It is a project of biblical proportions. Handwritten and illustrated, the creation of the Saint John's Bible has so far taken nine years and has cost some $4 million. As the work moves painstakingly toward completion, it already evokes a bygone era of artist-patron relationships even while using vibrant new imagery to illustrate some of our oldest stories. Donald Jackson, the longtime calligrapher to Queen Elizabeth's Crown Office, is using ancient calligraphic techniques--egg yolks, flakes of real gold and silver, goose quills and hand-ground Chinese ink on drum-tight calf-skin vellum--to create an utterly modern manuscript. The illustrations, marginalia and calligraphy are simply breathtaking; the imagery taking such diverse queues as Navajo basket-weaving patterns, microscopic views of known viruses and even pictures snapped by the Hubble Space Telescope. Keep clicking for details from the book and pictures of Jackson's work on behalf of Saint John's Abbey and University.
Images: (c) 2007 The Saint John's Bible and Saint John's University, United States of America
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