Leaf from a Book of Hours: Initial D
Unknown Artist
c. 1400
Medium
ink, tempera and gold on vellum
Dimensions
15.2 × 11.4 cm
Classification
Manuscript
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
The Jeanne Miles Blackburn Collection
Accession Number
2006.10
About this artwork
Not all books of hours were decorated with conventional historiated initials or full-page miniatures containing figural scenes. The illuminator of this leaf incorporated a more subtle decorative scheme consisting of a large, flower-filled initial D for Deus that gives a focus to the page. A rectangular bar border with ivy leaf sprays punctuated with flowers in the corners flows from this initial. The layout is neat, yet elegant. The palette of orange-reds and pale blues is typically English.