Leaf from a Book of Hours: St. Barbara (2 of 2 Excised Leaves)
Medium
ink, tempera and gold on vellum
Dimensions
23.7 × 18.6 cm
Classification
Manuscript
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
The Jeanne Miles Blackburn Collection
Accession Number
2011.63
Tags
About this artwork
Saint Barbara was popular in France, known for being imprisoned in a tower by her father and living as a hermit. In piety, she asked builders to construct her three windows to symbolize the Holy Trinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Her father, enraged by her conversion to Christianity, killed her, after which he was struck by lightning from heaven. She was seen as a protector from sudden death, a common medieval concern, and the patron saint of architects and builders. The text on this l...
About the Artist
Master of Jacques de Luxembourg (French)
Georges Hugnet (1906–1974) was a multifaceted French artist, poet, writer, and critic whose innovative collages and graphic works bridged Dada and Surrealism. Born in Paris on July 11, 1906, he spent much of his early childhood in Buenos Aires, Argentina, returning to France around 1913. His early life and artistic training remain sparsely documented, with no records of formal art school attendanc...