www.de-inktpot.nl 

Information on the original Utrecht Psalter can be found at http://psalter.library.uu.nl/

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The Utrecht Psalter as comic

Dr. Bart Jaski, curator of manuscripts and rare books Utrecht University Library

It is called the ninth art, an art form that is sometimes difficult to collect under an umbrella term. Strips, picture stories, comics, cartoons, BD (bande dessinée), it all means just about the same. Defining these terms is further complicated by the emergence of new forms, like manga and the graphic novel. And equally difficult is it to trace the modern origins of the ninth art. The Wikipedia pages of “History of Comics” and “Histoire de la bande dessinée” put emphasis on what their own languages produced in the nineteenth century. Both recognise that precursors of comics can be found as far as into prehistory. None of them mention the Utrecht Psalter. Wrongly in my opinion.

When I first laid eyes on the Utrecht Psalter in 2007, I immediately noticed that the relationship between text and image differed from most medieval manuscripts. The wide ‘strip’ with drawings plus three columns of text reminded me of the strips of Marten Toonder’s ‘Tom Puss’ and Hans G. Kresse’s ‘Eric the Norseman’ which I had grown up with. This was reinforced by the drawings in monochrome ink, done in a sketchy dynamic style, in which parts of the text are literally represented.

The text of the Utrecht Psalter consists of the 150 psalms and 16 hymns, prayers and creeds. These are one by one adapted into a ‘comic’. Certainly for medieval concepts this provides for an exceptional visual richness. The Psalms of the Old Testament are indeed songs and not adventure stories, but the eight illustrators often create an exciting set of axe-swinging and spear-throwing angels, aggressive devils with tridents, a sometimes desperate psalmist amidst all the chaos and struggle and Christ who is watching from heaven, who comes to the rescue or with punitive acts. There is a lot happening in the world of the Utrecht Psalter, not everything equally pleasant.

The draughtsmen have clearly thought carefully about what passages from the psalms they wanted to portray and how. Each psalm is a visual composition in itself, but there are certain general themes to recognise as well. The focus is on the choice between good and evil and that one must trust in God rather than soldiers. The manuscript was clearly meant for a ruler/man of power. It is assumed that around 830AD Archbishop Ebo of Reims wanted this to indicate to the Emperor Louis the Pious he still was not pious enough. But we do not know for sure, because nowhere in the manuscript is it mentioned for whom, or by whom, or when and where it was manufactured.

The Utrecht Psalter can with good reason be seen as a comic ‘avant la lettre’ and it is not surprising that the drawings in their structure, style and content inspired many other psalters, manuscripts and works of art. In 2015, I spoke to a number of cartoonists and asked them if they were interested to participate in a project to portray the ancient psalms in a contemporary way, just as is done in the Utrecht Psalter. All of them were directly taken in by the connection between text and image as found in the manuscript. There is a clear line between the eight artists from almost 1200 years ago and the practitioners of the ‘ninth art’ now; they are each other’s kindred spirits. This book and the exhibition in the Dom cathedral bring them together nicely, and also emphasize that comics are of all time.

Albo Helm: Utrechts Psalter 2016 AD (cover sketch 1)

One of more than seven thousand. The Utrecht Psalter under the ninth-century manuscripts

Marco Mostert, Professor of medieval written culture, Utrecht University

From the ninth century, more than seven thousand manuscripts have been preserved. There must have been many more, but not all manuscripts had the same chance to be preserved. Most manuscripts would have been created for use by parish priests in the mostly small churches which they served in large parts of Europe. This involved books with texts that could be used in worship, for example with Bible texts or texts for preaching, or texts that the priest could use in confession. These books were made for the texts they contained, and needed no embellishment. Books were expensive enough, because they were made of parchment, and for making parchment you needed animal skins, which were costly. A priest did not need all that many books, but the books he had were heavily used, and wore out. Such used manuscripts are therefore very rare.

Then there were the manuscripts that were made in monasteries and other learned centres for education and research. This could include texts from the Bible, commentaries on Bible texts, but also texts on grammar and other ‘liberal arts’, required to understand the Latin in which the Bible was read. Once one had learned Latin well, it was also possible to write other texts in that language, such as stories about the saints and the miracles they performed, or stories about the past. But most of the monks had no chance to write texts themselves. Hence the work of their learned colleagues was held in high regard. The commentary that scholars added in the form of notes in the margins of the texts resting in monastery libraries, was highly valued. Also at the courts of kings and emperors, the interpretation of the Bible and disciplines that helped to better understand the text of the Bible was appreciated. Bibles and Bible commentaries had political influence. Hence such ‘learned manuscripts’ were reasonably likely to be preserved. A large part of the ninth-century manuscripts which we still have belong to this category.

And finally, we have a number of manuscripts on which very much time, attention and money was spent. They were provided with beautiful images, made on parchment of the best quality, with great care taken for the writing, and they were maybe bound in splendid covers for which gold and silver, semi-precious stones, and antique gems were used. They are usually books with texts from the Bible itself, but they were not intended for simple parish priests, and only in exceptional circumstances for monks, however learned they might be. These books were made for the elites that could afford them. Or for monasteries who reached deeply into their pockets to offer them to members of the royal family or the Pope, hoping – to give some to get some- to have their privileges confirmed or, who knows, to acquire new rights, or at least increase their prestige. Such books, however rare they may have been in the ninth century, had a relatively good chance of being preserved. Learned manuscripts may well have been discarded when new insights arose that made obsolete the old knowledge of previous scholars, but the text of the Bible stood firm, and there remained aficionados for the wonderful workmanship of these luxurious manuscripts. In many cases these manuscripts have been given names, such as the name of the king for whom they were made, or the name of the place where they were kept.

The Utrecht Psalter is a manuscript from the latter category. It was most likely made between 820 and 835 near Reims. The original binding is lost, but the cycle of illustrations of the Psalms and the biblical ‘cantica’, where each text is preceded by an image, and hidden in each image are references to parts of the texts, for example to individual psalm verses, is preserved. There are many puzzles to the Psalter. Who commissioned the making of the manuscript is unknown. Neither is it known for whom it was made. The lettering used is very unusual for biblical texts in the ninth century: they have opted for the so-called rustic capitals, usual only for texts from pagan Roman antiquity. Due to these riddles there is much speculation about the Psalter.

One thing is certain: the quality of the images we still find exquisite. It has been suggested that these images were actually not finished yet, because they are not coloured, as was usual then. Contemporaries, however, did not object to that, as evidenced by the fact that in northern France other manuscripts were made with images in the way of the Utrecht Psalter. And when the Psalter arrived in England – how, exactly, we do not know – an Anglo-Saxon artist in Canterbury’s Christchurch Priory, around 1020, got so impressed by the images that he copied them in what is now known as the Harley Psalter. Or a copy…? He proved to be inspired to make minor changes. And the text was written by him not in the unusual rustic capitals, but in Carolingian misnuscule, which by then had become established in England (a type of script which we still can read relatively easy, because the letters used in printing are based on it).

The Utrecht Psalter, to this day, continues to inspire artists. The artists that have been involved in Utrechts Psalter 2016 A.D. have added a new chapter to the history of the Psalter.

Albo Helm: Utrechts Psalter 2016 AD (cover sketch 1)

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INTERVIEWS WITH ARTISTS

Niels Bongers

www.nielsbongers.nl

Niels Bongers: psalm 124 (73r)

Utrechts Psalter: PSALM 124

Do you have a religious background, have you somehow been raised with faith?

No, not at all. I remember a book of Bible stories (with drawings of Dick Bruna, of all people) from which we have been read once in a while, and on holidays in Brittany, we went looking at churches (too often for my taste). Faith was something you had to know existed and that it was of interest to other people.

How else did you come into contact with Christianity, the Bible? And have you engrossed in their stories and their symbolism?

When I first studied (anthropology) I once took a bible along on a holiday and started reading it from page 1. Right along to somewhere in the books of the prophets (still in the Old Testament). I found it fascinating reading through anthropological glasses: what kind of people invented such stories and such a god. The two books of Samuel were especially interesting; good material for a comic adaptation (still is, by the way).

What was your first encounter with the Utrecht Psalter? Can you describe what impression it made on you? Could you get ‘into’ it, for example because of parallels with contemporary books or the way the story is presented?

Just when we were doing our Cunera-book* the digital version of the Psalter went online. I then searched it as a possible source for images of everyday life in the Middle Ages, but didn’t find it suitable for “my” Cunera story (which took place in the much later Middle Ages). I was surprised and charmed by the loose drawing style, because I was familiar with the much stiffer, woodcut-like drawings from the late Middle Ages. How extraordinary the drawing style and narrative element was, I only realized when we started working on our Psalterbook.

*In 2015 Inktpot collective published a book about Cunera, the patron saint of Rhenen (small town in the province of Utrecht), in several comic strips unravelling the original legend and how this came to be canonized.

What were your thoughts when you were asked for this assignment?

My first thought was: why make new drawings when the originals are so nice already? But later, and especially when I saw the work of the other ‘new’ artists, I noticed how the new interpretations give reason to better observe the old drawings.

Does this fit into other work that you do?

In the way that the Inktpot publishes regularly on historical subjects, that often have a religious point of view (Sint Maarten, Cunera). Which is quite logical as in history, especially that of our town, bishopric Utrecht, religion does play an important role.

Niels Bongers: psalm 124 (sketch)

Can you tell us how you went along with your interpretation? What steps have you followed chronologically?

I started with the text. On the Psalter website a rather old-fashioned Bible translation is used, which I didn’t completely understand (fragments like “a gradual canticle”, “the rod of sinners upon the lot of the just”), so I looked up more modern versions. Because “my” Psalm (#124) mainly concerns the city of Jerusalem, I made associations on the place of that city (in my eyes) in history as well as today. On the Internet I researched the Old City and Mount Zion. There I happened upon images of a US National Park “Zion” in the state of Utah, which I could use for my composition in analogy with the original drawing. When I decided on that format, I was able to distribute over it all the different associations I had previously collected.

Which drawing materials and techniques did you use for this drawing? And if you have made herein choices: why?

More or less what I usually do when I make illustrations: first a sketch in pencil, worked out quite detailed; then a drawing in pen on the lightbox, where I can move around loose elements in the sketch; then a scan of the pen drawing in which I can touch up details; and finally digital coloring with Corel Painter with many layers of very bright watercolor’brushes’ on top of each other.

Can you recollect the translation of (at least 2) original elements to your drawing?

In the middle of the drawing (both old and new) is a city. The structure of my town is based on photos of a rock formation in Zion National Park in Utah (suitably called Angel’s Landing) combined with a 15th century woodcut of the city. At the top I drew diverse religious buildings (the original drawing only has a Christian temple), inspired by photographs of the Old City of Jerusalem (in the middle the monolith from Kubrick’s ‘2001: a space odyssey’, as the ultimate God).

In the city wall I use two existing ports: one bricked (Golden Gate) and the other (Zion Gate), as in real life, with two trafficsigns ‘one way only’ (in the original drawing both gates are closed too). The left part of the city wall I drew as the barrier (“the wall of shame”) separating the Israeli and the Palestinian part of Jerusalem – meant to indicate the introversion of religions (there and elsewhere). The residents of my town are “oppressively” crammed close together, where they have more space in the original drawing, also they throw “such as turn aside into bonds” out of the city.

Left of the city (both in old and new drawing) is a group of “godless” with staffs. Which in the original drawing are mainly spears, but I added several ‘scepters’, referring to different sieges of Jerusalem, by Romans, Barbarians, Crusaders, Arabs, left-wingers (plus a single joke: the mace-bearer of the University with his staff is also amongst them).

In the mountains around the city, I put some vague “faces of God” (two old bearded men, a suffering Christ), as in the psalm god / his people and the mountains / town are connected.

Did you leave out elements because they were “unintelligible” or “untranslatable”?

I wondered about ‘a gradual canticle’ in the psalm, but found in modern translation it meant ‘pilgrims song’: hence the small male figure in the upper left.

Can you  (again) explain the general scope of your drawing?

My drawing is intended as, I hope, a somewhat abrasive comment on the text: the supposed protection of God is perhaps reassuring, but actually oppressive and quite scary.

Would you in retrospect like to add or change something?

I have some doubt if this ambivalence in the drawing is sufficiently clear. But on the other hand: perhaps it is appropriate that it is not so clear.

……….

Ronald van der Heide

www.ronaldvanderheide.nl

Ronald van der Heide: psalm 64 (36r)

Utrechts Psalter: PSALM 64

Do you have a religious background, have you somehow been raised with faith?

I was raised Protestant. A mild variant, with rituals and church attendance, but not coercive or pious (more from a tradition). At home, at school and in the church I was read from the Bible. So I got somewhat familiar with the stories, idiom, the symbolism. I heard the stories (including explanations) quite often, and that way became engrossed in them.

What was your first encounter with the Utrecht Psalter? Can you describe what impression it made on you? Could you get ‘into’ it, for example because of parallels with contemporary books or the way the story is presented?

I didn’t know about the Psalter before De Inktpot told me about it. First impression was surprise of the images that accompany the text. I found them hard to get into, precisely because I could interpret the lyrics much better than the drawings. To me the lyrics, their use of words, were more familiar, I had in time already constructed images to them in my head (although I can not describe this, it’s like a comic book character that is adapted for screen animation: the voice they use is always disappointing because never how you imagined yourself). But after more viewing I learned the drawings better.

What were your thoughts when you were asked for this assignment? Does this fit into other work that you do?

Nice question! Whether it’s because of my upbringing, the cultural load of faith, or because the psalms are dramatic texts that have been given great value, probably all of this together made this fit in other work I do. On the one hand because I’m searching for cultural / social relevance in my work, and opening up stories. On the other it’s actually quite direct, because a part of my assignments consists of processing information into comics, illustrations and infographics.

Can you tell us how you went along with your interpretation? What steps have you followed chronologically?

I first went looking for a newer translation, which helped a little. Better was the website of the Dutch Bible Society, in which texts were explained, interpreted. When I had a general idea what the psalm was about I started drawing, trying as much as possible to picture each verse. Finding out what worked and where it ran aground. The abstract phrases, as well as comparative sentences gave me the biggest problems.

Examples like: “a vow shall be paid to thee in Jerusalem…all flesh shall come to thee” proved the most complicated. I finally realized this is about sacrifice. an outdated concept for which I could not come up with a replacement. Similarly, I found “thou shalt make the outgoings of the morning and of the evening to be joyful” rather abstract.

And the comparative sentence “…who troublest the depth of the sea, the noise of its waves” – which is about the sea – picturing a flat sea does not show that the waves have been stilled. For these contradictions I went looking for an overall image, which resulted in a circle within which all was well, and beyond which all evil.

Searching for possible images I also went for the main picture. In this process everything is a shambles. I’m drawing back and forth, if you can call it that: it’s more like scribbling, sometimes not even recognizable. Then I leave the drawing board to have a walk and organise my head, then I do some searching on the Internet for possible interpretations of the images. This way I ran into the Ark of the Covenant, which is a powerful symbol. Then I’d take a step back in the process to give such an image its place. After this rather chaotic phase I made a complete sketch, which I presented to Niels and then elaborated further.

Ronald van der Heide: psalm 64 (ink)

Can you tell us how you went along with your interpretation? What steps have you followed chronologically?

I draw digitally, but within that framework I was looking for a kind of traditional, folkloric American-style drawing for several reasons:

– This particular psalm is about people traveling. Obviously the Jews, but I also associate this with America. With its pioneers, a country where being ‘on the road’ really is a thing, and where the people have some kind of belief in (the Promised Land). Of course, everything slightly exaggerated, these are my personal associations. Hence also the use of the American / Quaker / Amish family.

– The joyfulness of the psalm. The more I read it, the more evangelical I found it to be. Which also brought me back to America.

– Using a more realistic style the drawing turns out almost childlike, naive, unbiased. Which I find one of the nicer aspects of faith. Although I made it a bit of a caricature with those pious heads, so it is becomes unworldly.

Ronald van der Heide: psalm 64 (sketch)

Can you recollect the translation of (at least 2) original elements to your drawing?

Initially I have not really engrossed in the original drawing. I thought out the translations by myself, because I quickly found a sort of overall picture from which I could continue working. However, I have occasionally looked up what images they used in the original drawing, and if I could use them. The sacrifice and the sunrise to sunset sequel for example.

Did you leave out elements because they were ‘incomprehensible’?

I did, not so far as they were incomprehensible, but from the idea that I wanted to places my drawing in modern times. That’s why I replaced the Jewish people by this family. There is no reference to the Jews in the original Psalter by the way.

Ronald van der Heide: psalm 64 (sketch+verse)

The ranking/order of the different elements in your drawing is different from the original: what is your motive behind this?

Firstly, me positioning the drawing in modern times. Then by searching for an overall drawing, which I found lacking in the original. I thus needed to organize elements of the original psalm: the evil outside of the circle (lower part), the goodness inside the circle, the singing family as protagonist full of emotion, God in the top half of the circle. And finally, as I already described, I have mainly been working from my own interpretation.

Can you (again) explain the general scope of your drawing?

A (religious) family on their way to Jerusalem sees and praises the goodness of the Lord, quite a literal image. The evangelizing, and thus some naive image takes it a bit over the top. Which I hope  raises some awareness that all this happiness has its blinders, something like “happy happy joy joy, but is this world really just beautiful?” But if the reader becomes enraptured by the beauty of the world, people, nature, primal power, then I am honestly content as well. Just as long he also acts in this spirit.

Would you in retrospect like to add or change something?

I’m still behind the way I made the drawing, elements, etc. Eventually I would do an experiment with a completely different approach, a different style. This more out of curiosity, how to twist and bend such a psalm text.

………..

Merel Barends

http://merelbarends.nl/

Merel Barends: psalm 57 (32v)

Utrechts Psalter: PSALM 57

Do you have a religious background, have you somehow been raised with faith?

My dad comes from a Catholic litter of nine children, was an altar boy as a child. When his mother visited, we used to pray before meals. My parents were not members of a congregation and weren’t really active, but also they never condemned faith (in my presence) or rejected it. I’m not baptized and went to a public elementary school. At Christmas we sometimes went to Mass, more as a cultural trip than out of religious conviction. The first time I went to Communion (which I of course shouldn’t have, being non-Catholic), I chewed on the wafer. I’ve felt rotten about that (having gnawed at the body of Christ). So somehow I believed some of it. At that time I myself have experimented with religion, but with made up gods, rituals and prayers.

How else did you come into contact with Christianity, the Bible? And have you been engrossed in their stories and their symbolism?

At home we had an illustrated children’s Bible and my mother sometimes told me about Jesus, especially his last days. I found the stories fantastic. Jonah in the whale, David in the lion’s den, the Cross, all hugely impressive. Later, when I was around 14, I started reading the uncensored adult Bible, especially from a historical and cultural interest. I was quite shocked by the amount of completely outdated, cruel and barbaric texts, especially in the Old Testament. But I also found beauty and inspiration, for example in Ecclesiastes and Revelation.

What was your first encounter with the Utrecht Psalter? Can you describe what impression it made on you? Could you get ‘into’ it, for example because of parallels with contemporary books or the way the story is presented?

I discovered the Psalter through this project. The text of ‘my’ psalm, psalm 57, confirmed my impression of early Christian texts: violent, vengeful rhetoric full of colorful metaphors. The best part were the drawings. I could imagine the monk who made them sitting down, bent over the vellum, just as I can be bent, drawing on my paper. In that aspect little has changed in the intervening centuries: pen, paper, table. It really felt like a meeting right through the time.

What were your thoughts when you were asked for this assignment? Does this fit into other work that you do?

My work is often about human violence and the disruptive presence of higher powers, so it was grist to my mill, actually.

Merel Barends: psalm 57 (sketch)

Can you tell us how you went along with your interpretation? What steps have you followed chronologically?

At first I did read the text very well and observed the illustration, keeping the accompanying text at hand because I did not always know what exactly I was looking at. Then I Googled translations of Psalm 57 to get a complete picture of the contents and started “gathering” (inventing) images, to begin with the lions whose teeth are beaten out, because I wanted them in there by all means.

Which drawing materials and techniques did you use for this drawing? And if you have made herein choices: why?

I’ve drawn the line work with my favorite fineliners and colored with watercolor paint. Scanned into Photoshop, I retouched the illustration.

Can you recollect the translation of (at least 2) original elements to your drawing? Have you drawn from your own existing knowledge or do you have committed separate research this? Where did you find the answer to your questions? Have you found contradicting statements and what choices did you make between them?

I’ve read some other translations of Psalm 57 (through Google but also in a 50’s psalms book I once received). In one of them was the phrase “they will fade as a melting snail“. That seemed like a nice contrast to the lions mentioned earlier. That’s why I used a snail my illustration, even though he was not in the given original Psaltertekst.

Psalm 57 tells us that “The wicked are alienated from the womb: they have gone astray from the womb“. I have translated this visually into a group of protesters, some with megaphone, crawling out nude from between the legs of a giant ape – actually a fragment of the theory of evolution.

In the original illustration a pair of angels with bow and arrow shoot the liars. This a translation of the artist, as the text says nothing about angels (there it is God who draws his bow). That discovery – the angels as soldiers of the Lord – I took over. I put in balloons made of eyeballs – representing the all-seeing eye of God.

Did you leave out elements because they were ‘incomprehensible’?

In the first lines the writer speaks directly to the audience ( “O children of men!”). One can hardly use this in a drawing without text (balloons).*

*For their interpretations artists were asked not to use any text in the drawings – like the originals.

The ranking/order of the different elements in your drawing is different from the original: what is your motive behind this? 

I found the sequence in the originals rather arbitrary and I could not really recognize a narrative logic in them. Which was not a bad thing, because that made the illustration a kind of picture puzzle – find the image in the verse. The reader just has to pay attention more. I have maintainedthat approach. I have in any case not considered a chronological order and composed the layout based on the images, not vice versa.

Can you (again) explain the general scope of your drawing? 

The scope I extracted from Psalm 57 is mailnly: if you displease God, he’ll make you end in a horrible way. I once read (in ‘A History of God’ by Karen Armstrong) that the Christian God evolved from a local God of War nicknamed the Lord of Hosts. That is the atmosphere – of warfare and bloodshed, under the guise of holy righteousness – I wanted to keep in the illustration. In the triangular insert at the bottom Innocence, smiling, washes her hands in a river of blood (obviously a nod towards Pilate). “The righteous shall rejoice when he has seen the vengeance: he shall wash his hands in the blood of the wicked.” In my view justice excludes completely washing one’s hands in someone else’s blood. “Eternal suffering awaits everyone who questions God’s infinite love,” as Bill Hicks aptly summarized.

That strange duality (cognitive dissonance) is not only in Christianity, I see it also in the present secular discourse in the Netherlands. The naked, angry protesters in the drawing are indirectly inspired by the men who were demonstrating against refugees, saying they “come for our women”. And shouting at female pro-refugee demonstrators that they should “get fucked”.

Would you in retrospect like to add or change something?

Nope.

……….

Marissa Delbressine

http://ocreana.tumblr.com/

Marissa Delbressine: psalm 13 (7v)

Utrechts Psalter: PSALM 13

Do you have a religious background, have you somehow been raised with faith? 

I am baptized Catholic and in my youth I was a believer. That fell away by studying classical languages, the biblical texts and words had the same structure as other oral tales. I remained spiritual and have known periods when I found New Age and Buddhism attractive. Myths and legends and art of religions continue to appeal to me, but at the moment I regard myself as “something-ist”.

What was your first encounter with the Utrecht Psalter? Can you describe what impression it made on you? Could you get ‘into’ it, for example because of parallels with contemporary books or the way the story is presented?

Through this assignment. I thought it cool because it’s such a great work. The step wasn’t very big because I read much mythology and such and I really liked the imagery.

What were your thoughts when you were asked for this assignment?

I had questions about it because I have trouble with the church as an institution. With any religion that literally relies on old books. But on the other hand the Psalter has beautiful and intriguing stories and the imagery is beautiful. The storyteller in me came out on top.

Does this fit into other work that you do?

In terms of style and symbolism it fits well with more of my free work. Which are often stories with a twist, moving from light to dark or the other way around and a touch of magic.

Can you tell us how you proceeded with your interpretation?

The poem reminded me of a Tarot card, the 5 Chalices, where the character on the card is sad about the three fallen chalices in front of him with its contents spilled on the ground and who does not see the two full chalices behind him. It is about someone who blinded by his loss who doesn’t see what he has left. Someone who continues to mourn missing opportunities and overlookd new opportunities overlooked. Myself I can dwell on mistakes too and forget to see successes, so this card is dear to my heart. It also applies well to this poem in which someone who does not observe well only notices earthly miseries and forgets that there are still good people who can reach God. The card therefor was the springboard to the rest of the drawing. I quickly divided the page into the earth and sky. I wanted a strong color contrast between peace and battle. Peace and order in the sky, and chaos on the ground. The good people needed a relation with the sky through their coloring. By defining the different story elements you naturally get something like a comic, the original illustrations were grouped in a similar way.

Marissa Delbressine: psalm 13 (brainstorm 1)

Marissa Delbressine: psalm 13 (brainstorm 2)

Marissa Delbressine: psalm 13 (brainstorm 3)

Marissa Delbressine: psalm 13 (brainstorm 7)

What steps have you followed chronologically?

First, I studied the text several times and found different translations because the wording diverged here and there. I then drew three rough sketches from which the clients could make a choice. I elaborated on the chosen sketch and I then inked it digitally. After the inking I did the flat coloring. Then applied exposure and used different digital brushes and textures for some rougher effects and brighter colors.

Marissa Delbressine: psalm 13 (ink1)

Marissa Delbressine: psalm 13 (ink2)

Marissa Delbressine: psalm 13 (colour1)

What drawing materials and techniques did you use for this drawing? And if you have made choices herein: why?

I wanted to try a slightly different approach with bigger emphasis on color and texture. Lately I have been experimenting with this and this was an extension thereof. The drawing is made entirely digital in Photoshop. For my inking I use a self-made brush and for coloring the fantastic brushes of KYLE.

Can you recollect the translation of (at least 2) original elements to your drawing? Have you drawn from your own existing knowledge or do you have committed separate research this? Where did you find the answer to your questions? Have you found contradicting statements and what choices did you make between them?

I only did further research on translations. I wanted to draw from my own inspiration pool. I thought it was nice to make the angels so bright that many details, especially the face could not be distinguished. Not for God because I wanted to show his sadness for humanity. The text fragment on how bad people eat the believers like a morsel of bread, I found beautiful and literally included in the drawing, a floor of mouths from which the good people trying to escape. I was also intrigued by the text about their throats like an open grave. That image I processed at the bottom.

Did you leave out elements because they were ‘incomprehensible’?

I struggled more with the limited options in an image. You cannot just draw everything you want in it, it should also be consistent and have good flow. I think I put all the basics in it.

Is the ranking/order of the different elements in your drawing different from the original: and, if so, what is your motive behind this?

I think this has remained virtually the same.

Can you (again) explain the general scope of your drawing? 

In essence it literally follows the poem. A fool sees nothing but the wickedness of the people, how they mistreat eachother and God. But he does not see there are still good people in the midst of all this misery, who remain pious despite the wickedness of the world. These are led to paradise, where the wicked remain in their own misery and despair.

Would you in retrospect like to add or change something?

No, I’m happy with it, every time I see it again I’m content with the colors and the mass of nasty people. Glad to have succeeded in catching that image.

……….

Milou van Montfort

http://milouvanmontfort.com/

Milou van Montfort : psalm 2 (2r)

Utrechts Psalter: PSALM 2

Do you have a religious background, have you somehow been raised with faith?

Yes, I am a non-practicing Catholic raised in a village in Limbourg. Meaning I am baptized and went to First Communion, but my parents never went to the church itself, unless a Mass was dedicated to someone, like a funeral service or to celebrate years of service. At home there was no praying for a meals, except by my grandfather, nor did my parents ever talk about God or their faith.

I went to a Christian school. Of these, I only remember we were given religious instruction in time for our first communion. I didn’t pick up much from these lessons; I was not interested in God and Jesus.

On the other hand I participated for years with great pleasure in the children’s choir of the church, but only because I liked singing so much and the crafts after each rehearsal, Plus the Mars bar we got after each mass we sung. Through the children’s choir I also got a children’s Bible, which stories I read with great pleasure.

When I was eleven years old, I was allowed to choose whether I wanted to do the confirmation or not. I saw the values of faith: I understood that it can be some kind of support which was attractive. I had never known any other religion than Catholicism, so I decided to do the confirmation, to feel linked to faith, where I actually didn’t really understand it.

How else did you come into contact with Christianity, the Bible? And have you engrossed in their stories and their symbolism?

I only read the children’s Bible when on my 16th I decided no longer to take communion when visiting church. Those few times I went there I started listening closely what the priest was saying and what I actually proclaimed in the prayers I recited obediently all along. By listening to these things I always took for granted, I discovered that I did not believe in God, Jesus and other biblical figures. Convinced, I stopped participating in prayer, the kneeling and standing up, and going to communion during the service.

I remained interested in faith, and after I moved to Utrecht, I befriended a number of Protestant students. With them I could discuss Christianity and learned more about the stories, the symbolism, the sins and the importance of God and Jesus in the life of a believer. This acquisition of knowledge has given me a lot of pleasure, because I understood why a Christian believes.

What was your first encounter with the Utrecht Psalter? Can you describe what impression it made on you? Could you get ‘into’ it, for example because of parallels with contemporary books or the way the story is presented?

This was when I got a verse to illustrate. Then I started to read pieces about it. The first time I read my verse, I had no idea what it was about. The first thing I did was contact my Protestant friends. When their response took too long, I immersed myself further in the given psalm (#2) by properly studying the original artwork and searching for contemporary translations. But these translations also didn’t give clarity on the meaning so I had to keep researching a number of symbols. And concluded I did not agree at all with what was taught in my text!

What were your thoughts when you were asked for this assignment?

Because of my interest in religion, I thought it was a good idea to work on it. In addition, I found it a special assignment and an honor to modernize this old illustrated writing!

Does this fit into other work that you do?

I do not often work from a religious point of view, let alone from a Christian. I once made a visual report following discussions with a woman who was into Wicca. I have also illustrated books of poetry by Sef van Wegberg. A few of his poems were about his Christian faith, but didn’t come close to the texts from the Psalter.

Of course I have given my own twist developing this psalm illustration which fits in with the rest of my work. You can see this specifically in the detailing and play with large and small derived from naïve art, but also the fact that I let my opinion on the text shine through. This I normally do quite bluntly, but in this work I was more subtle.

Milou van Montfort: psalm 2 (sketch)

Can you tell us how you proceeded with your interpretation?

Because I immediately had an opinion that, once I understood the text, it was pretty easy to create a picture from. I saw it right in front of me. As usual I did make some extra sketches, but finally chose my first idea.

What repulses me in the text that I was presented with is the statement that man should fear the wrath of God and therefore act to the directions of God. That’s exactly why I did not manage to believe. The support a faith gives appeals to me, but I could not realize it because I refuse to believe out of fear and act accordingly.

The top of the drawing shows a great God who hangs threatening over the earthly kings, the angels leaning on his arms mock them, on his side Jesus, waving his scepter at them.

What steps have you followed chronologically?

First, I made some simple small sketches. I then chose one (actually the first one I made) to work out bigger and clearer so that I could show it as proposal. After the sketch was said to be okay, I traced it with black ink. The ink drawing I then scanned into Photoshop to add color and texture.

Milou van Montfort: psalm 2 (ink)

Which drawing materials and techniques did you use for this drawing? And if you have made herein choices: why?

The same materials I always use: Steadtler pencil (red), pigment liners with various thickness and Photoshop.

Can you recollect the translation of (at least 2) original elements to your drawing? Have you left out elements because they were “incomprehensible”?

In the original God is not displayed, just his hand. But through time God has already been shown in so many ways, so I gave myself the freedom to picture more of him. That way, I also tried to make God threatening. A gigantic person hovering over the nation is more impressive than just a hand.

Mount Zion I have also given more prominence than what is done in the original. There it is just one of the small elements present in the illustration. In my interpretation, it is important that Jesus is crowned on Mount Zion, where he begins to convey the word of God to the people.

For both depiction of God and Zion I needed documentation. On Zion I have also researched a little more to learn what happened here and what role the mountain has in the Bible? For this, I consulted the internet and I discovered within Christianity Zion has a lot of meanings, so eventually I chose to portray the mountain as it is.

The ranking/order of the elements in your drawing differs from the original: what is your motive behind this?

In the original, I found the order of elements sometimes confusing: it was not always possible to translate things realistic nor chronologically. The elements in the illustration are not logically connected. It seemed to consist of several pictures on the one page. This did not help it make readable, so I chose to combine the elements into one image. I pictured one scene only in which, in my opinion, all important elements are added.

Can you (again) explain the general scope of your drawing?

In my drawing I show the earthly kings in fear of God, who addresses them through Jesus, whom he appointed king, to be obedient to his word. Jesus standing on Mount Zion, where God has crowned him, waves his scepter, and breaks the pottery to warn the kings of God’s wrath. The kings are frightened and decide to listen to God’s word. Meanwhile from the heavens they are laughed at by the angels.

Would you in retrospect like to add or change something?

It’s a few months later when I look back at my illustration. Just like any work I make, I see things that I would do differently. Like putting in more symbolism: there was still space for that. I would like to elaborate more on the many meanings of Mount Zion. For now it may be unclear it is mountain, Jerusalem and the Temple. I could even have included Israel, the people of God.

……….

Albo Helm

http://www.albohelm.nl/

Albo Helm: psalm 148 (82v)

Utrechts Psalter: PSALM 148

Do you have a religious background, have you somehow been raised with faith? 

Somewhat. My mother was the most active, reading from the children’s Bible, singing Christian tinged nursery rhymes. I’m baptized reformed, and have been on several schools where faith was professed, Protestant and Catholic. On public schools too. This was not an ideological choice, we moved around a lot and us kids just went to the school that was the closest to home. As a child I never regarded myself as a ‘believer’. What was said and preached here and there did not really touch me.

How else did you come into contact with Christianity, the Bible? And have you engrossed in their stories and their symbolism? 

From my youth I know the usual Bible stories, the greatest hits so to speak. Going into the deep came when I was got critical of the faith. I think at the time I lived in South Africa, where hand on the Bible, oppression and violence was defended. You delved into the material to expose the fallacies. But it was not really studying.

What was your first encounter with the Utrecht Psalter? Can you describe what impression it made on you? Could you get ‘into’ it, for example because of parallels with contemporary books or the way the story is presented? 

I “discovered” the book when the University Library unlocked it by putting it integral online. The high dose of illustrations impressed me and I immediately saw the storytelling qualities. Indeed, like a comic strip, minus the speech bubbles, frames etc. we know.

What were your thoughts when you were asked for this assignment?

Bingo. From the first meeting I knew the Psalter was perfect material to do “something” with.

Does this fit into other work that you do?

With De Inktpot, but also for other partners, I already made historical comics. Despite my personal skepticism I didn’t see the religious aspect as an obstacle in this. Religion with its institutions and leaders, is a driving force that determines human history. In addition to a lot of others man is a spiritual being and on that basis can be manipulated in many ways. This is interesting to register.

Albo Helm: psalm 148 (study 1)

Albo Helm: psalm 148 (study 2)

Can you tell us how you proceeded with your interpretation? What steps have you followed chronologically?

With first reading the Psalm text that accompanies the online Psalter, and then one or two modern translations (where I noticed they were extended, and put in rhymes). Its content is rather straightforward: everything and everyone should applaud god because yes, he is creator of everything and everyone and that’s cool. In fact it’s one great hymn and the original artwork supports it. Central top stands god in his mandorla with all other elements arpund and below pointing in his direction. In the beginning I wanted to mimic the complete composition in my own drawing style that would give a tongue-in-cheek effect, but then decided to stuff in some more comment. The jubilation I changed into partying, elements dancing with each other, and God trapped in his holiness aside as a wallflower. It’s not about him anymore, the world revels in hedonism. That picture I sketched out in colored pencils -I wanted each operating element distinctive with its own color- and elaborated further on this after approval. I worked out all the parts separately in black and white on paper, scanned them into Photoshop, where I attributed each with its own color and placed them in the composition.

Albo Helm: psalm 148 (sketch)

Which drawing materials and techniques did you use for this drawing? And if you have made herein choices: why?

The basic drawing I made with black crayon, the grays with watercolor. I wanted all the colors in print to be as fresh as possible, which could have been done with acrylic but I do not trust myself with this medium. So I resorted to my digital bag of tricks.

Can you recollect the translation of (at least 2) original elements to your drawing?

What I have done consistently different is ‘humanize’ all elements. Including the fire, mountains, clouds etc. I do that more often, have written whole strip series about living things. That is partly inspired by animism and Shinto, the idea that every object in this world has a soul.

Albo Helm: psalm 148 (details)

Have you drawn from your own existing knowledge or do you have committed separate research this? Where did you find the answer to your questions? Have you found contradicting statements and what choices did you make between them?

No further research was necessary.

Have you left out elements because they were “incomprehensible”?

I believe to have included all elements from the original, just not in the same amount.

The ranking / order of the different elements in your drawing is different from the original: what is your motive behind this?

That arrangement I have indeed changed, as stated above. This is mainly to comment on the message of the psalm.

Can you (again) explain the general scope of your drawing?

Where, in old times, believers were encouraged to aim their positive energy on an alleged creator / ruler. In 2016 AD they are mainly concerned with themselves.

Would you in retrospect like to add or change something?

Maybe add some more elements to create something visually more complex. I really like pictures where you can look at for long time and still discover new things.

Art, Creativity, Education, Imagination, Literature, Religion