Christmas story manuscripts open at Stark Museum
BY MARY VESTY Stark Museum of Art

Special to The Orange County News Anonymous, "Virgin and Child with Angel," c. 1510. This Book of Hours has 168 vellum pages, 56 miniatures and approximately 200 historiated initials.

Five hundred years ago an artist's brush finely stroked a vellum page with liquid gold, rendering highlights on the regal clothing of the Virgin Mary, her infant son and an angel. This glorious image and other rare book illustrations will go on view in a special exhibition "The Christmas Story: Illuminated Manuscripts from the Stark Collection" at the Stark Museum of Art Thursday, Nov. 30.

During the holiday season the Stark Museum will exhibit seven illuminated manuscripts collected by Orange native H.J. Lutcher Stark. The exhibition continues through Jan. 6.

"The manuscripts are Books of Hours, prayer books that were used by non-clergy for daily devotions in the middle ages. Artists decorated the pages of the handwritten books with lavish illustrations to guide the reader. The Stark collection contains beautiful manuscripts from the 15th early 16th centuries, by French, Flemish and Dutch artists," said Sarah Boehme, Stark Museum director.

Last spring, the museum presented its first exhibition of these rare and fragile manuscripts during the Lenten season, said Jenniffer Hudson Connors, Stark Museum research librarian.

"Because of the strong response to the exhibition, we wanted to display them again for Christmas ... Each Book of Hours will be open to an illustration related to the Christmas story, such as the Annunciation and the Nativity."

The museum, 712 Green Ave., is open to the public at no charge Tuesday through Saturday.

Hours are from 10 am-5 pm. For more information call 409-883-6661.