Facsimile Editions: The Most Beautiful Bibles
The Bible, as the tradition of the Word of God, was of course at the center of medieval book art. Especially since the Old and New Testament stories were ideally suited to be retold in pictures. You can find a selection of the most beautiful and magnificent of these Bibles here.
From Louis the Saint to the Persian Shah to New York City: one of the most richly illuminated and famous manuscripts of the Middle Ages
Paris (France) — ca. 1250
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A milestone in the history of mankind: the most beautiful edition of Gutenberg's famous Bible, richly decorated with gold
Mainz (Germany) — ca. 1453
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Each one of the 1,200 pages has been masterfully illuminated with incredible attention to detail: the grandiose climax of the Renaissance
Ferrara or Modena (Italy) — 1455–1461
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God as the architect of the world with compass in hand: a unique masterpiece with 1,000 golden medallions that is not only famous for its opening miniature
Paris (France) — 1220–1230
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One of Spain’s most significant manuscripts: the Hebrew Bible by Moses Ibn Zabara
La Coruña (Spain) — 1476
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Decorated with almost 1,000 miniatures but irrevocably exposed to decay: one of the most beautiful picture Bibles of the Middle Ages, created for the King of Navarre
Navarre (Spain) — ca. 1200
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The "Queen of the Biblical Texts" adorned with a series of early miniatures and an impressive ivory binding: an exact translation of the Bible from the 5th century
Noravank Monastery (Armenia) — ca. 989
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Image strips for the Old Testament and full-page miniatures for the New Testament: a pictorial masterpiece with more than 200 golden miniatures, created by the greatest artists of the early Italian Renaissance
Naples (Italy) — 1340–1350
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A huge, two-volume masterpiece with grandiose miniature paintings: the luxury Bible for one of the richest princes of the Italian Renaissance
Florence (Italy) — 1476–1478
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Furnished with 4,800+ golden picture medallions: one of the most extensive and magnificent works in the history of book illumination
Paris (France) — 1226–1234
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A masterpiece of the Gothic and German Renaissance: the first illustrated New Testament Bible in German
Regensburg (Germany) — 1425–1430 und ca. 1530
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Luminous Gothic miniatures on a golden background: a magnificently illuminated picture bible from northern France containing the Old Testament and the story of Jacob
France — ca. 1250
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Made in the famous Wenceslas workshop in Prague: a mammoth bible in German with 646 fantastic miniatures for the German emperor
Prague (Czech Republic) — 1389–1400
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Commissioned by Duke Philip the Bold: a masterpiece with over 500 miniatures by the Limbourg Brothers and over 250 miniatures by other masters
France — 1402–1404; 1450–1465; 1485–1493
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Each of the more than 400 pages that illustrate this picture Bible: masterful, colored copperplates and woodcuts by Sebald Beham, the student of Albrecht Dürer
Frankfurt am Main (Germany) — 1551
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