Gospel Book with Evangelist Portraits: Decorated Initial
Medium
ink, tempera, and gold on vellum; original blind stamped leather binding
Dimensions
23.7 × 18.4 × 5.4 cm
Classification
Bound Volume
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund
Accession Number
1952.465.186.a
Tags
About this artwork
Each of the four gospels, here in Latin, are preceded by a full-page miniature of the appropriate Evangelist. As is conventional, the Evangelists are represented as contemporary scribes seated at a lectern surrounded by all the accouterments of the trade—inkpots, quill pens, penknives, etc. The miniatures' style is characteristically German late Gothic in its expressive use of angular drapery and realistic detail. Each miniature, however, bears the marks of The Hausbuch Master's hand: notice the...