistes explorent et ont développé de nouvelles formes dans la calligraphie arabe, un art riche qui met au jour la composition plastique de la lettre et sa valeur abstraite. La quête identitaire sera traitée sous la forme d'un mariage entre l’art du passé et l’art de la modernité, via l’étude de la lettre arabe. Elle s'illustre au moyen d'ornements traditionnels de l’art populaire (naïf ou non) comme l’une des sources d’inspiration dans la société arabe actuelle. De ces travaux émergent un questionnement sur l’esthétique et la plasticité de la calligraphie. La troisième partie porte sur la définition et l’apparition de l’orientation artistique nommée Al-Hurufiya et les deux manifestations ponctuelles et majeures qui ont accompagné son apparition, respectivement théorique et artistique : le rassemblement de « la dimension unique » et le Groupe de Casablanca. La quatrième partie expose les différentes caractéristiques de la peinture hurufie, en répertoriant les méthodes employées par les artistes arabes spécialisés dans ses pratiques. Enfin, dans la cinquième partie, nous exposons et expliquons la démarche plastique qui nous inspire à partir de l’usage de la lettre arabe, des signes, des symboles et des autres motifs d’arabesque. L’enjeu est de présenter la relation singulière que nous entretenons avec cet art et de nous inscrire dans le continuum hurufi, pour ensuite nous permettre de bifurquer sur d’autres modes plastiques. / Since the 1940s, the art in the Arab world is going through questions about its authenticity and identity. This thesis emphasizes in its first part the importance and influence of the heritage and cultural legacy of contemporary Arab painting. The second part details the cultural elements from the historic heritage, whose complementarily between calligraphy and arabesque. In contemporary calligraphy artists to explore and have developed new forms in Arabic calligraphy, a wealthy art reveals the plastic composition of the letter and its abstract value. The quest for identity is treated as a marriage between the art of the past and the art of modernity, through the study of the Arabic letter. It is illustrated by means of traditional folk art ornaments (naive or not) as a source of inspiration in the current Arab society. From this work emerged a questioning of aesthetics and plasticity of calligraphy. The third part deals with the definition and development of artistic orientation named Al- Hurufiya and two point and major events that have accompanied its appearance, respectively theoretical and artistic: the gathering of the “single dimension” and the Group Casablanca. The fourth part describes the various features of the hurufie painting, identifying the methods used by Arab artists specialized practices. Finally, in the fifth section, we present and explain the artistic approach that inspires us from the use of the Arabic letter, signs, symbols and other Arabesque motifs. The challenge is to present the unique relationship we have with us this art and enroll in the hurufi continuum, then allow us to fork over other plastics modes.

A turn away from language and the human mind as the dominant (or only) determinants of reality can be identified within many disciplines, including anthropology, philosophy and literature, reflecting a growing acceptance of human and non-human, living and non-living entities as real, complex and partially withdrawn agents in the world. In Object Oriented Ontology the definition of object is extended to include humans, who have no special ontological status. Timothy Morton proposes rhetoric as a means of drawing closer to other objects, of contacting the ‘strange stranger’; objects cannot be known directly, or fully, but can be explored through imaginative speculation. Drawing on Object Oriented Ontology, my project explores making - an intimate engagement between body and material - as a means of thinking the body as a (strange) object within a mesh of strange objects. Facture is documented as image and language, prompting a series of shifting, speculative questions: • Can writing be brought to making to generate new new approaches to craft production? • How might writing in response to making, or objects, be reintroduced into a making process as a form of feedback? • Can writing_making methods generate new approaches to writing (about) making and materials? • How might a combination of production, documentation and reflection be displayed as artwork/research? • Can making be seen as a means for contacting the ‘strange stranger’?

This thesis presents the first full study of the anonymous illuminator known by the name of convention, the Master of Spencer 6, after his finest work, ms. 6 in the Spencer Collection at the New York Public Library. Active at the turn of the sixteenth century, during the transitional period between the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, this artist provides a revealing case study for examining the changing tastes and preoccupations of the patrons, as well as the way in which illuminators were operating in order to secure work and forge a career. The career of the Master of Spencer 6 can be reconstructed from nearly forty surviving books and fragments. He appears to have painted manuscripts for a wide range of clientele, from unknown merchants to figures such as Henry VII of England. The quality of his execution is equally varied, from modest, hastily prepared images, to exquisite paintings invested with verisimilitude and invention that deserve wider acknowledgement. This illuminator, presumably based in Bourges, seems to have travelled as far as Troyes, Paris, Tours, and possibly Lyon, in search of patronage. Although he specialised in devotional images, he also illustrated texts of historical and moral interest. The Master of Spencer 6 was particularly talented in drawing. He appears to have been required to work quickly, in order to respond to the high demand for books; yet, despite the haste, he was able to produce images that were pleasing. A large part of the appeal in his images seems to rely on the quality of line. While his colours were clean and bright, he often applied them hastily or carelessly over the contour lines. Nearly always these shortcomings appear unnoticeable due to the beauty of the lines that define the design. The variety of decorative schemes, layouts, spatial devices, compositions and iconographic motifs utilised by the Master of Spencer 6 demonstrate one of the keys to his success. He was able to diversify his canon to realise any potential order from the vast geographical and social range of his clientele. He also managed to develop his style according to current tastes and fashions. He adapted ideas and techniques from his collaborators, the Colombe workshop and Jacquelin de Montluçon. This thesis provides also the first study of Jacquelin de Montluçon, the painter identified here as the main collaborator of the Master of Spencer 6. Methods of technical art history are used to analyse his sophisticated manner of mixing pigments to produce convincing effects of light. The way in which he applied paint onto a surface, on parchment, panel and stained glass, is used to support attributions and explore the versatile artist that emerges from the analysis. This investigation into these two hitherto little-known artists demonstrates, on one hand, what was required for artists to succeed over others in the profession of manuscript illumination in late fifteenth-century France, and on the other hand, what the concerns of the individuals commissioning images were.