Fragment from a Lectern Bible: Initial E[t fecit Josias] with Josiah Aspersing the Altar
![Fragment from a Lectern Bible: Initial E[t fecit Josias] with Josiah Aspersing the Altar by Master Honoré (French, Paris, active 1288–1300)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.artheonmuseum.org%2Fcleveland%2Fthumb%2Ffragment-from-a-lectern-bible-initial-e-t-fecit-josias-cleveland-106345.webp&w=3840&q=75)
Medium
ink, tempera, and gold on vellum
Dimensions
10.5 × 8 cm
Classification
Manuscript
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift from J. H. Wade
Accession Number
1924.428
Tags
male
About this artwork
This initial comes from a large bible (about 23 inches high) and introduces the opening text of the Book of Esdras: Et fecit Josias in Jerosolymis Domino (When Josiah celebrated the Passover festival in Jerusalem to his Lord). The artist, a close follower of Master Honoré at Paris, set his figure against a diapered ground of alternating gold and blue diamonds with fleur-de-lys. Instead of portraying Josiah as a Jew, however, the artist abandoned historical perspective and painted him as a Christ...