Leaf from a Book of Hours: The Raising of the Cross
Unknown Artist
c. 1510–20
Medium
tempera and liquid gold on vellum
Dimensions
18.7 × 13.4 cm
Classification
Manuscript
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
The Jeanne Miles Blackburn Collection
Accession Number
2006.14
About this artwork
This finely painted miniature is the work of an artist familiar with the designs of Albrecht Dürer (1471–1528). Though not deriving from a known engraving or drawing, the style, composition, and especially the modeling of the figure of Christ refer to the draftsmanship and tonalities found in Dürer's works. This miniature depicts the moment the cross is raised. In the foreground, thuggish brutes struggle to bring it upright. The skull of Adam at the foot of the cross signifies that Golgotha was ...