Leaf from a Choir Psalter: Initial B with King David in Prayer
c. 1460–1470
Medium
ink, tempera and gold on vellum
Dimensions
54 × 37.5 cm
Classification
Manuscript
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
The Jeanne Miles Blackburn Collection
Accession Number
2011.70
Tags
About this artwork
Psalters contained all 150 biblical psalms. Specific pages within the psalter were decorated with historiated initials to highlight the liturgical divisions. In addition to providing embellishment, such initials served as a visual aid to the user to assist in locating a text. The most prominent of these was Psalm 1, which begins Beatus vir qui non abiit in consilio impiorum (Blessed is the man who has not walked in the counsel of the ungodly), and which traditionally featured the grandest initia...
About the Artist
Maestro del Messale Barbo (Italian)
The designation "Italian" in art collections typically refers to an anonymous artist or a loose attribution to works from Italian schools, rather than a specific individual. With 173 known artworks in the museum's collection, this entry likely encompasses paintings by unidentified masters active across various periods, such as the Renaissance, Baroque, or later eras. Early life and personal detail...