BOOKS OF HOURS REIMAGINED

 

We think of Books of Hours as medieval “best-sellers” or medieval “must haves.” Indeed, they are quintessential deluxe manuscripts in which pictures with prayers structured devotion for pious lay folk. However, this exhibition invites us to take a fresh look at Books of Hours as sites of invention. We will look where we do not usually look. We explore silences and empty spaces. We become part of the audience in a theatre of gazes. We play in the margins where games and commentary unfold. We follow the passage of time with them, and we observe the traces left by hands that treasured these books. As we reimagine Books of Hours, we rediscover them as vibrant objects of invention, kaleidoscopic displays of both faith and artistry, where different meanings come into focus with each new lens.