Page - 266 - in Europäische Bild- und Buchkultur im 13. Jahrhundert

266 stElla panayotoVa and egg yolk was used strategically alongside other binders. Illuminators employed these materials to diversify their palette, to simulate a range of optical effects and to create a rich sensory experience. Their success depended on the viewers’ capacity to appreciate subtle variations between different grounds, pigment saturations and application methods. Visual literacy and thoughtful looking were paramount to the efficacy of the images and still are. Integrated art-historical, scientific, textual and cultural analyses allow us to glance over artists’ shoulders and witness the trials and errors, curiosity and experimentation, technical skill and inspired vision that transformed the raw materials into artworks. Photo rights: Pl. 1a: The Master and Fellows of Trinity College, Cambridge; pl. 1b: The Syn- dics of Cambridge University Library; pl. 1c: His Grace the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Trustees of Lambeth Palace Library, London; pl. 2a: Bibliothèque nationale de France, Pa- ris; pl. 2b–3a, 10, 13a: The Syndics of the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge; pl. 3b–8e, 11a–12g, 13b–15d: The MINIARE project, the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge; pl. 9: The Master and Fellows of St John’s College, Cambridge.