Gospel Book with Evangelist Portraits | Cleveland Museum of Art

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Gospel Book with Evangelist Portraits: Decorated Initial

c. 1480

1952.465.3.a
Gospel Book with Evangelist Portraits: Decorated Initial

c. 1480

1952.465.52.a
Gospel Book with Evangelist Portraits: Decorated Initial

c. 1480

1952.465.85.b
Gospel Book with Evangelist Portraits: Decorated Initial

c. 1480

1952.465.145.a

Gospel Book with Evangelist Portraits, c. 1480

Hausbuch Master (German)

ink, tempera, and gold on vellum; original blind stamped leather binding, Codex: 23.7 x 18.4 x 5.4 cm (9 5/16 x 7 3/16 x 2 1/8 in.). Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund 1952.465

Location:

not on view

Description

An evangelary, also known as a Gospel lectionary, contains the Gospel readings for the Mass, arranged according to the liturgical year. Each of the four gospels, here in Latin, are preceded by a full-page portrait miniature of the appropriate evangelist. In keeping with tradition, the evangelists are represented as contemporary scribes, seated at a lectern surrounded by all the accouterments of their trade––inkpots, quill pens, and penknives. The anonymous illuminator of these miniatures, the Hausbuch Master, is known primarily for an album of lively drawings as well as some 90 copper engravings preserved chiefly in Amsterdam. He was also apparently a panel painter of some distinction. The skillful pen work, tracery, and vine scrolls as well as the large initials are the work of other artists. The binding is original.

Exhibition History

CMA, "Twelve Masterpieces of Medieval and Renaissance Book Illuminations" March 17 - May 17, 1965; no.11.Amsterdam, Rijksmusuem, "The Master of the Masterdam Print Cabinet," March 14-June 9, 1985, cat. 119, p. 246, repr. p. 230.Frankfurt, Stagelaches Kunstinstitut, "The Master of the Masterdam Print Cabinet," September 3, 1985-November 3, 1985, cat. 119, p. 246, repr. p. 230.Cleveland Museum of Art, "Scriptorium: The Illuminated Book in Medieval Art" November 5, 1991-January 12, 1992New York, NY: The Frick Collection (5/17/99 - 7/25/99) "The Medieval Housebook: The Real and the Ideal - A Fifteenth-century View of Life"Bavarian Nationalmuseum, Munich (5/10/2007 - 9/16/2007), the J. Paul Getty Musuem, Los Angeles (10/30/2007 - 1/20/2008) and Frist Center for the Visual Arts, Nashville, TN (2/13/2009 - 6/7/2009): "Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art"Cleveland Museum of Art, (11/06/2010 - 04/17/2011); "The Glory Of the Painted Page: Manuscript Illuminations from the Permanent Collections"Main Gallery installation (gallery 113): January 25, 2016 -

Research

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