Nature Illuminated: Flora and Fauna from the Court of Emperor Rudolf II (Getty Trust Publications: J. Paul Getty Museum)
The most important legacy of the Holy Roman Emperor Rudolf II  is theMira calligraphiae monumenta, a manuscript comprised of  illuminated pages of calligraphy. Around 1561 a master calligrapher  wrote the text as proof of his preeminence among scribes. After his  death, a master illustrator was employed to illuminate his writing, and  the outcome is a rare combination of words and images in small-scale  drawings--considered one of the wonders of Renaissance Europe. This  book culls different plates from the collection that are each unique,  consisting of lavishly executed text in Roman and Hebrew letters  accompanied by realistic and detailed drawings of plants, animals, and  insects.