Before Dutch still life painting developed, artists illuminated handwritten manuscripts to add emotional power to a written work. A celebrated practitioner of this style was Joris Hoefnagel. Reproduced here is a page he illuminated for the Mira Calligraphiae Monumenta, a mid-16th-century manuscript by Georg Bocskay now part of the Getty Museum's collection.

- Paper is derived from sustainable forest pulp, and binder boards are made with 100% recycled materials
- Cover: Softcover
- Measures 5 x 7 inches
- 144 acid-free lined pages
- Satin ribbon marker
- Elastic band closure
- Inside cover pouch for loose papers
- Item #: 978-1439781227

Original Art:
Illuminated page from the Mira Calligraphiae Monumenta
Written 1561-1562; illumination added about 1591-1596
Place Created: Vienna, Austria

The folio from the Mira reproduced here is known as Wainscot, French Rose, Wasplike Insect, English Daisy and Caterpillar, owing to the plants and insects most clearly depicted. The scientific naturalism of Hoefnagel's botanical and animal drawings are what served as a model for future Netherlandish still life artists. Hoefnagel is remembered as being the last important Flemish manuscript illuminator and one of the first artists to work on the new genre of still life.