Miniatures and Drawing.—In drawing and painting, the difficulty which is apt to beset the illuminator is how to strike a balance between “Naturalism” and “Conventionalism,” so called. While the only criterion is good taste, we may be guided by certain general principles.
To limit the number of elements in a “design”—whether of form or colour—is nearly always an [p221] advantage (pp. [177], [181], [198]). And the miniaturist, while depicting the nature of a plant, usually limits the number of its branches and leaves and shades of colour. Every part of a “design” should be drawn clearly and distinctly, and in proportion to the whole. The miniaturist, therefore, usually draws in careful outline every branch and leaf, making the whole proportional with the MS. which it decorates.
In fact, the qualities of good illumination are the same as the qualities of good writing—Simplicity, Distinctiveness, Proportion, &c. (see p. [239]). And the “convention” (here literally a coming together) required is only such as will make the drawing and colouring of the illumination and the form and colour of the writing go well together.
Note.—Figs. [135] to [141] (woodcuts—with part of the text—from a Herbal printed at Venice in 1571 [p. [369]]) and figs. [132], [133], and [134a] (wood engravings by T. Bewick, printed 1791) are suggested as examples of drawing—of plants and animals—suitable for book-decoration (see also figs. [134b], [c], [d]; Plates [XV.], [XVI.], [XXIII.], and notes on “limner’s illumination,” p. [203]).
OF “DESIGNING” MANUSCRIPTS GENERALLY
Cultivate the simplest and most direct methods, and make “rules of thumb”[52] for work-a-day use, to carry you successfully through all routine or ordinary difficulties, so that your hand will be trained and your mind free and ready to deal with the harder problems when they arise. [p222]
Use a limited number of pure, bright colours, and keep your work clean, neat, and definite.
Go straight ahead, trusting to workman-like methods, and not calculating overmuch. Do the work in a regular order, settling, first, the general scheme, the size of the book, the writing, and the margins; then when you are ready—