The Lombard Haggadah

Résumé du livre

Accompanying an exhibition at Les Enluminures, New York, this scholarly book includes chapters on the art, iconography, and historical context of a remarkable medieval manuscript: a Haggadah with seventy-five watercolor paintings created in the circle of the famous artist Giovannino de' Grassi (d. 1398) in Milan in the late fourteenth century. The book includes contributions from several internationally recognized scholars as well as a full physical description of the Lombard Haggadah, and many colour reproductions. Extensive comparisons with other art works complete the publication. Telling the story of the flight of the Jews from Egypt based on the biblical book of Exodus, the Haggadah was - and still is - used during the Seder, the ritual meal of the first night of Passover. The text of this remarkable manuscript has been richly illustrated by many artists in different countries for over seven hundred years. With its seventy-five illustrations, occupying the margins of almost every page, this manuscript expresses the elegant language of the Gothic International style in Lombardy.