Leaf from a Book of Hours: The Visitation
Medium
ink, tempera, and gold on vellum
Dimensions
17 × 12.7 cm
Classification
Manuscript
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession Number
1953.366.1
Tags
male
About this artwork
The heart of every book of hours is the Hours of the Virgin. With this set of prayers, the reader asked the Virgin Mary to intercede on their behalf. The prayers come mostly from the Bible and include psalms, hymns, and readings. The Hours of the Virgin emerged from the eight “hours” of the day in the monastic world’s routine of daily prayers from daybreak to late at night. Originally used solely by the ordained, by the 1000s, these prayers had spread to the general population through their incl...