Hello, I'm Julia 

You may know me on Instagram as @bookillumination.

I have been interested in art from an early age and have painted and drawn a lot - primarily portraits and animals. After school, I studied book studies, German studies and art history at Johannes Gutenberg University Mainz (master's degree in 2012, PhD in 2017).
During my studies, I focused on Johannes Gutenberg and the invention of book printing, among other things. I was fascinated by the transitional phase between the manuscript era and letterpress printing, when the new technology made it possible to mass-produce texts, but the initials and decorations added by hand still made each copy unique.
Through my studies, I came into contact with the Gutenberg Museum and the Gutenberg Foundation in Mainz. The latter manages the Gutenberg Shop and sells, among other things, reproductions of individual pages from the Gutenberg Bible - as in the original with the printed text and coloring by hand. Here I saw the opportunity to combine my passion for painting and my theoretical knowledge and started painting these pages in 2013.
Since then, I have been working part-time as a freelance artist and have specialized in the field of illumination. There are not so many artists in this particular niche, but many continue to be fascinated by this historical art form. I get a lot of questions about the materials and techniques and often whether I give workshops. Over the years, I've acquired quite a bit of knowledge about illumination and since I've realized, that others want to learn too, I'd like to finally share my knowledge with you.