The Getty Center in Los Angeles has opened a new exhibition titled "Symbols and Signs: Decoding Medieval Manuscripts," which runs from May 20 to August 10. The show features illuminated manuscripts from the 9th to 17th centuries, including the Rothschild Pentateuch, a 700-year-old Hebrew manuscript with over 1,000 pages. Curator Orsolya Mednyánszky explains that the exhibition aims to demystify the codes—words, images, and schematic symbols—that medieval readers would have understood intuitively, pairing the manuscripts with modern photographs from the Getty’s collection to highlight parallels in visual communication.
This exhibition matters because it challenges the perception that medieval manuscripts are inaccessible or purely religious artifacts, revealing them instead as playful, layered works of visual culture. By juxtaposing ancient codes with contemporary photography, the show underscores the enduring human impulse to embed meaning in symbols, from medieval monograms to modern emojis. It also provides rare public access to fragile, priceless objects, making a scholarly subject engaging for a general audience.