The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 17, 2024

Leaf from a Missal: The Crucifixion (Frontispiece for the Canon of the Mass)

Leaf from a Missal: The Crucifixion (Frontispiece for the Canon of the Mass)

c. 1440–1450
(Netherlandish)
North Netherlands, Augustinian Cloister of Agnietenberg, near Zwolle, 15th century
ink, tempera, and gold on vellum
Sheet: 33.6 x 25.5 cm (13 1/4 x 10 1/16 in.); Framed: 63.5 x 48.3 cm (25 x 19 in.); Matted: 55.9 x 40.6 cm (22 x 16 in.)
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund 1959.254
Location: not on view

Description

This splendid crucifixion scene originally served as the canon illustration in a liturgical missal. The open landscape is remarkable since it is not found in Dutch missals before the end of the 1500s. The large number of figures at the foot of the cross is also exceptional. The composition is thought to have been copied from a painting by Jan van Eyck, now lost. The painter of this miniature derives his name from the illuminations in the Old Testament commentary of Nicholas of Lyra, which Otto van Moerdrecht, canon of Utrecht Cathedral, gave to the nearby Carthusian monastery of Nieuwlicht in 1424. The style is found in several manuscripts traced to various towns in the North Netherlands. Recent scholarship points to a group of artists working in the same style in locations such as Guelders, Utrecht, and elsewhere, as opposed to one artist who moved from place to place.
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 66 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 67 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 76 archive.org
    Cleveland Museum of Art, and Holger A. Klein. Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 218-219, no. 80
  • The Netherlandish Miniature, 1260-1550 (Manuscript Rotation) - Gallery 115. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 16, 2013-December 8, 2014).
    Main Gallery Rotation (gallery 115): December 16, 2013 - December 8, 2014.
    The Glory of the Painted Page: Manuscript Illuminations from the Permanent Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 6, 2010-April 17, 2011).
    Cleveland Museum of Art, (11/06/2010 - 04/17/2011); "The Glory Of the Painted Page: Manuscript Illuminations from the Permanent Collections"
    Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art. National Museum of Bavaria, Munich, Germany (May 10-September 16, 2007); J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA (October 30, 2007-January 20, 2008); Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN (February 13-June 7, 2009).
    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"
    Illuminated Manuscripts. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (October 10, 2004-October 2, 2005).
    The Cleveland Museum of Art (10/10/2004 - 10/02/2005); "Illuminated Manuscripts"
    CMA, 1996: "Landscape in Detail," September 10-November 3, 1996, no catalogue
    Also to: New York, The Pierpont Morgan Library, March 1 - May 6, 1990
    Middeleeuwse Miniaturen uit de Noordelijke Nederlanden (The Golden Age of Dutch Manuscript Painting). Rijksmuseum Het Catharijneconvent, Utrecht, Netherlands (organizer) (co-organizer) (December 8, 1989-February 11, 1990); Pierpont Morgan Library, New York City, NY (co-organizer) (March 1-May 6, 1990).
    Utrecht, Netherlands, Rijksmuseum het Catharijneconvent, December 8, 1989 - February 11, 1990: "The Golden Age of Dutch Manuscript Painting," catalogue
    Gothic Art 1360-1440. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 6-September 15, 1963).
    CMA, August 6 - September 15, 1963: "Gothic Art 1360-1440," CMA Bulletin 50 (September, 1963), cat. no. 56, p. 209, repr. p. 196.
    Netherlandish Book Illustrations. Allen Memorial Art Museum, Oberlin, OH (organizer) (April 22-May 15, 1960).
    Oberlin, Ohio, Dudley P. Allen Memorial Art Museum, April 22 - May 15, 1960 "Netherlandish Book Illustrations, AMAM Bulletin XVII (Spring, 1960), cat. no. 21, repr. pl. 6.
  • {{cite web|title=Leaf from a Missal: The Crucifixion (Frontispiece for the Canon of the Mass)|url=false|author=Master of Otto van Moerdrecht|year=c. 1440–1450|access-date=17 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1959.254