29-08-2016, 08:48 PM
The view that the VM had "an author" who "lacked skills" is one I do not agree with. Most of all because it is clear to me that MS Beinecke 408 was (skilfully) copied from what were originally various sources.
One example: compare the hand under this plant to those of figures in other sections:
![[Image: handplant.jpg?w=616]](https://herculeaf.files.wordpress.com/2016/04/handplant.jpg?w=616)
I'm not saying that this is a true-to-nature hand, but it looks much more realistic than the stumps given to human figures in other sections.
Another example I like is the elephant head in the leaf, which looks much more like an elephant than many other medieval elephants to, even though it's a leaf. Just reposting an image I made long ago:
![[Image: elephants4.jpg?w=616]](https://herculeaf.files.wordpress.com/2016/03/elephants4.jpg?w=616)
To just state that "the author" or "the illustrator" lacked skills is, I think, a bit simplistic. Imagine that I am practicing my painting skills and I copy a Picasso. Does that mean I lack skills in the perspective department?
That said, some of the figures do indeed look awkward, especially "Gemini" and the archer. But this does not imply that anyone who worked on the artifact that is MS Beinecke 408 had trouble drawing arms correctly. It looks to me as if they were very skilled copyists.
One example: compare the hand under this plant to those of figures in other sections:
I'm not saying that this is a true-to-nature hand, but it looks much more realistic than the stumps given to human figures in other sections.
Another example I like is the elephant head in the leaf, which looks much more like an elephant than many other medieval elephants to, even though it's a leaf. Just reposting an image I made long ago:
To just state that "the author" or "the illustrator" lacked skills is, I think, a bit simplistic. Imagine that I am practicing my painting skills and I copy a Picasso. Does that mean I lack skills in the perspective department?
That said, some of the figures do indeed look awkward, especially "Gemini" and the archer. But this does not imply that anyone who worked on the artifact that is MS Beinecke 408 had trouble drawing arms correctly. It looks to me as if they were very skilled copyists.