Venus and Mars: The World of the Medieval Housebook

Illustrations of the planets, gardens of love and jousting tournaments, medicinal and household remedies, as well as chapters on mining and the art of war are included in this study of this unique 500-year-old illuminated manuscript. It sheds light on the beliefs and knowledge common to the period. Completed around 1480, this book is particularly famous for its meticulous draftsmanship.Active in the Middle Rhine region, the illustrator, who portrayed his world with sensitivity and wit, exercised a considerable influence on his younger contemporary, Albert Duerer. The identity of the artist and his patrons, however, still remain a mystery. For over 300 years this world-renowned manuscript has been kept in the collection of the Princes of Waldburg Wolfegg at Schloss Wolfegg near Ravensburg, Germany and it is only now that it has become accessible to the public.