Evangeliary for the celebration of Holy Mass

Artistic design

The present design is in the tradition of sacred book design and yet is contemporary. The entire design of this gospel book draws on the tradition of historical sacred book design and translates it into the present day.

Of all the books of Holy Scripture, which are the foundation of the Christian faith, the four Gospels are held in special reverence in the Church. "For they are the principal witness to the life and teaching of the Word made flesh, our Savior." (Dei verbum 18) Because of this significance, they are secured, encircled with two "ribbons" that are looped around the entire texts of the book in the shape of a cross, as with relics that are placed in the altar. These ribbons extend from the flyleaf across the two-tone gilt edges to the postscript leaf. The entire collection of texts is encased and protected by a book cover.

The beginnings and endings of the four Gospels are abstractly positioned on the front and back of the book cover in ancient Greek. The four gospels tell the one story of salvation under the sign of the cross; this cross is created as a (blank) cross through the positioning of the texts on the book cover and continues the cross of the book block and the gilt edges.

As a further layer, an expressive mandorla shape is applied over the texts, drawing the viewer into the book, as it were. On the one hand, the artistic drawing forms a bridge to the design of the new lectionaries and, on the other, it is a reference to the depiction of Christ enthroned in the mandorla. A golden cross is shown on the reverse.

The artist's edition is the ideal realization of the overall artistic concept. In order to achieve the desired plasticity, the highest quality materials are used by established artisans. The book is bound in heavy silk cloth bindings with relief embroidery. The front and back are decorated with gilded brass reliefs.

Artistic concept Illustrations

The illustrations in the Gospels are based on the desire to add a pictorial expression to the text, from the text image. These refer to the cover design in which the texts - text excerpts as a central design element - are also used. The guiding principle here is that the text speaks to the viewer in its dynamics, in its inherent movement. It is about the gesture and not about illustration in the classical sense.

The illustrations are the result of an elaborate, multi-stage process. The basis and starting point is a theological analysis of the text passages. This led to a condensation of the message of the specific text into a movement. This was implemented by a dancer in a guided improvisation and documented using long exposures and videos.

The movements superimposed in various image layers were cropped, graphically processed and abstracted. The forms resulting from this process were filled with the selected ancient Greek abstracted texts and implemented in the likewise abstracted background layer and colored in the corresponding liturgical color.

The Gospel Book not only invites you to "carry it forward" in the literal sense and "read it aloud", but its form and design also encourages you to "pause" and "follow" what you see and hear.

Format: 24.5 x 34.5 cm, 648 pages with 35 color plates and numerous ribbon markers
Attributes: Silk binding with embroidery depicting the four gospels in ancient Greek, mounted with two hand-gilt brass reliefs, two-tone gilt edges, magnetic clasps, loosely wrapped in silk velvet, representative cassette with title and spine label.