THE ETCHMIADZIN GOSPEL
The Etchmiadzin Gospel – one of the most outstanding samples of the early medieval art is represented in the following monographic research. This piece of Armenian early medieval art comprises in itself a small range of striking monuments – the Gospel decorated with painting created in 989 AD, the carved ivory binding of the 6th century and the simultaneous four final miniatures. History of the study of this amazing handwritten manuscript is presented thoroughly; aspects and ways of formation of the iconographic cycle represented by the miniatures and the ivory binding carvings are discerned. Stylistic analysis of both the 6th and 10th centuries miniatures, pecularities of their design, free and convincing estimation of exceptional artistic quality of painting are given. The key role of both the Gospel and its binding in preservation and development of the illustration system of the early medieval codex on the whole is considered together with revealing and estimation of high artistic perfection reached by the Armenian art, in particular, book art in the Middle Ages.
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