The Trinity: Leaf from a Gradual with Initial B
Perugino (Italian, c. 1450/55–1523)
c. 1496–1502
Medium
ink, tempera, and gold on parchment
Dimensions
78.7 × 53 cm
Classification
Manuscript
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
Accession Number
1952.461
Tags
male
About this artwork
The focus of this lavishly illuminated page is a large initial B containing a representation of the Holy Trinity (three persons in one godhead). The text, Benedicta sit sancta Trinitas, introduces the opening of the Introit for Mass on Trinity Sunday, celebrated one week after Pentecost. An illusion has been created by the artist who painted the framing initial to appear three-dimensional. Beyond the initial a landscape recedes as if viewed through an open window. The decoration extends into all...