Master of the Registrum Gregorii

The master of Registrum Gregorii, Registrummeister or Gregor master was an unnamed known Ottonian book writer and painter, who worked under the art-loving Archbishop Egbert of Trier ( 977-993 ) in Trier. He received his Notnamen by Arthur Haseloff for a single sheet (Trier, City Library, ms 171/1626 ), which Pope Gregory I. shows. The art historian Franz J. Ronig, curator of the Trier Cathedral Treasury, judged of him: " His artistic direction, his style and his talent eventually are einzigdastehend in book painting Egbertzeit. "

The work

The Gregory sheet after which the master of Registrum Gregorii got its name, probably belonged to a manuscript of the letters of this pope ( Registrum Gregorii ) to which another double leaf with a dedicatory poem Bishop Egbert of Trier and the title of the manuscript (Trier, City Library, 171/1626a ms ) and a throne picture of Otto II ( Chantilly, Musée Condé, Ms. 14 to ) included, which are also attributed to the Master of Registrum Gregorii. A 37 sheet of parchment comprehensive text fragment of the manuscript is also obtained in Trier, in this the Registrummeister was not involved.

On the sheet Gregor sits under a column architecture at a lectern and dictated a writer, which is separated by a curtain from him. The scribe who recorded his words on a wax tablet, stands with his stylus a hole in the curtain to see how the dove of the Holy Spirit the Holy whispers the words into his ear. Thus it is shown that Pope Gregory 's just like the evangelists inspired by the Holy Spirit.

More Master of Registrum Gregorii attributed works are:

• A Sacramentary of Trier ( Chantilly, Musée Condé, Ms. 40, ex. 1447 )
• The revision and ornament of the early 9th century in Tours written Gospels (Prague, Strahov Monastery, Ms. DF III 3 ),
• Seven miniatures of the Codex Egberti (Trier, City Library, Ms. 24)
• Writing and miniatures at the Gospel Book of Sainte Chapelle (Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, Lat. 8851 )
• Initial decorative sides and frames in a Trier Sacramentary (Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, Lat. 10501 )
• The Prolog side, a decorative initials page and the first page of text in miniature Psalter Egberts (Trier, City Library, Ms. 7/9),
• The carrying jewelry in a product coming from Trier Gospel Book (Manchester, John Rylands Library, Ms. 98)
• A single sheet with the Evangelist Mark ( Library of the Seminary of St. Peter in the Black Forest ),
• A single sheet with a representation of St. Willibrord (Paris, Bibliothèque Nationale, Lat. 10510 )
• A single sheet with a proclamation (Würzburg, University Library, Mpth.q.4a )
• The picturesque decoration of the so-called marriage to the Empress Theophano, and some of these attributions are disputed.

Other works to be approached from style related works, the (perhaps originating from Lorsch ) manuscript London, British Library, Harl applies. 2970 as a copy of a lost work. Another manuscript was by Hartmut Hoffmann in the 12th century in Italy, where she in a Gospel Book (Firenze, Laurentian Library, acquisiti e Doni 91) was received.

It is discussed whether the master of the Registrum Gregorii exercised, other crafts, such as that of the goldsmith or the ivory carver. On several works from the goldsmith's workshop Egberts are emails that have large similarity to the painting of the Master Gregory, about the Egbert Shrine, the symbols of the Evangelists have in common with those of the Strahov Gospels. His deft handling of gold leaf as part of miniatures could be explained by training as a goldsmith. Carl Falk north assumed that the Registrummeister was also active as an ivory carver, and wrote him the Holy Nazarinus pointing ivory in Hanover, a Madonna in the Mainz Archaeological Museum as well as an offering in the temple of the Bode Museum to.

Style of painting

Adolph Goldschmidt characterized the style of the master of the Registrum Gregorii in his work on the Ottonian book illumination:

"The whole, presumably in Trier to be localized group is distinguished by a noble tranquility, the outlines are drawn long in uniform running curves, the modeling takes place in a gentle curve without vigorous contrasts of light and shade, the color is consistent with this bright, sometimes almost pale effect. The gestures are restrained, and the expression of the heads with no more movement, but of uniform beauty. The architecture shows a certain purity of the lines and a relatively proper perspective. Joining them will be a Abgewogenheit the composition, which is expressed already at the moving scenes of Egbertcodex. This reveals a classical attitude which is inspired by models of antique or antique-like origin, but yet with no such model really covers, but reveals an independent, growing out of the new age artist. "

Thematically attacked the master of Registrum Gregorii on the touronische Carolingian book illumination back, but also on ancient of forms. His initials stand near the so-called Group of Eburnat of Reichenau. The roof structure of Gregor sheet follows by Holger Simon also a model from this group, namely the dedicatory picture of Gero - Codex. In some cases, other documents have been identified. So the master of Registrum Gregorii when painting capitals in architecture representations of ancient capitals was inspired. For the animal representations of the marriage certificate of the Empress Theophano Hoffmann pointed to a Sassanid silver plate of the 5th century.

To Technique

An art technological analysis of the Codex Egberti allowed insights into the painting technique of the master. So used in the manuscript only the master of Registrum Gregorii the blue dye azurite, the rest of the illuminators of the manuscript unused. Also he was the only one involved painter who worked in the sketches with washes. Particularly striking are the deviation in the actual painting technique. The master of Registrum Gregorii painted after the first sketch the image background, but saved the lines of the sketch is not as usual, so that parts of the presentation had to be painted to the color of the background layers. In some miniatures of the Egbertcodex he covered the sketches even completely with the background color. This method is problematic in that the thick paint layers were easily damaged by folding the sides in the use of manuscripts in Egbertcodex the drawings of the master of Registrum Gregorii were more damaged than the other signatories. Later works of the master of Registrum Gregorii as Gregor sheet no longer have this continuous backgrounds, Oltrogge considers it possible that the master Gregor had no real training as an illuminator.

Another special feature of the Master of Registrum Gregorii is that this often used gold leaf for golden surfaces, which was applied after completion of the painted parts. Here the gold was previously cut into shape and glued with binder. He used this technique in addition to the Codex Egbertii also in the Gospel Book in Strahov and in the individual sheets from the Registrum Gregorii as well as in the single sheet with the Evangelist Mark.

Effect

The master of Registrum Gregorii influenced the simultaneous of Reichenau, where Carl north Falk assumes that it is in the period of political turmoil after the death of Otto II, in which his patron, Bishop Egbert, the striving for power Heinrich joined the Brawler, retired to the monastery of Reichenau. At Codex Egberti, which is dated to this time, the master of Registrum Gregorii worked with Reichenauer painters and writers. Also in the Gospel Book of Sainte -Chapelle, which was planned after a controversial thesis as a gift Egberts Henry to his coronation, can be found on a canon table typical figures of Reichenau, conversely, put the later Reichenauer ruler images, the image of Emperor Otto from the Registrum Gregorii advance. The Today exploiting dividend in Manchester Evangeliar influenced the Ottonian book illumination in Cologne, where his now lost evangelists images in the 3rd quarter of the 11th century in a Evangeliarhandschrift ( Wurttemberg State Library, Bibl fol. 21) were copied. His painting influenced the book painting of the monastery of Echternach in the 11th century and the Mosan illumination.

Identification tests

Carl north Falk proposed to identify the master of Registrum Gregorii with John Italicus, the 996 by Emperor Otto III. was summoned from Italy to Aachen to imagine there Aachen Cathedral. Hartmut Hoffmann rejected this proposal, as the master of Registrum Gregorii would 996 have long been active north of the Alps and there is no indication in his work to an Italian origin.

Theodore K. Kempf, director of the Trier diocese museum, suggested by Benna to identify the master of the sacred Edith Registrum Gregorii educator and creator of Benna - Cross of Mainz Cathedral. Also, this identification could not prevail because Benna was at the beginning of the Trier effect time of the master of Registrum Gregorii in Wessex and from him no activity is also delivered as a book artist.