Leaf from a Book of Hours: Initial D: Flight into Egypt (2 of 2 Excised Leaves)
Unknown Artist
early 1300s
Medium
ink, tempera, and gold on vellum
Dimensions
13 × 9.7 cm
Classification
Manuscript
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
The Jeanne Miles Blackburn Collection
Accession Number
2011.56
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
These initials introduce the text Deus in adiutorium meum intende (God come to my assistance). The borders include playful animals or humans engaged in assorted activities: a dog catching a hare; a lion; a peacock; and a woman winding yarn. The illuminators of books of hours, like the artists of psalters before them, continued to explore the possibilities suggested by open space on the page in order to showcase their ingenuity and delight the reader.