What is scriptorium.dk?
Table of Contents
Authentic, historical and handmade
From 2006 – 2010 in the very start the project went under the name Textura. The name Textura is a Latin word which means “weaved”, as well as being the first named font; the font we today know as “Gothic writing”. Textura (Gothic writing) originates from the second half of the 12th century.
Gutenberg imitated and used this originally handwritten font in the first printed books. In 2010 the Textura project was offered to ‘inherit’ the domain name Scriptorium.dk from a medieval writings colleague. I took this great offer and chose to rename the project to Scriptorium.dk
Scriptorium.dk is a small artist firm that recreates and reproduces historic, illustrated handicraft. Most of the products are made by the owner and graphic designer Søren Bie, from his idea that historical illustrations don’t just have to be enjoyed and experienced in books, in museums and through digital media, but also as copy-art which can bring joy and be owned by many.
Most of the pieces are made in my own studio and are made from handmade high quality materials. Every piece is either unique or made in very small numbers. Every artwork is carefully chosen and is an authentic, historical and handmade copy. As far as I know, there are no others that work with this and nowhere else can you achieve these artworks in such a high unique quality.
The art of historical book-craft, illustrated miniatures and typography
Scriptorium was created in 2006, partly from my own studies of French medieval art and partly via direct further development of the online project www.jeanne-darc.info, which was five years under development, and which is today, one of the world’s largest websites with the most intrinsic wealth of information on Jeanne d’Arc.
In my studies and my search for material about the life of Jeanne d’Arc and the times she lived in (1412 – 1431), I got gradually more and more enchanted by the Middle Ages and it’s art. Especially the period 1350 – 1450 fascinated me.
During my years as an illustrator and graphic designer, I have digged deep and long to find out, where my craft originated from, like the making the paper that is used for the illustrations, learning to paint with quill and blending the colours that are used from the ground.
The more I studied the art of book-craft with the sometimes funny and naïve illustrations which has little or no sense of perspective and often crafted with materials which originate directly from the nature surrounding the artist, the more I came to realize that both have been and still are a huge part of my life and my everyday. I am passionate about my artwork.
I have collected a lot of books about the handwritten texts and my analysis of how they were made and I started to experiment with anything within the craft, from guilding to writing with ink and quill.
As a result of this passion I have taught myself and recreated the lost art of historical book-craft, illustrated miniatures and scriptures. Later I discovered that today it is a craft that only very few actually work with or master. I have succeeded in finding like-minded colleagues in Denmark, who are also fascinated by this unique field of work, both painters and writers of historical scripts.
Who is behind the project?
Working with handmade typography and historical illustrations
Project Scriptorium is created by Søren Bie, born in 1964. I’m originally educated as a graphic designer and I work with many different types of illustrative design. These include web design, illustrations, logo design, typography, colorization, cartoonist and even mural paintings and just about anything in between. I live in Copenhagen where I work as self-employed on a freelance basis. It is possible to find more information about me and the creative world I live in on my website:www.soren-bie.dk
Why do I work with this?
Partly to pay homage to an almost died-out handicraft and partly because of a passion for working with something so full of dignity and soul as these artworks are. I have always found interpretations of culture and art history to be incredibly interesting and for which I have created web projects like Jeanne-darc.info
Working with handmade typography and historical illustrations give me a contrast to today’s digitalized, rectified and oversimplified conformity where e-mails and cell phones have almost completely erased the handwritten art of calligraphy. By recreating the original scriptures and illustrations, Scriptorium’s artworks can be used as a contribution to the development and understanding of both Danish and international historical research.
The idea behind
Recreated after the original historical works
Today, it’s hard to even come near an original book from the Middle Ages. They are priceless and very rare and are usually only kept in Universities, in State Libraries or with private collectors. These early illustrative masterpieces can, on account of their fragile nature, understandably only be experienced by a select few people.
For the largest part, only historians and students have access to these. If you are neither and you want to experience the original medieval scriptures today, you have to go to an exhibit, through a digital media or via a modern reproduction.
Try to imagine having one of these exquisite artworks hanging on your wall with a page from a book that looks like it is from the 13th or 14th century? This is actually possible today. Except it’s not an original, 700-year-old page or illustration, but an almost exact, handcrafted copy. It is hand-painted, “real” copy-art, carefully recreated after the original historical works.
Technique
True to the original medieval scriptures
With such a specialized craft, there are no easy shortcuts. I use both strength and love in recreating the original historical motifs and in giving every single motif a new life where every little detail has been given attention. All products are made with materials of very high quality. For example, using imitated gold-leaf and high-quality paper. I don’t often work with real gold-leaf as it was used for about 6-700 years ago, nor is the parchment made of animal hides since it is both expensive and time-consuming. To achieve the results that can be experienced in the original historical documents and scriptures, besides the original technique, I also use modern and self-made techniques. I often experiment, mixing both old and modern techniques to reach the desired result.
The characteristics of the products
It is Scriptorium.dk’s specialty and characteristic that many of the artworks look like they really are very old, almost as if it was a page taken directly out of an old handmade book from medieval times or a fresco taken down from a church-wall. I strive to recreate the motifs in an artistically high quality that stays true to the original medieval scriptures. In most of Scriptorium.dk’s artwork the aim is to create the products to look as real as possible and make them seem like they were created in the given era.
History
The art of historical book-craft, illustrated miniatures and typography
Scriptorium was created in 2006, partly from my own studies of French medieval art and partly via direct further development of the online project www.jeanne-darc.info, which was five years under development, and which is today, one of the world’s largest websites with the most intrinsic wealth of information on Jeanne d’Arc.
In my studies and my search for material about the life of Jeanne d’Arc and the times she lived in (1412 – 1431), I got gradually more and more enchanted by the Middle Ages and it’s art. Especially the period 1350 – 1450 fascinated me. During my years as an illustrator and graphic designer, I have digged deep and long to find out, where my craft originated from, like the making the paper that is used for the illustrations, learning to paint with quill and blending the colours that are used from the ground.
The more I studied the art of book-craft with the sometimes funny and naïve illustrations which has little or no sense of perspective and often crafted with materials which originate directly from the nature surrounding the artist, the more I came to realize that both have been and still are a huge part of my life and my everyday. I am passionate about my artwork.
I have collected a lot of books about the handwritten texts and my analysis of how they were made and I started to experiment with anything within the craft, from guilding to writing with ink and quill. As a result of this passion I have taught myself and recreated the lost art of historical book-craft, illustrated miniatures and scriptures. Later I discovered that today it is a craft that only very few actually work with or master. I have succeeded in finding like-minded colleagues in Denmark, who are also fascinated by this unique field of work, both painters and writers of historical scripts.
F.A.Q.
The word itself originally means writing room. (Scriptorium is a Latin word that means “place for writing.” It was a place where books were copied and illuminated (painted). A scribe wrote the text for a book and an artist, called an illuminator, painted the pictures and decorations. Scribes and illuminators made each book by hand)
Yes – everything is made and painted by hand. The paper isn’t always handmade but is a specially made parchment, to which I adapt the right look of age and patina, creating an imitation of a real, antique artwork that looks several hundred years old.
The best pieces take between 40 to 80 hours to make, depending on the richness and quality it has to have. Some products take several years to paint for example, the Jeanne d’Arc-series or the Codex Manesse-series. It all depends on time, a proper environment, proper lighting and a quiet space to work. Since all the pieces are unique and take long time to complete, the prices of the products are set based on the amount of time spent making each unique artwork.
Yes and no. They are kept as close to the original as possible, both in color and motive. It takes way too long to hit 100% accuracy and in some cases the original manuscripts are damaged by age and use or the colors have faded. So I take my liberty to interpret how they are supposed to look. In some cases I even work on some extra detail that didn’t exist on the original.
In some products, everything is made using the proper, original techniques. I vary between the original means of creating these artworks, but I also utilize modern techniques; for example, I don’t always make the colors, quills or pencils myself. I experiment a lot to reach a familiarity with the many techniques and possibilities. Therefore there is often found a variation in both paper used and color pigmentation – and there are no two pieces that are the same, everything is unique.
There are a few reasons for that. I am very fond of homemade and especially handmade artisanal paper. Paper was also used in the Middle Ages; even the old Egyptians used papyrus, a primitive form of paper. Some products were made using animal hides, others either on wood or linen.
When paintings were copied in the Middle Ages, both the work and the craftsman’s title was miniature-painting copyist, scribe or illuminator. Although in modern times it’s most often called graphical designer, illustrator or artist.
When I work, I sometimes philosophize about who the original artist was, his life and what he was thinking about, when he was creating the artwork. Often when I work, I have a candle lit by my side and I listen to medieval music to create the correct mood. The music is actually an important part of the process. I feel like I’m in a sort of a ‘time machine’ when I create these beautiful pictures, so I think my inspiration is a part of the painting process itself – right from the first few lines, to the final details; as well as attempting to recreate the original as accurately as possible which I think is the greatest challenge.
Yes, that is possible. I am, however, often booked and I don’t have a lot of time, so I only accept a few assignments. But contact me and we can discuss it.
No, I stopped sending framed pictures because of bad experiences with shattered glass and the like. Also framing is a question of personal taste, therefore are all pictures without a frame.
I have no plans about this at this point in time, but possibly in the future somewhere here in Denmark. The only place where I sometimes go, though not often, is my favorite place, the Medieval Center at Nykøbing Falster. If I’m not there, there is a good chance that some of my talented colleagues are.
Yes there is, but only in Danish. If I don’t have the time for it – or I don’t believe I’m talented enough in a specific field, I can possibly contact a colleague who would then be able to lecture instead. You are welcome to contact me for further information.