One of the most interesting and exciting artists and illuminators working today in a contemporary medieval style is Andrew Stewart Jamieson of Andrew Stewart Jamieson Art & Design. Andrew studied his craft at the Salisbury and Reigate art colleges in Britain and has worked in a formal heraldic capacity for many years, also authoring books on the subject.
While his work will generally be of great interest to many LAJ readers, two recent Marian commissions for Buckfast Abbey in Devon, England may be of particular interest:
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| The Annunciation |
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| The Coronation |
While we are on this Marian theme, I cannot resist showing you another Marian work by Jamieson, this time in the form of an illumination on vellum:
Readers may also want to browse some more of his illuminated manuscript works.
Whenever I come across an artist such as this, capable of so competently working within these mediums, I cannot help but think (and to suggest) that some enterprising parish or parish benefactor would do very well to commission a set of original, hand illuminated altar cards, or perhaps other painted works to beautify their parish church and liturgy. Indeed, original works such as these can make such a momentous difference for a church and her liturgical rites and while it can be easy to make do with mass produced items, we really would do well to recover our ancestral sense of pride in qualitative, original works of liturgical art.
Of course, Rome was not built in a day, and neither can such things be accomplished overnight. What we can do, however, is begin or build upon the foundation that is already set. We should remember that the most beautiful churches, especially those of Europe, are the end result of generations of beautifications and benefactions.
For more information on Andrew Stewart Jamieson and his work, visit him on social media or on his website.
