Leaf from a Beatus Manuscript: the Fourth Angel Sounds the Trumpet and an Eagle Cries Woe
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
1991.232.9
Tags
Art Historical Context
This vibrant leaf from a Beatus Manuscript, created around 1180 in medieval Spain, captures a dramatic moment from the Book of Revelation in the Bible: the fourth angel its trumpet, unleashing cosmic destruction, while an eagle soars above crying "Woe, woe, woe" to herald further tribulations (Revelation 8:13). Beatus Manuscripts, inspired by the 8th-century commentary of Beatus of Liéb, were a uniquely Spanish phenomenon, produced in monastic scriptoria during the Romanesque period. They served as devotional tools for monks and clergy, vividly illustrating the Apocalypse to inspire awe and re...