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A masterly historical and photographic exploration of a neglected form of English figurative sculpture, the angel roofs that adorn many East Anglian churches.
Shortlisted for the East Anglian Book Awards 2016!
It has been estimated that over 90% of England's figurative medieval art was obliterated in the image destruction of the Reformation. Medieval angel roofs, timber structures with spectacular and ornate carvings of angels, with a peculiar preponderance in East Anglia, were simply too difficult for Reformation iconoclasts to reach. Angel roof carvings comprise the largest surviving body of major English medieval wood sculpture. Though they are both masterpieces of sculpture and engineering, angel roofs have been almost completely neglected by academics and art historians, because they are inaccessible, fixed and challenging to photograph.
'The Angel Roofs of East Anglia' is the first detailed historical and photographic study of the region's many medieval angel roofs. It shows the artistry and architecture of these inaccessible and little-studied medieval artworks in more detail and clarity than ever before, and explains how they were made, by whom, and why.
Michael Rimmer redresses the scholarly neglect and brings the beauty, craftsmanship and history of these astonishing medieval creations to the reader. The book also offers a fascinating new answer to the question of why angel roofs are so overwhelmingly an East Anglian phenomenon, but relatively rare elsewhere in the country.
Shortlisted for the East Anglian Book Awards 2016!
It has been estimated that over 90% of England's figurative medieval art was obliterated in the image destruction of the Reformation. Medieval angel roofs, timber structures with spectacular and ornate carvings of angels, with a peculiar preponderance in East Anglia, were simply too difficult for Reformation iconoclasts to reach. Angel roof carvings comprise the largest surviving body of major English medieval wood sculpture. Though they are both masterpieces of sculpture and engineering, angel roofs have been almost completely neglected by academics and art historians, because they are inaccessible, fixed and challenging to photograph.
'The Angel Roofs of East Anglia' is the first detailed historical and photographic study of the region's many medieval angel roofs. It shows the artistry and architecture of these inaccessible and little-studied medieval artworks in more detail and clarity than ever before, and explains how they were made, by whom, and why.
Michael Rimmer redresses the scholarly neglect and brings the beauty, craftsmanship and history of these astonishing medieval creations to the reader. The book also offers a fascinating new answer to the question of why angel roofs are so overwhelmingly an East Anglian phenomenon, but relatively rare elsewhere in the country.
Price: $29.99
Pages: 142
Publisher: Boydell & Brewer Inc.
Imprint: Lutterworth Press
Publication Date:
27 August 2015
Trim Size: 10.00 X 7.44 in
ISBN: 9780718893699
Format: Paperback
Look at this book and give thanks that these angelic hosts were beyond the reach of the destroyers. Here for the first time they are rightly celebrated as a precious legacy from late medieval England.
— Sir Roy Strong, Art historian and former director of the National Portrait Gallery and V&A Museum
Michael Rimmer allows us to enter worlds that are otherwise remote. His text provides privileged access to the minds both of the medieval kings and carpenters who produced the roofs, and the early modern religious vandals who diminished them. But the greatest privilege is to see the roofs themselves through his camera lens. As we move from distant views of angels in whole ranks to close-ups of their faces and their attributes, we seem to hear the music of their instruments and the song of their voices, even feel the fluttering of those magic wings. To hold this book in your hands is to gain early entry to Paradise.
— Professor John Onians, Professor Emeritus of World Art, University of East Anglia
The cultural revolution that shook the British Isles during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries destroyed so much of the evidence of our vibrant earlier liturgical life. This wonderful book documents one of the major survivals of Roman Catholic England in meticulously researched text and the most sumptuous colour photographs. The late Gothic style of perpendicular architecture demanded elaborate roofs, and the angels that fluttered above the faithful were at once a vision of heaven and an articulate statement of orthodox Catholic doctrine. Michael Rimmer's exhaustive survey of the angel roofs of East Anglia and beyond will provide the essential companion to these treasures for years to come.
— Simon Knott, Creator of The Churches of East Anglia websites
Angel roofs are one of the glories of English carpentry and woodcarving. They are predominantly located in parish churches in East Anglia and adjoining counties where so many stunning buildings were created between 1400 and the Reformation. Despite some damage they survive in considerable numbers. Examples from thirty-five different churches are represented in Michael Rimmer's outstanding photographs, which reveal the visual quality of these works of art, in many cases for the first time. The book also has an accessible and stimulating introduction in which he sets out major issues in the study, history and development of this largely neglected but fascinating subject.
— Professor T.A. Heslop, Professor of Visual Arts, University of East Anglia
— Sir Roy Strong, Art historian and former director of the National Portrait Gallery and V&A Museum
Michael Rimmer allows us to enter worlds that are otherwise remote. His text provides privileged access to the minds both of the medieval kings and carpenters who produced the roofs, and the early modern religious vandals who diminished them. But the greatest privilege is to see the roofs themselves through his camera lens. As we move from distant views of angels in whole ranks to close-ups of their faces and their attributes, we seem to hear the music of their instruments and the song of their voices, even feel the fluttering of those magic wings. To hold this book in your hands is to gain early entry to Paradise.
— Professor John Onians, Professor Emeritus of World Art, University of East Anglia
The cultural revolution that shook the British Isles during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries destroyed so much of the evidence of our vibrant earlier liturgical life. This wonderful book documents one of the major survivals of Roman Catholic England in meticulously researched text and the most sumptuous colour photographs. The late Gothic style of perpendicular architecture demanded elaborate roofs, and the angels that fluttered above the faithful were at once a vision of heaven and an articulate statement of orthodox Catholic doctrine. Michael Rimmer's exhaustive survey of the angel roofs of East Anglia and beyond will provide the essential companion to these treasures for years to come.
— Simon Knott, Creator of The Churches of East Anglia websites
Angel roofs are one of the glories of English carpentry and woodcarving. They are predominantly located in parish churches in East Anglia and adjoining counties where so many stunning buildings were created between 1400 and the Reformation. Despite some damage they survive in considerable numbers. Examples from thirty-five different churches are represented in Michael Rimmer's outstanding photographs, which reveal the visual quality of these works of art, in many cases for the first time. The book also has an accessible and stimulating introduction in which he sets out major issues in the study, history and development of this largely neglected but fascinating subject.
— Professor T.A. Heslop, Professor of Visual Arts, University of East Anglia
Foreword
Introduction
Photographs and Explanatory Captions
Bibliography and Links
Introduction
Photographs and Explanatory Captions
Bibliography and Links