Initial C Excised from a Choral Book: St. Anthony with Antonite Friars
Medium
ink, tempera, and gold on vellum
Dimensions
18.5 × 17.5 cm
Classification
Manuscript
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession Number
1954.796
Tags
male
About this artwork
The focus of this initial is an imposing portrait of Saint Anthony, one of the original Christian “desert hermits.” Anthony retired into the Egyptian desert where he remained in solitude for many years. He is generally regarded as the founder of monasticism and, along with Saints Jerome, Ambrose, and Gregory the Great, one of the four fathers of the Christian Church. Anthony is identified here by his monastic garb and by the tau (T-shaped Egyptian cross) on the shoulder of his cloak. The religio...