Parchment is a writing material made from specially prepared untanned skins of animals, primarily sheep, calves, and goats. It has been used as a writing medium for over two millennia. Vellum, a finer quality parchment made from the skins of young animals such as lambs and young calves, is often distinguished from parchment. However, in practice, there has long been considerable blurring of the boundaries between the different terms. In this article, we will explore the history, manufacture, and use of parchment as an art medium....
The Art Media Parchment
Parchment is a writing material made from specially prepared untanned skins of animals, primarily sheep, calves, and goats. It has been used as a writing medium for over two millennia. Vellum, a finer quality parchment made from the skins of young animals such as lambs and young calves, is often distinguished from parchment. However, in practice, there has long been considerable blurring of the boundaries between the different terms. In this article, we will explore the history, manufacture, and use of parchment as an art medium.
History
The word parchment is derived from the Koinē Greek city name, Pergamon (Classical Latin: Pergamum) in Anatolia, where parchment was supposedly first developed around the second century BCE. The development of parchment was likely a response to an embargo on papyrus shipments to the Kingdom of Pergamon by King Ptolemy V Epiphanes of Egypt due to the increasing rivalry between the Library of Pergamon and the Library of Alexandria. Animal skins were more labor-intensive to process manually than plant-based papyrus but had several practical advantages, including having a smoother writing surface, being more durable if reasonably conserved, and being more resistant to occasional mishandling.
Manufacture
The manufacture of parchment involves the cleaning, bleaching, stretching on a frame (a "herse"), and scraping of the skin with a crescent-shaped knife (a "lunarium" or "lunellum"). To create tension, the process goes back and forth between scraping, wetting, and drying. Scratching the surface with pumice, and treating with lime or chalk to make it suitable for writing or printing ink can create a final look. The making of parchment is a skilled craft that requires patience and attention to detail.
Use as an Art Medium
Parchment has been used as an art medium for centuries, particularly in the production of illuminated manuscripts. Taddeo Crivelli, an Italian painter of illuminated manuscripts, is a notable example of an artist who worked with parchment. His work can be seen in
Taddeo Crivelli, where he is described as "one of the foremost 15th-century illuminators of the Ferrara school."
Parchment was also used for the production of miniatures, such as the one found in
Francesco Di Giorgio Martini: Saint Bernardino Preaching from a Pulpit. This miniature is essentially a small painting on parchment and contains an unusually vivid and naturalistic portrait of the famous Sienese preacher Fra Ber..
Purple Parchment
Purple parchment or purple vellum refers to parchment dyed purple; codex purpureus refers to manuscripts written entirely or mostly on such parchment. The lettering may be in gold or silver. Later the practice was revived for some especially grand illuminated manuscripts produced for the emperors in Carolingian art and Ottonian art, in Anglo-Saxon England and elsewhere. Some just use purple parchment for sections of the work; the 8th-century Anglo-Saxon Stockholm Codex Aureus alternates dyed and un-dyed pages.
Conclusion
Parchment is a versatile art medium that has been used for centuries in the production of illuminated manuscripts, miniatures, and other works of art. Its durability, smooth writing surface, and resistance to mishandling make it an ideal choice for artists working with ink or paint. While parchment may be more labor-intensive to produce than plant-based materials such as papyrus, its unique qualities have ensured its continued use as a valued art medium.
Museo dell'Opificio delle Pietre Dure (Florence, Italy) - A Haven for Art EnthusiastsThe Safavid Period Art MovementPainting by 'Irma Blank' : Autoritratto 5Painting by 'Irma Blank' : TrascrizioniPainting by 'Irma Blank' : Dichtung Version IPainting by 'Carl Gustav Klingstedt' : FanPainting by 'Francesco Di Giorgio Martini' : Saint Bernardino Preaching from a PulpitTaddeo CrivelliPurple parchmentVellum