printed books

What have Alexander the Great, the mermaid Melusine, and Lucifer’s lawyer in common? Their fascinating stories can all be found in this brilliant Sammelband (a collection of multiple works), bringing together 6 of the most popular German literary texts of the late Middle Ages.

Since the 5th century B.C., the area at the bend of the Rhine, on which the city of Basel now stands, has been inhabited. First by Kelts, but not much later, the Romans discovered the lovely and strategically beneficial spot. The actual name of the city Basilia was first mentioned in the 4th century. In our blog post, however, we will focus on another time, namely 15th century, when Basel became a European centre of book art. When we look at the festive lights around the hill of the cathedral and the Christmas market on Barfüsserplatz, it is not difficult to picture ourselves in the epoch of faith, hope, and - alas - unfathomable fears: the late Middle Ages.

The first book to be printed with movable type printing was a Bible - the Book of Books. Around 1454/55, Johannes Gutenberg from Mainz set about the daunting task of printing a Bible with 324 pages in folio format. Gutenberg's Bible was printed in Latin. Not long after his first printing adventure, other printed Bibles followed in Latin and in German.

Obviously, public demand was great.

This year, our exhibition at Frieze Masters has an unusual theme. Inspired by Alain de Botton’s and John Armstrong’s book Art as Therapy, the exhibition will include a thematic display that focuses on the emotions that the artworks convey, or on life lessons to be learned from the works. Loosely based on the ideas from the book and the teachings of The School of Life, some of the thematic cases will show artistic depictions of life skills, such as resilience, curiosity, and virtue.

Wie viele von Ihnen wissen oder sogar direkt miterleben, befinden wir uns seit heute früh vier Uhr in Basels närrischer Zeit. „Frau Fasnacht“ regiert die nächsten drei Tage und in der Innenstadt, wie auch vor der Tür des Antiquariats Dr. Jörn Günther marschieren Cliquen musizierend unermüdlich auf und ab, und halten nur gelegentlich an, um sich bei einem Glas oder mit einem Teller heißer Mehlsuppe zu stärken.

Das Thema der „verkehrten Welt“, wo geltendes Recht auf den Kopf gestellt wird und diejenigen das Sagen haben, die sonst gewohnt sind, zu dienen, geht bereits auf die Antike zurück. Auch das Austreiben des Winters, der Dunkelheit und der bösen Geister hat von alters her Tradition.