![]() ![]() Men and women of the Middle Ages had no doubt that the stars had a direct impact on their character, destiny, and even their everyday life.Īstronomy (the science of measuring the positions and movements of celestial bodies) and astrology (the doctrine that traced the correlation between celestial phenomena and the life of individuals) were seen as two sides of the same coin. The Creation of the World, a leaf from a noted breviary (text in Latin), Northeastern Italy, about 1420, artist unknown. Not so for medieval artists and scholars, who saw the cosmos as a harmonious whole, whose signs and planets reflected God’s love and his eternal beauty. For many, the cosmos evokes images of planets and galaxies far removed and indifferent to human beings, immeasurable expanses of darkness, catastrophic phenomena forming a spectacle that makes us feel small, irrelevant, and transient. Modern science has enormously increased our knowledge of the universe, and has provided us with breathtaking images of celestial phenomena, like the first-ever photo of a black hole recently released by scientists.īut the feelings associated with these sights are not always reassuring. The Getty’s display offers an unconventional exploration of medieval views of the cosmos through the pages of illuminated manuscripts. The words of the psalm come naturally to mind as one visits the new exhibit at the Getty Museum, “The Wondrous Cosmos in Medieval Manuscripts,” which opened April 30 and runs until July 21.įor medieval artists and thinkers, the universe reflected the beauty and love of its Maker. “The heavens declare the glory of God, the vault of heaven proclaims his handiwork.” - Psalm 19.1
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