Beth received her PhD from Cornell University and began her career at the Getty Museum in 1996. During her tenure, she has curated or co-curated numerous exhibitions, including the 2010 exhibition Imagining the Past in France, 1250–1500, and the 2019 exhibition Book of Beasts: The Bestiary in the Medieval World. She specializes in the study of manuscript illumination in northern Europe from the Gothic period through the Renaissance. She has published on French vernacular manuscripts, especially history and romance, as well as the role of Flemish devotional and secular illumination at the Burgundian court. Her recent research centers on the depiction of animals in bestiaries and other illuminated manuscripts.
ABOUT THE COLLECTION
The Department of Manuscripts was established in 1983 with the acquisition of one of the finest private collections in the world, assembled by Peter and Irene Ludwig of Aachen, Germany. Since then, the Museum has built an expansive and balanced representation of the art form, with holdings totaling over 200 complete books and individual leaves that span the ninth to sixteenth centuries. Featuring exceptional European illuminations—including Ottonian, Romanesque, Gothic, International Style, and Renaissance examples—the collection also contains a small but important group of Byzantine, Armenian, and Ethiopian objects.
Illuminated manuscripts are sensitive to light and are displayed for short periods of time in rotating exhibitions drawn from the permanent collection at the Getty Center. The Getty Museum also presents large-scale international loan exhibitions of manuscripts as a part of their special exhibitions program.
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NEWS & STORIES
FEATURED TALK
FEATURED VIDEO
An illuminated manuscript is a book written and decorated completely by hand. Illuminated manuscripts were among the most precious objects produced in the Middle Ages and the early Renaissance, primarily in monasteries and courts. Society's rulers—emperors, kings, dukes, cardinals, and bishops— commissioned the most splendid manuscripts.
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STUDY ROOM
All illuminations represented in the Getty’s Manuscripts collection (over 7,000 images) are available online for free download through the Getty’s Open Content Program.Admission to the Manuscripts Department Study Room is by application and appointment only.
Access to the original manuscripts is limited due to their rarity and the special handling requirements for this fragile material. We consider applications to study manuscripts in the collection only from qualified researchers with a demonstrated need for primary source materials. Applications require a letter of recommendation from a professor or professional contact in the field. Researchers should apply far in advance of a possible appointment to allow time for curators to review your application.
All interested parties may apply for an appointment in the Manuscripts Study Room to access microfilms and research files about the collection.
Please review the following Procedures for Manuscripts Access and Handling Guide before submitting an application.
To request an application, e-mail manuscripts@getty.edu.