Manuscript Collages from the Schoenberg Institute

Well, a week later the Schoenberg Institute for Manuscript Studies uploaded 5 new videos to their YouTube channel. In one of these there is something I have never seen before:  manuscript collages. Yes, you read it right: a manuscript collage. It appears that in the 18th century, or slightly earlier, someone had the idea of getting a book of hours (use of Rome?), tear it to pieces and make something completely different out of it: two squares composed of the miniatures from the manuscript in the middle (Jesus blessing and teaching his followers, but also show the annunciation, the second coming of Christ, possibly the calling of Peter and Andrew, a figure wearing a mitre praying to an angel, and possibly the moneylenders in the temple, as mentioned in the video description); the marginal decoration on the sides of these, and in the middle of the four borders, parts of texts from the manuscript: excerpts from the New Testament gospels, a calendar of feast days, and homilies of Pope Gregory I. The result is, in my opinion, beautiful.

Manuscript Collage 1.0

Considerations can be made: Indeed, thinking about it makes me a bit sad; imagining a poor manuscript being torn to pieces is always something that i would rather avoid. But we also must consider that, often, the destiny of late manuscripts was to be torn to pieces anyways, and become reinforcement to new printed books' spines. If the manuscript had the choice, I have no doubt it would rather be a manuscript collage than fragments lost forever in an other book. Other, very personal, consideration: What is the main difference, then, from this "Collage", and a modernist "Collage" from the early 20th century? While the manuscript collage aims to be beautiful and pleasant to the eye, it cares little for the message it carries; while modern collages from the early 20th century where all about the message they wanted to transmit to the viewer.

"Emphasizing concept and process over end product"

As a Guggenheim essay poses it. Here are the videos, and don't forget to subscribe to the Schoenberg Institute's YouTube channel!