Exhibition Library of Indwelled Regions and Environments

Until September 9th 2012 the beautiful Nottebohmzaal of the Erfgoedbibliotheek Hendrik Conscience in Antwerp hosts the ‘L.I.R.E.’ art project (Library of Indwelled Regions and Environments). With this installation artists Lore Rabaut and Frank Depoorter create pure, white spaces, which can be colored by the spectator itself. Books play a central role in the exhibition. Additionally, the placing of nine separate installations in the historical Nottebohmzaal gives rise to an interesting area of tension.

Source: Erfgoedbibliotheek Hendrik Conscience (only Dutch)

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Webexpo Boek, Band en Beslag

A new web exhibition of the library of the Amsterdam University takes you in twenty steps through three ages of prayer books with golden and silver mount. These missals form a part of the collection Van Noordwijk, a collector of book silver.

Typical about these books is the way in which they are richly decorated. They show how precious these books were for the owners.

The webexpo (Dutch)  can be found here .

Source: Boekgeschiedenis.nl

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Exhibition Wendingen 1918-1932

Till May 13 you can visit the exhibition ‘Wendingen 1918-1932′ in the Museum M of Leuven. Wendingen was a groundbreaking art magazine published during the Interbellum and stands as a testament to the unbelievably creative energy of that period. This Dutch-language magazine, specialised in design and architecture, was essential to the development of modernism in the Low Countries, but it also had a clearly international perspective. The periodical was not only groundbreaking for its content; its form was also at the forefront of the graphic arts.

Themed issues were published about Frank Lloyd Wright, Gustav Klimt and H. P. Berlage, among others. Every cover was specially designed by a renowned artist or graphic designer. El Lissitzky is one of the many renowned artists who designed a cover. As a result, the magazine continues to have a refreshing and aesthetic character today.

Source: http://www.mleuven.be/en/classical-art/wendingen/index.jsp

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Exhibition No one’s Land in Campusbibliotheek Arenberg

Until May 5th 2012, Campusbibliotheek Arenberg of KU Leuven hosts the exhibition ‘No one’s Land’. Inaccessible tropical forests, mythical hiding places, forgotten islands and infinite arctic ice fields: ‘No one’s Land’ tells the story of explorers and cartographers and their quest to chart the unclaimed territories. In Campusbibliotheek Arenberg, about twenty remarkable maps (from their own collection) are on display.

Source: KU Leuven

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Exhibition: the Middle Ages in colour

Some of them were created more than 1,000 years ago, and yet the palette of colours used by the artists arguably remains as bright and colourful as when they were first painted.

The British Library is showcasing its treasure trove of illuminated manuscripts collected by the kings and queens of England between the 9th and 16th Centuries – from King Athelstan to Henry VIII. Take a look with lead curator Scot McKendrick.

Royal Manuscripts: The Genius of Illumination can be seen at the British Library, London, until 13 March 2012.

 

Related:

Royal Manuscripts at the British Library

More audio slideshows:

Genius in our midst

Exploring Hogarth’s House

The startling tribute to WWI’s poignant poet

Autumn glory at Stourhead

Source tekst: http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-15667183

Source illustration: Library of Kortrijk

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Expo ’75 years Book Fair’ in Antwerp

The Antwerp Book Fair celebrates its 75th anniversary, the ultimate occasion to organize a retrospective exhibition concerning the history of this event. From October 7th until November 20th, Boek.be organizes an expo in the Letterenhuis in Antwerp.

The 75th birthday of the Antwerp Book Fair gives visitors and bibliophiles the opportunity to look back into the bygone years: words, images, posters, anecdotes and background information recreate the atmosphere of the past.

 

Source: Vlaamse erfgoedbibliotheek

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Window on Leuven

From September 15th until December 31st, the Central Library of K.U.Leuven hosts an exhibition of  pictures, prints and drawings, on which the city of Leuven is depicted. The exposition is linked to the collective initiative of Museum M, the City Archive and the Central Library to make the old city views from their collection online available. From September 15th on, the website www.vensteropleuven.be will let you discover some old city views of Leuven.

Source: Erfgoedcel Leuven en Vlaamse Erfgoedbibliotheek

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Exposition Flemish miniatures

The Royal Library of Belgium and the National Library of France are hosting an exposition about Flemish miniatures. From 30th of September until 30th of December 2011 and from 6th of March until 10th of June 2012 up to 140 illuminated manuscripts are displayed in respectively Brussels and Paris. This double exposition shows the results of what researchers from both institutes have found, closely examining these manuscripts. Not only the illuminated manuscripts itself, but also the context in which they are produced are revealed for the audience. Some manuscripts have not been shown to the audience for more than 50 years.

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Exhibition Tourist in the Golden Age

Until September 4th 2011, the Special Collections-department of the University of Amsterdam presents the exhibition ‘Tourist in the Golden Age’.

In the seventeenth century, Amsterdam was an attractive destination for tourists: exotic merchandise, art and culture, inns and taverns, concert halls and bordellos were abundantly present. It were heydays for hospitality, freedom and prosperity. The exhibition gives contemporary tourists the opportunity to trace the footsteps of their predecessors.

Books, images and objects from the important Golden Age collection from the Special Collections-department of the University of Amsterdam show how visitors were entertained in seventeenth century Amsterdam. For example, manuscripts of P.C. Hooft and a colored city map of Daniel de la Feuille are on display.

 For more information click here.

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Codex Calixtinus book disappears from Spain cathedral

A hugely valuable illuminated manuscript has disappeared from the cathedral of Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain. The Codex Calixtinus dates from the 12th Century and was compiled as a guidebook for medieval pilgrims following the Way of Saint James. This is the oldest copy of the manuscript and is unsaleable on the open market. Only a handful of people had access to the room in which it was kept. Its purpose was largely practical – to collect advice of use to pilgrims heading to the shrine there. It also included sermons and homilies to St James. This week, the book was reported missing from the room where it is kept. “It is usually kept in a room to which only half a dozen people have access,” she said. The Codex is only brought out on special occasions, such as last year’s visit of Pope Benedict, when it is closely guarded.

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