Exhibition
Text & Spirit Illuminated Manuscripts from the Museum Collection and Their Digitization
13 March – 22 June 2025
The digital copies of the illuminated manuscripts and the cuttings can be found here in the digital collection.
For the first time, the Museum Angewandte Kunst is showcasing its complete collection of late medieval illuminated manuscripts in the Text & Spirit exhibition. These include books and fragments decorated with exquisite illuminations and ornaments in gold, lapis lazuli or purple. What use are books of hours from the Middle Ages to us today though? Text & Spirit sheds light on various parallels between then and now, drawing a comparison between the books of hours and today’s smartphones.
The focus lies on the impact of both as life companions, which are simultaneously means of communication and objects of prestige. Their significance reaches the status of fashionable, performative accessories. The exhibition thus offers a new perspective on medieval books of hours based on the 21st century as the age of digital communication. The exhibition is part of a digitisation project funded by the Department of Culture and Science of the City of Frankfurt am Main.
As part of the digitisation project, the Museum Angewandte Kunst selected works of art from its collection that were rarely or never exhibited and researched before due to their fragility and exceptional value: Christian prayer books from the late Middle Ages in the form of psalters, breviaries and books of hours as illuminated manuscripts, which originate from the private collections of the brothers Michael (1830-1892) and Albert Linel (1833-1916) and Wilhelm Peter Metzler (1818-1904). The texts are written on parchment, presented in book form and elaborately and artistically decorated according to Christian prayer practice. At the same time, they represent a tradition in which books served less to impart information but rather took on the role of a medium that facilitated the spiritual organisation of life through the process of absorption. As companions of daily life, they structured the day, the week, the year and life as a whole.
The illuminated prayer books became highly exclusive and prestigious luxury objects that demonstrated devoutness and functioned as externalised proof of making provisions for heavenly salvation during the lifetime: They became fashionable, performative accessories instrumental to the act of seeing and being seen.
Due to the fact that they are both handy and a vessel, books are a source of inspiration for exclusive handbag designs, as evidenced by the brands Jil Sander and Kostas Murkudis. As such, they can be viewed as a continuation of the medieval custom of carrying books as an accessory attached to the belt in a pouch thanks to their compact format. In addition, the structure and design principles of books of hours are still passed on today, particularly in fashion and lifestyle magazines. On the one hand, this relates to their connection to seasons in the sense that they are published regularly every month, connecting the reader fatefully with cosmic, supratemporal dimensions by means of horoscopes and at the same time embodying the relevance of the times through fashion trends. On the other hand, the tradition of illuminated manuscripts is also reflected in the layout of the periodicals with their calligraphic accentuation of text beginnings, initials, playfulness with the typesetting and the disproportionate relationship between text and image.
Even the reference to the usage of smartphones opens up a new realm of imagination in terms of comparability between the epochs. This concerns both the media-related role of books of hours and of smartphones in their capacity not only to be life companions at the interface between communicative, text- and image-based transition strategies, but also to structure daily schedules and express them in a relevant and performative way. The fact that the use of both media leads to a mental detachment from the immediate environment and becoming encapsulated in the mind is particularly impressive. In both cases, this is the prerequisite for mentally connecting with another sphere and entering into communication outside the immediate surroundings.
Another topic is the preciousness of the codices as the most expensive objects of their time. How does the value of things that people pay for come about and how much of their lives are they prepared to invest? This raises the question of what value can mean. The exhibition addresses this by means of an LED sign displaying the ten most expensive objects in the world. The Concept Store Maria, which will temporarily be hosted by the museum on the occasion of the exhibition, will be open on Sundays between 2 pm and 5 pm as well as on special museum occasions. It will invite visitors to engage with the question of value in an applied form.
The Text & Spirit exhibition presents the manuscripts in their original Christian enlightenment aesthetic of writing, painting and precious parchment and gold materials. Accompanying questions on everyday rituals, value systems, fashion, art, restoration and religion open up a dialogue based on these books and their era. The manuscripts were scanned in their entirety with the aim of making these books and book fragments (cuttings) publicly available on the museum’s digital collection platform . The exhibition is designed to enable visitors to engage with the subject independently at a later date, using the digitised material with accompanying video interviews and in-depth literature. Therefore, it is the occasion to present this important museum collection to the public as an opportunity for familiarisation and research.
Curation: Dr Eva Linhart (Head of the Book Art and Graphics Department of the Museum Angewandte Kunst) with Francesco Colli and Sandra Doeller (Design)
Video interviews
Interviews accompanying the exhibition with:
Dr Stefan Soltek, expert on art and books
Ata Macias, DJ and creative catalyst
Gerhard Wiesheu, Chairman of Bankhaus Metzler
Dipl. Rest. Barbara Hassel, book restorer
Dr Beatrice Alai, expert on the history of Italian book illumination
Dorothea Strauss, art historian, curator and transformation expert
Prof Dr Jochen Sander, Städel Museum
Jochem Hendricks, artist
Prof. Dr Kristin Böse, Professor of Medieval Art
Dr Johanna Scheel, medievalist and freelance art historian
Dr Peter Gorzolla, medievalist
Pastor Andreas Hoffmann, St Peter’s parish in Frankfurt am Main, pastor and artist
Eva Linhart interviewed twelve different experts on art, culture, fashion and banking about the digitisation project and the Museum Angewandte Kunst’s collection of illuminated manuscripts. The resulting videos explore different approaches to prayer books as media and as companions in life.
The video interviews are available in the exhibition space on the gallery and on the YouTube channel of the Museum Angewandte Kunst.
Calendar
The medievalist Dr Peter Gorzolla will guide you through the exhibition Text & Spirit. Illuminated Manuscripts from the Museum Collection and Their Digitization.
Without registration. Included in the admission price.
Andreas Hoffmann, pastor of the St Peter’s parish in Frankfurt am Main and artist, will guide you through the exhibition Text & Spirit. Illuminated Manuscripts from the Museum Collection and Their Digitization.
Without registration. Included in the admission price.
7.30 pm: Curator’s Tour with Dr Eva Linhart and Francesco Colli
Book Space as Art Space
The curators Dr Eva Linhart and Francesco Colli will guide you through the exhibition Text & Spirit. Illuminated Manuscripts from the Museum Collection and Their Digitization.
Without registration. Included in the admission price.
8.30 pm: Reading
Geschichte meines Lebens (Giacomo Casanova)
Prof Matthias Wagner K (Director of the Museum Angewandte Kunst) reads from Casanova’s memoirs. Giacomo Casanova worked as a librarian at Dux Castle (Duchcov) in Bohemia from September 1785. The reading will take place in the inner courtyard of the museum with light, wine and fire.
Without registration. Included in the admission price.
Get inspired by the exhibition Text & Spirit. Illuminated Manuscripts from the Museum Collection and Their Digitization and learn the art of book production and the design of magnificent capital letters as in the Middle Ages.
For children aged 8-12.
Cost: 24 euros per child for one day
With registration under create.angewandte-kunst@stadt-frankfurt.de.
Get inspired by the exhibition Text & Spirit. Illuminated Manuscripts from the Museum Collection and Their Digitization and learn the art of book production and the design of magnificent capital letters as in the Middle Ages.
For children aged 8-12.
Cost: 24 euros per child for one day
With registration under create.angewandte-kunst@stadt-frankfurt.de.
Dr Stefan Soltek, an expert on art and books, will guide you through the exhibition Text & Spirit. Illuminated Manuscripts from the Museum Collection and Their Digitization.
Without registration. Included in the admission price.
Dr Johanna Scheel, medievalist and freelance art historian, will guide you through the exhibition Text & Spirit. Illuminated Manuscripts from the Museum Collection and Their Digitization.
Without registration. Included in the admission price.
Andreas Hoffmann, pastor of the St Peter’s parish in Frankfurt am Main and artist, will guide you through the exhibition Text & Spirit. Illuminated Manuscripts from the Museum Collection and Their Digitization.
Without registration. Included in the admission price.
More information on the program will follow shortly.
More information on the program will follow shortly.
The medievalist Dr Peter Gorzolla will guide you through the exhibition Text & Spirit. Illuminated Manuscripts from the Museum Collection and Their Digitization.
Without registration. Included in the admission price.
Dr Stefan Soltek, an expert on art and books, will guide you through the exhibition Text & Spirit. Illuminated Manuscripts from the Museum Collection and Their Digitization.
Without registration. Included in the admission price.
Location: BIMU Bibelhaus ErlebnisMuseum
Without registration. Included in the admission price.
Dr Eva Linhart (Curator of Book Art and Graphics, Museum Angewandte Kunst) talks to Barbara Hassel (Conservator) and Sabine Kochendörfer (brandbook+Nuuna, Geschäftsführung).
On the occasion of the exhibition Text & Spirit. Illuminated Manuscripts from the Museum Collection and Their Digitization, which shows the complete inventory of illuminated medieval manuscripts from the museum collection, we compare the processes involved in the creation of an illuminated parchment codex and its manuscript with a Nuuna notebook. We will discover not only differences, but also interesting similarities
The event will take place at Villa Metzler.
In German.
The book restorer Barbara Hassel will guide you through the exhibition Text & Spirit. Illuminated Manuscripts from the Museum Collection and Their Digitization.
Without registration. Included in the admission price.
The curators Dr Eva Linhart and Francesco Colli will guide you through the exhibition Text & Spirit. Illuminated Manuscripts from the Museum Collection and Their Digitization.
Without registration. Included in the admission price.
The curators Dr Eva Linhart and Francesco Colli will guide you through the exhibition Text & Spirit. Illuminated Manuscripts from the Museum Collection and Their Digitization.
Without registration. Included in the admission price.
Location: Städel Museum
Without registration. Included in the admission price.
The book restorer Barbara Hassel will guide you through the exhibition Text & Spirit. Illuminated Manuscripts from the Museum Collection and Their Digitization.
Without registration. Included in the admission price.
Dr Johanna Scheel, medievalist and freelance art historian, will guide you through the exhibition Text & Spirit. Illuminated Manuscripts from the Museum Collection and Their Digitization.
Without registration. Included in the admission price.
The artist Jochem Hendricks will guide you through the exhibition Text & Spirit. Illuminated Manuscripts from the Museum Collection and Their Digitization.
Without registration. Included in the admission price.
Dr Johanna Scheel, medievalist and freelance art historian, will guide you through the exhibition Text & Spirit. Illuminated Manuscripts from the Museum Collection and Their Digitization.
Without registration. Included in the admission price.
The DJ and creative catalyst Ata Macias will guide you through the exhibition Text & Spirit. Illuminated Manuscripts from the Museum Collection and Their Digitization.
Without registration. Included in the admission price.
Katharina Baumecker will guide you through the exhibition Text & Spirit. Illuminated Manuscripts from the Museum Collection and Their Digitization.
Without registration. Included in the admission price.
Dr Johanna Scheel, medievalist and freelance art historian, will guide you through the exhibition Text & Spirit. Illuminated Manuscripts from the Museum Collection and Their Digitization.
Without registration. Included in the admission price.
Prof. Dr Jochen Sander, Deputy Director of the Städel Museum and Professor of Art History, will guide you through the exhibition Text & Spirit. Illuminated Manuscripts from the Museum Collection and Their Digitization.
Without registration. Included in the admission price.
Veit Dinkelaker, Theologian, Pastor and Director of the Bibelhaus ErlebnisMuseum and Francesco Colli will guide you through the exhibition Text & Spirit. Illuminated Manuscripts from the Museum Collection and Their Digitization.
Without registration. Included in the admission price.
The curators Dr Eva Linhart and Francesco Colli will guide you through the exhibition Text & Spirit. Illuminated Manuscripts from the Museum Collection and Their Digitization.
Without registration. Included in the admission price.