The St. John's Bible-The Psalms Frontispiece

Psalms Frontispiece, 2004

Psalm 1:1-6

Donald Jackson

 Vellum, with ink, paint and gold

"Only in the Psalms do all the illuminations 

consist of abstract, non-objective designs.

 In the bible, the whole book of Psalms, 

is divided into five books, and this frontispiece

 visually reflects that structure.

 The five books are represented by five overlapping 

book-shaped panels, each a different combination

 of the same colors. 

A gold roman numeral identifies each panel. 

These panels appear at the beginning

of each book in a progressive accumulate 

corresponding to the numbers of the books.

Superimposed on this image are digital 

voice prints (electronic images of sound) 

of sung chants, hinting at the way we "see" psalms

 if they are sung or read poetically. 

The voice prints come from recordings of the monks

 at St. John's Abbey singing Gregorian chant, 

as well as other musical offerings. 

The voice prints of the Saint John's monks

 appear on every page, 

moving horizontally throughout the Psalms in gold."

An up close view of the incredible 

hand done calligraphy in this Bible.

How interesting to think of the psalms sung

 and the picture of that added to the visual reading.

Many times I think that the music we hear offers 

so much to the experience of reading Scripture.