Leaf from a Beatus Manuscript: Table of the Antichrist
Unknown Artist
ca. 1180
Medium
Tempera, gold, and ink on parchment
Dimensions
Overall (folio): 17 1/2 x 11 13/16 in. (44.4 x 30 cm) Mat: 22 x 16 in. (55.9 x 40.6 cm)
Classification
Manuscripts and Illuminations
Culture
Spanish
Department
The Cloisters
Museum
Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY
Credit
Purchase, The Cloisters Collection, Rogers and Harris Brisbane Dick Funds, and Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1991
Accession Number
1991.232.13
Art Historical Context
This stunning leaf from a Beatus Manuscript, titled *Table of the Antichrist* and created by an unknown Spanish artist around 1180, offers a vivid glimpse into medieval apocalyptic imagination. Beatus Manuscripts, inspired by the 8th *Commentary on the Apocalypse* Beatus of Liéb, were richly illustrated Spanish works that visualized the Book of Revelation. during a time of religious fervor amid the Reconquista, they blended Mozarabic and emerging Romanesque influences, making complex theology accessible through dramatic imagery. Crafted with tempera paints, gold leaf, and on parchment, the pa...