Exhibition "Golden Picture Worlds" – Julia Bangert

Julia Bangert presents manuscript illumination between the Middle Ages and the present

Opening: Saturday, 25 April 2026 at 2 pm Exhibition runs until: 31 October 2026

Julia Bangert works for the Gutenberg Museum in Mainz, where she hand-illuminates and gilds reprints of the famous Gutenberg Bible – available in the museum shop – based on original models. Alongside this, she works as an independent manuscript illuminator, designing custom initials, ornately decorated letters, and animal depictions. Inspired by historical models, she creates her own works in both medieval and contemporary styles.

In the exhibition, she presents a series of manuscripts featuring texts about animals, rendered in the style of a medieval bestiary – a genre of moralizing literature that links the traits of animals and mythical creatures with Christian doctrine. The artist offers insights into her working process, showing step by step how manuscript illuminations come to life. She also presents reproductions of pages from the Gutenberg Bible that she has illuminated herself.

Admission: Museum