Initial G[audeamus omnes] from a Gradual: The Court of Heaven
Initial G[audeamus omnes] from a Gradual: The Court of Heaven, Don Silvestro dei Gherarducci (Italian, 1339 - 1399) 1371-77
1930.105
Not on display
This initial would have introduced the text Gaudeamus omnes in Domino... (Let us rejoice in the Lord...), the beginning of Introit (introductory section) for the Feast of All Saints (November 1st). The highly chromatic initial with punched and burnished gold represents the enthroned godhead, Christ, with his mother, the Virgin Mary, seated at his right and to whom rows of saints and angels turn in adoration.
This monumental initial G is generally considered to be the artist's masterpiece. Along with several others which still survive, this initial was part of a magnificent gradual produced in the scriptorium of the monastery of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Florence.
Images Copyright © the artist, their estate, and/or the Cleveland Museum of Art.
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![Initial G[audeamus omnes] from a Gradual: The Court of Heaven | 1930.105](/oci/wh380/1930/43174.jpg)