Going Places: Travel in the Middle Ages

An exhibition at the Getty Center last year focused on the Book of Marvels of the World, a 15th-century illuminated manuscript that provided an insight into the often wacky ways in which medieval scribes and illuminators viewed faraway lands. In ‘Going Places’, the Getty is once again mining its outstanding collection of medieval manuscripts to explore how and why people travelled in the Middle Ages (2 September–30 November). Several illuminations from the Book of Marvels are on show once again, alongside depictions of sea travel; Books of Hours that show villagers on their way to church; the hagiographic Life of the Blessed Hedwig (1353), in which the sick and leperous come to pray at the saint’s tomb; and the French manuscript Visions of the Knight Tondal (1475), in which the soul of the titular knight is led across a narrow bridge in a valley of burning sulphur.

Find out more from the Getty’s website
Preview below | View Apollo’s Art Diary

‘Barlaam, Carrying a Shoulder Pack, Crosses a River’ from Barlaam and Josephat (1469) by Hans Schilling. J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
‘The Torment of the Proud – Valley of Burning Sulphur’ from Visions of the Knight Tondal (1475), by Simon Marmion. J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles
‘The Sick, the Leprous, and the Lame Praying at Saint Hedwig’s Tomb; People Coming to Visit Saint Hedwig’s Tomb’ from Life of the Blessed Hedwig (1353), Silesia. J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles.
‘Villagers on Their Way to Church’ from Book of Hours (c. 1550) by Simon Bening. J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles