Bifolio with Scenes from the Life of Christ
Unknown Artist
1230–1240
Medium
tempera, and gold on vellum
Dimensions
30.7 × 45.2 cm · sheet: 31 × 22.5 cm
Classification
Manuscript
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession Number
1933.448.2
About this artwork
A sheet of vellum (animal skin) folded down the center to create two leaves, or folios, is called a bifolium (plural: bifolia). This pair of bifolia originally were to have been inserted one inside the other, forming part of a large psalter, or book of the psalms. The small paintings, called miniatures, decorating each leaf are subdivided into four small panels and illustrate the life of Christ. This particular format, along with the style of decoration, tells us that the psalter was made in Nor...