Baylor Biblical Art Database is a searchable database of images from the Baylor University Moody Library Special Collections.  Primarily pulling from rare and unique Bibles housed in Moody Library, the database covers themes illustrated in the St. John’s Bible Heritage Edition.

The Saint John’s Bible was commissioned by Saint John’s Abbey and University and was created by Donald Jackson, along with a collaborative team of scribes and artists.  This is the first illuminated, handwritten Bible of monumental size to be commissioned by a Benedictine monastery in more than 500 years. All 73 books from the Old and New Testaments using the New Revised Standard Version are presented in seven volumes of approximately 1,150 pages.   For more information about this Bible click here.

Our story :

Over the last year, interest in biblical illuminations and images has grown.  The St. John’s Bible serves as a dramatic storyteller and portal into the world of manuscript creation and the illumination of God’s Word.  Community outreach and classroom assignments continue to increase.  When the pandemic hit in the Spring of 2020, we began to explore how we could continue this important outreach.  Josh Been was the creative leader behind this project, joining forces with Professor Steve Reid (Truett Seminary), Professor Heidi Hornik-Parsons (Department of Art), Beth Farwell, and Andrea Turner.  Josh pulled us together to imagine how a data visualization tool, Microsoft Power BI could present images from our collections.

More information on project phases coming soon…