The Saint John's Bible: Wisdom Books [Hardcover]

Donald Jackson (Illustrator)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 1, 2007

Wisdom Books, the fifth volume of The Saint John's Bible to be released, includes some of the Old Testament's literary masterpieces, including Song of Songs, Ecclesiastes, and Proverbs. Also in this volume is the much-loved book of Job and two Old Testament works originally written in Greek, Sirach and the Wisdom of Solomon. Wisdom Books continues the work of earlier volumes, with a script created by calligrapher Donald Jackson specifically for this project. There are over fifteen large illuminations, among them the spectacular frontispiece for Ecclesiastes and another titled "Creative Wisdom." As you spend time with Wisdom Books, you will find yourself treasuring both the words and the images in your heart.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This stunning volume is handwritten and beautifully illuminated with diverse images. The symbolism leaps from the page to capture the mind and the heart of the reader. Wisdom is not only personified in word, but in the creative splendor of Jackson's imaginings. . . . Every library, college, and university will want to make these lovely volumes available to their patrons and students. Single pages of the volume are suitable for framing. Both the text and the illuminations effectively lift the mind and heart to meditate on the wonder of God's gracious gift." -- Catholic Studies

"[T]his volume is an extraordinary literary and artistic accomplishment." -- Catholic Library World

About the Author

Donald Jackson is one of the world's leading calligraphers and the artistic director and illuminator of The Saint John's Bible. He is a Senior Illuminator to the Queen of England's Crown Office and is an elected Fellow and past Chairman of the prestigious Society of Scribes and Illuminators. His 30-year retrospective exhibition, Painting with Words, premiered at the Minneapolis Institute of Arts in Minneapolis, Minnesota, in August, 1988 and traveled to 13 museums and galleries. The launch of a national museum tour of the The Saint John's Bible began at The Minneapolis Institute of Arts in Minneapolis, Minnesota in April 2005 where record crowds greeted the inaugural exhibit during its three-month run. The Saint John's Bible will continue its national exhibition tour that includes museums and galleries from throughout the United States and Europe including The Tyler Museum of Art in Tyler, Texas, June 8-September 3, 2006; The Museum of Biblical Art in New York, New York, September 6-November 26; The Library of Congress in Washington, D.C., October 6-December 15, 2006; The Naples Museum of Art in Naples, Florida, January 26-April 16, 2007; The Phoenix Art Museum in Phoenix, Arizona, December 21, 2007-March 7, 2008; and The Mobile Museum of Art in Mobile, Alabama, October 10, 2008-April 10, 2009.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 136 pages
• Publisher: Liturgical Press (September 1, 2007)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0814690556
• ISBN-13: 978-0814690550
• Product Dimensions: 15.3 x 10.2 x 0.9 inches
• Shipping Weight: 3.6 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #296,545 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars outstanding project inspired by medieval illuminated texts, December 16, 2007

By 

Henry Berry "Henry Berry" (Southport, CT) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Saint John's Bible: Wisdom Books (Hardcover)

Scribe to the Crown Office of British royalty, Jackson has undertaken a long-term project of illuminating and transcribing the Saint John's Bible held at the Benedictine Saint John's Abbey in Minnesota as medieval monastics illuminated Bibles centuries ago. The monks of the Abbey wanted a project that would bespeak their own regimen focusing in scripture, books, and religious art while at the same time be contemporary, interreligious, multicultural, and prophetic. This Wisdom Books counting Job, Ecclesiastes, Proverbs, Wisdom of Solomon, and Sirach is part of this singular project of 1,150 pages over seven volumes. The other volumes are Pantateuch, Historical Books, Psalms, Prophets, Gospels and Acts, and Letters and Revelation.

Besides being large in size, Jackson's volumes stay true to the making of the original illuminated manuscripts in both materials used and craftsmanship. Natural materials such as egg shells and calf skins were used for hand-ground inks. The manuscripts were entirely handmade by teams of craftspersons with various skills such as calligraphy, making parchment, and binding pages. This Wisdom Books goes so far in imitating medieval manuscripts as to also have some illustrations of small animals in the margins; in this case, a butterfly and bumblebee. One of the common examples of this touch in medieval manuscripts is an illustration of a cat; imagined to be whimsically put in by a monk in a moment of boredom with his task. Collaborators on this work include artists, designers, and specialists in Hebrew and Greek script (all listed on the copyright page).

Despite its inspiration in the medieval manuscripts which are treasures of Western civilization and reference to them as artistic models, the Wisdom Books is modern to be sure. The style of the illustrations manifests this, as does the script and footnote-like entries on many pages. And of course, this and other Saint John's Bible volumes have been multiplied beyond their original hand-crafted copy by modern-day publishing production technology.

In the volume, the original hand-drawn script, whatever size it was, is about twelve point type, much smaller than the size in medieval texts. The script displays the constrained ornate touches of medieval script, though it has the polish of many computer-generated scripts for easy legibility and comprehension. The smaller size of the script means much more text per page than in a medieval manuscript even with the folio-size pages. The illustrations--i. e., the illuminations--too manifest modern influences; most notably influences of collage, expressionism, and graphics. A couple are almost psychedelic in meaning to portray the dazzle and glory of spirituality. A couple have perspective missing from medieval illustrations (perspective having come into art not until about the time of the Renaissance). The planned volume on the making of the Bible will give more background on the making of the text and artistic choices and intentions of the art work.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Beautiful volume, February 4, 2009

By 

Wendell Hendershott "Wenshott" (Corvallis, Oregon) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: The Saint John's Bible: Wisdom Books (Hardcover)

This reproduction of the Wisdom Books of the St. John's Bible is beautiful. We saw a few of the the original manuscript pages in Minnesota last summer, before it was bound. The colors in this reproduction are true to the original. It will be an important part of our library. A fine translation and a beautiful work of art.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars St. John's Bible: Wisdom, August 8, 2008

By 

Margaret H. Doman "Reading Radish Woman" (Tacoma WA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Saint John's Bible: Wisdom Books (Hardcover)

The books of the St. John's Bible are spectacular. The imagery is gorgeous, the colors are fantastic and the lettering is impeccable. I've even gone through the book just looking at the versals (drawn and painted letters at the beginnings of verses) because they are so varied. I might suggest that you purchase Illuminating the Word because it explains so much about the process. I plan to buy all the books of this series.