Bifolio from an Antiphonary: Historiated Initial O with the Nativity
Unknown Artist
early 1400s
Medium
ink, tempera, and gold on parchment
Dimensions
sheet: 56.8 × 38.9 cm · framed: 61.6 × 76.8 cm
Classification
Manuscript
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund
Accession Number
1976.100
About this artwork
This splendid bifolium (a sheet folded in half to form two leaves) once formed part of an important antiphonary produced for an unidentified Benedictine monastery in Bohemia. With its rich illumination, it provides an important example of Bohemian painting during the opening years of the 15th century as well as painting in the city of Prague, one of the great court centers of Europe. The decoration of the leaf is dominated by a majestic initial O that depicts the Nativity. A scene in the backgro...