St John's College Library Presents its Inaugural Guest Exhibition

Please tell us a little about yourself

My name is Victoria Kinne and I’m a third year History of Art student at St Catherine’s College. I’ve been studying art history since GCSE and one of my favourite things about the discipline is its breadth and diversity. This placement is the perfect example; not only did I get the opportunity to curate my first ever exhibition, but I also had the chance to work with manuscripts and early printed books, which I’d never done before. Thanks to this exhibition, I am writing my dissertation on two of the exhibits and I am applying for curatorial internships for after I graduate. In the meantime, though, I am enjoying my last two terms by staying active in student theatre and dance societies as I have done throughout my degree.

What inspired your exhibition?

When I arrived for my placement, I was given free rein to choose any topic based on St John’s collection. As I was looking through all the items kept here, I was continually surprised by the vividness of the colours, as if they were new. But what I also came to appreciate was the beauty of early printing – I expected the black-and-white illustrations to appear boring or lifeless in comparison to the illuminated manuscripts, but what I found was that they were beautiful in a completely different way. Where in the manuscripts there was colour, in the early printed books there was astonishing detail and technical skill. That was really what inspired me to share the beauty of colour – and the lack of it – in manuscripts and early printed books. Using some prior knowledge of manuscript illumination and the idea of the “period eye”, I then tried to contextualise the exhibits and give the visitor an idea of how significant these illustrations were.

What are some of the challenges of working with medieval manuscripts?

Definitely the lack of definitive records. St John’s is very lucky to have such a well-documented collection, but even then there are a lot of question marks as to where or when or why these manuscripts were produced. However, this did make for a really fun research process, where I could piece together various bits of scholarship to suggest why these illustrations look like they do, and what choices were made to get them there. I will also say that this exhibition has given me a new appreciation for page numbers and tables of contents. I would often ask to find the “blue diagram with the red circle around it” and discover that there were several near-identical diagrams within the same manuscript.

What did you discover in the process of curating Ink and Illumination?

At the beginning of the exhibition, I had some ideas about where my research was going to lead and what my conclusions were going to be. But each exhibit took me on a different journey, and it was a very enriching and exhilarating process. For example, it is pretty widely known in art history that blue represents holiness and is used for the Virgin Mary because it’s the most expensive pigment, but I never would have guessed that the colour could also represent danger in the Middle Ages. Or that Vesalius’ infamous anatomical illustrations were radical for their accuracy and their expressiveness, resonating with contemporary conversations about the morality of dissection. With all this research, I therefore had the idea quite early on to include a short essay in the middle of the exhibition booklet to situate the exhibits within the wider context of how colour was perceived and used in the Middle Ages. I felt that this would give the opportunity for those who were interested to read into the more theoretical side of the exhibition, while allowing the individual descriptions for the exhibits to focus on their immediate context and usage of colour.

I also cannot speak about the exhibition without saying how pleasantly surprised I was by the incredible helpfulness of the librarians. Everyone I have worked with at St John’s has been so welcoming and willing to share the collection’s resources, and they continue to support me as I conduct research for my dissertation.

Do you have a favourite book or manuscript in the exhibition?

I have to show preference for the Ortelius atlases, which are what I am writing my dissertation on. At first, I thought they were the perfect example of the effect that colour has on illustrations but as I was flipping through them to find an interesting map to display, I discovered that the Iceland map (which is the one typically displayed) was the only one with this many sea monsters on it! This led me down a bit of a rabbit hole which you can read about in the exhibition booklet or online exhibition, but essentially it made me realise that Ortelius was taking maps from various sources and combining them in one book with a bit of editing. I’m therefore researching what his sources were and how he changed them, and I’m looking at how he actually supported the cartographic industry in England through this world atlas. But if you’re twisting my arm, the bestiary is a close second!

Beyond your exhibition, are there any books or resources you’d recommend to people interested in illuminated manuscripts?

I would encourage any would-be medievalists to peruse the bibliography at the end of the booklet – it lists some scholars that I have found incredibly helpful and should also provide a rough framework of where to look for different subjects. The Cambridge History of the Book series is a great place to start as a comprehensive overview. It was recommended to me by the College Librarian Dr Petra Hofmann, and it has served me well!

In addition, I encourage everyone to make use of the university’s collections and the many medieval manuscript courses available at the Weston Library. I have been taking a beginner’s Medieval Latin Palaeography course there and I cannot recommend it enough!

Ink and Illumination runs until the end of Hilary Term 2025 (15 March 2025)

Members of St John’s College may visit the exhibition in the Library & Study Centre during opening hours (daily 9am – 11pm) at their convenience.

Visitors who would like to view the exhibition are asked to email library@sjc.ox.ac.uk to arrange an appointment.