noun
illumination
Artistic decoration of a manuscript with colored or gilded designs.
The manuscript's illumination features curling vines painted in red and gold.
Etymology
The Latin root means to light up. Manuscript decoration with gold and color visually brightened the page, turning the light image into an artistic term.
More examples
- Medieval illumination often frames the text with elaborate borders.
- She studies the use of gold leaf in manuscript illumination.
- The book's tiny illuminations show birds among flowering branches.
Forms
illumination · illuminations
illuminate verb — Decorate a manuscript with color or gold.
illuminator noun — An artist who decorates manuscripts by hand.
Similar words
- ornamentation
- Includes decoration of any object, not just manuscripts.
- embellishment
- Emphasizes an added decorative detail rather than manuscript decoration specifically.