Illuminated Manuscripts and Printed Books: French Renaissance Gems of the Newberry April 23, 2011

The twenty volumes in this exhibition span the century 1450 to 1550 and encompass two renaissances. The first is the French Renaissance, the flowering of Gothic art in the late fifteenth century. The second is the reception into France of the Italian Renaissance, characterized by a rebirth of classical art and literature. Each volume is part of a carefully crafted mosaic of significant European books assembled over the past 125 years by the Newberry Library's curatorial staff. The collection on display is drawn from two major purchases, recent purchases of individual volumes, and one donated by a collector. Generations of Chicago philanthropy made this exhibition possible.