Masterpieces in Miniature:
Italian Manuscript Ilumination from the J. Paul Getty Museum

Curator’s Biography
Thomas Kren is the curator of manuscripts at the J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles. Kren began his career at the Getty in 1980 as the associate curator of paintings. In 1983 he was instrumental in establishing the Getty’s collection of illuminated manuscripts with the purchase of the renowned collection of Peter and Irene Ludwig of Aachen, Germany. Since 1984 he has served as curator of the manuscript collection, adding nearly one hundred works and doubling its size. A specialist in Netherlandish art, in recent decades Kren has focused on late medieval Flemish and French manuscript illumination. With Scot McKendrick he organized the exhibition Illuminating the Renaissance: The Triumph of Flemish Manuscript Painting in Europe (2003-2004), which was recognized by Apollo magazine as the exhibition of the year for 2004. With Mark Evans, Kren has organized A Masterpiece Reconstructed: The Hours of Louis XII (2005-2006), concerning a long-lost book of hours illuminated by Jean Bourdichon around the time of Louis XII’s accession to the throne. Kren holds a B. A. (1972) from Oberlin College and an M.A. and Ph.D. (1978) from Yale University in the History of Art.

 

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