A new exhibition opening this spring at the J. Paul Getty Museum will shed light on how medieval scribes and artists used codes, puzzles, and symbols to communicate with their readers. Symbols and Signs: Decoding Medieval Manuscripts will run from May 20 to August 10, 2025, at the Getty Center in Los Angeles.
The exhibition features a wide selection of illuminated manuscripts from the Getty’s collection, accompanied by photographs from the museum’s holdings. It explores how texts and images in the Middle Ages were often embedded with layers of meaning that medieval audiences could decode—but which now require interpretation by modern viewers.
“People today are fascinated by ciphers, puzzles, and secrets,” says Elizabeth Morrison, senior curator of manuscripts at the Getty Museum and co-curator of the exhibition. “This exhibition explores the clever ways that scribes and artists of the past deliberately and playfully employed such codes to arrest the attention of medieval audiences and engage their minds.”
The exhibition is divided into three thematic sections: Word Codes, Image Codes, and Schematic Codes.
The Word Codes section looks at how familiar alphabets—Latin, Hebrew, or Armenian—could be transformed through monograms, abbreviations, and stylised names. These wordplays served both artistic and intellectual purposes, challenging readers to decipher and interpret the hidden messages.
Names Written in Superimposed Letters from Model Book of Calligraphy, 1561 – 1562, by Georg Bocskay -Watercolors, gold and silver paint, and ink on parchment. Leaf: 16.6 × 12.4 cm (6 9/16 × 4 7/8 in.) – Getty Museum – Ms. 20 (86.MV.527), fol. 90
Image Codes focuses on how abstract symbols, personal emblems, and colour choices in manuscript illustrations conveyed complex ideas. These visual cues, though intuitive for medieval viewers, are often puzzling today. The exhibition helps bridge that interpretive gap by placing these symbols in their historical context.
Finally, Schematic Codes examines how medieval people organised information through systems like musical notation, calendars, and indexes—some of which laid the groundwork for modern information design.
Decorated Text Page from Rothschild -Pentateuch, French or German,1296 – Tempera colors, gold, and ink on parchment. Leaf: 27.5 × 21 cm (10 13/16 × 8 1/4 in.) – Getty Museum Ms. 116 (2018.43), fol. 486v
“Codes were and continue to be integral parts of everyday life,” says Orsolya Mednyanszky, assistant curator of manuscripts at the Getty Museum and co-curator of the exhibition. “Our hope with the exhibition is to showcase both medieval and contemporary works that bring awareness to the similarities and differences between the visual and textual conventions of the Middle Ages and present day.”
To emphasise the enduring nature of these strategies, the exhibition includes works by three contemporary photographers alongside medieval manuscripts. For example, Lunar Sentence I (Maquette) by Leandro Katz is paired with a Cistercian number and alphabet system, both showcasing how symbols can substitute for language. The show also includes works from Irving Penn’s Small Trades series and Alfred Stieglitz’s Songs of the Sky and Equivalents series, displayed next to manuscripts that use similar visual logic.
Cistercian Number and Alphabet System, 1300s, England – Pen and black ink and tempera – Getty Museum Ms. Ludwig XII 7 (83.MO.136), inserted leaf
Symbols and Signs: Decoding Medieval Manuscripts is co-curated by Elizabeth Morrison and Orsolya Mednyanszky, who have drawn from both historical treasures and contemporary pieces to explore how medieval codes still resonate in modern visual culture.
Top Image: The Annunciation from Irmengard Codex – German, shortly after 1053 – Tempera colors, gold, and ink. Getty Museum Ms. 125 (2023.6), fols. 235v
A new exhibition opening this spring at the J. Paul Getty Museum will shed light on how medieval scribes and artists used codes, puzzles, and symbols to communicate with their readers. Symbols and Signs: Decoding Medieval Manuscripts will run from May 20 to August 10, 2025, at the Getty Center in Los Angeles.
The exhibition features a wide selection of illuminated manuscripts from the Getty’s collection, accompanied by photographs from the museum’s holdings. It explores how texts and images in the Middle Ages were often embedded with layers of meaning that medieval audiences could decode—but which now require interpretation by modern viewers.
“People today are fascinated by ciphers, puzzles, and secrets,” says Elizabeth Morrison, senior curator of manuscripts at the Getty Museum and co-curator of the exhibition. “This exhibition explores the clever ways that scribes and artists of the past deliberately and playfully employed such codes to arrest the attention of medieval audiences and engage their minds.”
The exhibition is divided into three thematic sections: Word Codes, Image Codes, and Schematic Codes.
The Word Codes section looks at how familiar alphabets—Latin, Hebrew, or Armenian—could be transformed through monograms, abbreviations, and stylised names. These wordplays served both artistic and intellectual purposes, challenging readers to decipher and interpret the hidden messages.
Image Codes focuses on how abstract symbols, personal emblems, and colour choices in manuscript illustrations conveyed complex ideas. These visual cues, though intuitive for medieval viewers, are often puzzling today. The exhibition helps bridge that interpretive gap by placing these symbols in their historical context.
Finally, Schematic Codes examines how medieval people organised information through systems like musical notation, calendars, and indexes—some of which laid the groundwork for modern information design.
“Codes were and continue to be integral parts of everyday life,” says Orsolya Mednyanszky, assistant curator of manuscripts at the Getty Museum and co-curator of the exhibition. “Our hope with the exhibition is to showcase both medieval and contemporary works that bring awareness to the similarities and differences between the visual and textual conventions of the Middle Ages and present day.”
To emphasise the enduring nature of these strategies, the exhibition includes works by three contemporary photographers alongside medieval manuscripts. For example, Lunar Sentence I (Maquette) by Leandro Katz is paired with a Cistercian number and alphabet system, both showcasing how symbols can substitute for language. The show also includes works from Irving Penn’s Small Trades series and Alfred Stieglitz’s Songs of the Sky and Equivalents series, displayed next to manuscripts that use similar visual logic.
Symbols and Signs: Decoding Medieval Manuscripts is co-curated by Elizabeth Morrison and Orsolya Mednyanszky, who have drawn from both historical treasures and contemporary pieces to explore how medieval codes still resonate in modern visual culture.
To learn more, please visit the Getty website
Top Image: The Annunciation from Irmengard Codex – German, shortly after 1053 – Tempera colors, gold, and ink. Getty Museum Ms. 125 (2023.6), fols. 235v
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