Saint Gregory as Author
School of Weingarten Abbey
1188/1200
Medium
Opaque watercolor on parchment
Dimensions
34.9 × 24.5 cm (13 3/4 × 9 11/16 in.)
Classification
watercolor
Department
Prints and Drawings
Museum
Art Institute of Chicago
Accession Number
51595
Rights
Public Domain
About this artwork
This striking author portrait honors Saint Gregory, who reigned as Pope Gregory the Great from 590 to 604. He is shown in the act of writing his homilies, with the dove of the Holy Ghost perched on his shoulder to provide inspiration. This leaf, illuminated on both sides, is apparently all that remains of a manuscript of the life of Saint Gregory written in the monastic scriptorium of Weingarten Abbey not far from Lake Constance during the time of Abbot Meingoz (1188–1200). In this period, the l...