A fine example of just how good exhibition-accompanying volumes can be when they are done correctly.

The Getty's Book of Beasts takes a well-organized and erudite look at this fascinating sub-genre of medieval manuscripts, which are also the subject of the museum's upcoming exhibition.

The structure and organization of the volume are well above average, the disbursement of the plates amid the text being notably better than usual as well. Some visual elements of the book are difficult to rate using a digital ARC (some page-spacing issues and greyed out text which I expect will not present in published copies).

The included essays were a bit of a mixed bag. While none are poorly done or problematic, there are certainly some which present better than others. Notably exceptional standouts include Elizabeth Morrison's essay on problems in page design, Larisa Grollemond's piece on beasts at court, and Debra Higgs Strickland's work on the beastiary in medieval world maps.

Exceptionally rich and gorgeusly illustrated book with many essays from various authors mostly about medieval bestiaries, including also depictions of real or fantastic animals in modern ages. Lions, tigers, beavers, foxes, whales, apes, etc., but also dragons, unicorns, griffins, sirens, centaurs, "cosmic" animals. Images that you can rarely see elsewhere, very interesting ones (for example Alexander the Great in a kind of submarine meets a whale) and sometimes also funny (for example the bonnacon that uses its fart as weapon or the elephant depicted obviously by someone that has never seen one). The images are accompanied by explanations and also the moralisations the authors of the original bestiaries attached to them (Christ simbolized by the unicorn, the pelican, etc.).

A wonderful collection of essays to accompany a museum exhibit. There is a wealth of information in these pages that will keep readers turning the page and wanting more.

Thank you NetGalley and Getty Publications for the opportunity to read an advance reader copy.

Thanks to Getty Publications and NetGalley for the Advance Review Copy in exchange for an honest review.

This is an absolutely lovely book and my only regret is that I will not be able to see the exhibition it accompanies.

Contained within are beautiful images drawn by Medieval artists of animals (both real and mythical) and other subjects. It's perhaps clear that the artists never saw some of these animals, and the illustrations are often fanciful at best but are all the more interesting and fun for it. The colours and details are reproduced in stunning detail and the book is laid out in a coherent and engaging way.

The history and context is provided in an interesting and engaging way but may slant too much towards the academic for some. Despite the level of detail and sources provided, the editors of this book have let the pictures take centre stage.

Overall, a gorgeous book with stunning imagery. Yes, some of them are amusing to the modern eye (that whale, come oooooon) they are all the more charming for it.

Let me get the easy part out of the way. As would be expected from a Getty title, this is a magnificently illustrated and informative book on bestiaries. The publisher tells us there are 270 illustrations in the book and each of them is a joy, meticulously reproduced and almost jumping off the printed page.
This is a catalog of an on-going show at the Getty which must be a marvel to behold. Bestiaries are a peculiar genre of book which are to be enjoyed for the fantastical elements of the work, how the folks of a distant age envisioned and cataloged their world to the best of their abilities. Seeing how ordinary animals that we are closely familiar with is often a surprise as we try to understand how the creatures we know were distorted through the telling to finally end up on the page of a bestiary.
T. H. White, in his book "The Bestiary," makes the point that we can find these illustrations quaint and amusing but we have to credit the monks and scholars who are working from descriptions of frequently unknown creatures that have been recorded by travelers doing their best to comprehend what they have never seen before. (I recommend the White book as a companion to this one as it quotes directly from animal descriptions in bestiaries which this volume only infrequently does.)
The last section of the book deals with more recent books of animals, primarily artist's books and fine press titles. While the portrayal of animals is obviously more accurate, the illustrations have much of the same charm of discovery.
I recommend this book highly for anyone interested in medieval art or merely the inventiveness of man.

Book of Beasts The Bestiary in the Medieval World is a new catalog guide to accompany an exhibition at the J. Paul Getty museum on medieval bestiaries. Due out 4th June 2019 from Getty Publications, it's 354 pages and will be available in hardcover format.

This is a lavishly illustrated volume with well written subject essays by well known scholars of medieval art. The exhibition contributor list reads like a who's who of world renowned collections including the Bodleian, the V&A, Bibliothèque nationale de France, The Fitzwilliam, the Royal Danish Library, and many many others.

This volume would make a good addition for students of medieval art, calligraphers, illuminators, artists, art lovers, and students of ecclesiastical Latin and Greek. It is written in a meticulous and scholarly style, but as a layperson I had no problems understanding and learning from the included essays. The majority of the illustrations are western/Latin texts, but there are a few from eastern sources as well.

The exhibition is scheduled to run at the J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center from May 14 to August 18, 2019.

Five stars, this is a sterling exhibition catalog and will have value long after the exhibit is over.