The Portfolio of Villard de Honnecourt: A New Critical Edition and Color Facsimile (Paris, BibliothFque nationale de France, MS Fr 19093) with a glossary by Stacey L. Hahn

This new book by Carl Barnes presents the first high-quality colour facsimile of a key manuscript of Gothic art and architecture and medieval scientific thought, the 'Portfolio' of Villard de Honnecourt, and gives the first complete codicological and palaeographical analysis of the text. Barnes clearly identifies what is and what is not known about Villard himself and the drawings and text in the manuscript, so removing many of the multiple layers of speculation that have clouded study of the work. The book is completed by a full bibliography of studies relating to Villard.This new facsimile edition of the Portfolio of the 13th-century Picard artist Villard de Honnecourt is the first printed facsimile in eighteen years and the first ever in color. The thirty-three leaves are reproduced at actual size from color transparencies the same size as the leaves themselves to insure the best possible color reproduction of the drawings. For the first time one can see variations in inks and quill strokes, traces of preliminary drawings, and corrections made by the artist. This study is also the first to give a thorough description of the condition of the leaves, analysis of each drawing in the portfolio individually, and new transcriptions and literal and free translations of the inscriptions. The first chapter covers the history and physical condition of the portfolio, including reassigning hands to text found on the leaves. The author analyses the tools and inks used, Villard's drawing technique and style, and evaluates Villard as an artist-draftsman. Chapter II is devoted to detailed analyses of the leaves, one by one, and their drawings and inscriptions. These analyses are of interest to those concerned with medieval technology and theology as well as to those interested in medieval art and architecture. Chapter III is a new biography of Villard that challenges the many wild speculations of the last century and a half about Villard, separating obvious fiction from possible fact. Barnes analyzes in detail Villard's drawings of different Gothic buildings and makes a case for Villard having been a lay representative of the cathedral chapter at Cambrai, one of the buildings Villard drew. An up-to-date bibliography of Villard studies and a glossary of Villard's technical and artistic terms completes this important new study. Contents: Foreword, Nigel Hiscock; Preface; The Portfolio; The individual Folios; Villard de Honnecourt: a minimalist biography; Bibliography; Index.About the Author: Carl F. Barnes, Jr, is Professor Emeritus of Art History at Oakland University in Rochester, Michigan, USA, where he taught for 30 years. A graduate of Washington and Lee University (B.A., 1957) and Columbia University (M.A., 1959; Ph.D., 1967), Barnes has published extensively on the Cathedral of Sts. Gervase and Protase at Soissons, France, and on the Portfolio of Villard de Honnecourt. He maintains an Internet site (http://www.villardman.net) with extensive information about the portfolio, including Barnes' bibliography of writings on the Villard portfolio from 1666 to the present. Barnes has served in a number of scholarly administrative positions, including terms as president of ICMA (The International Center of Medieval Art) and AVISTA (Association Villard de Honnecourt for the Study of Medieval Technology, Science, and Art).