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Jul 24, 2013

Single Leaf Excised from an Antiphonary: Inital A[spiciens a longe] with Christ in Majesty

c. 1330–1350

Italy, Tuscany or Umbria, 14th century

Ink, tempera, and gold on vellum

Sheet: 57.8 x 40.7 cm (22 3/4 x 16 in.); Framed: 72.5 x 55 x 4 cm (28 9/16 x 21 5/8 x 1 9/16 in.); Folio: 72.5 x 55 x 4 cm (28 9/16 x 21 5/8 x 1 9/16 in.)

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1939.677

Location

not on view

Description

This massive historiated initial A, among the largest painted by Renaissance illuminators, introduces the matins response for the first Sunday in Advent. For centuries this particular Sunday was known as Aspiciens a longe Sunday, since this is the very first chant of the Christian liturgical year to be sung with a special choir, or Schola Cantorum, on that day. The text as well as the image follow the prophecy of Isaiah who foresaw the birth of Christ: Aspiciens a longe, ecce, video potentiam (Long had I been watching. Behold, now do I see God coming in power as in a cloud of light). Within the letter A, Christ is enthroned in majesty surrounded by angels and saints meant to represent the redeemer who is yet to come. The two figures who occupy the bottom curves of the A are Old Testament prophets; on the left is Isaiah who holds a scroll revealing his prophecy: “Behold, a Virgin can conceive.”

Provenance

Marczell von Nemes

Citations

Keene, Bryan C. "Illuminators from Pistoia and Pisa in Trecento Florence: the Case of two Antiphonary Commissions," 279-293. In Art and Experience in Trecento Italy: Proceedings of the Andrew Ladis Trecento Conference, New Orleans, November 10-12, 2016. Edited by Holly Flora and Sarah S. Wilkins. Turnhout : Brepols, 2018. Reproduced: p. 287, fig. 7; Mentioned: p. 286, 292

Freuler, Gaudenz and Georgi Radomirov Parpulov. The McCarthy Collection. Volume I: Italian and Byzantine Miniatures. London: Ad Ilissum, 2018. Reproduced & mentioned: p. 199, 201, fig. 64.1

Exhibition history

The Cleveland Museum of Art (10/10/2004 - 10/02/2005); "Illuminated Manuscripts"

Cleveland Museum of Art, (11/06/2010 - 04/17/2011); "The Glory Of the Painted Page: Manuscript Illuminations from the Permanent Collections"
Main Gallery Rotation (gallery 115): December 7, 2015 -
Main Gallery Rotation (gallery 117): July 8, 2014 - September 22, 2014.

Exhibition of Sienese and Florentine Manuscripts. Wildenstein & Co., London, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland (organizer) (February 24-April 10, 1965).

Florence and the Arts: Five Centuries of Patronage. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 13-September 19, 1971).

Lutes, Lovers, and Lyres: Musical Imagery in the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 14-June 11, 1989).

Object Lessons: Cleveland Creates an Art Museum. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 7-September 8, 1991).

The Decorated Letter and the Illuminator's Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 25-December 19, 1993).

Illuminated Manuscripts. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (October 10, 2004-October 2, 2005).

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).

Italian Choral Books of the Renaissance (Manuscript Rotation) - Gallery 115. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 10, 2015-December 12, 2016).

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{{cite web|title=Single Leaf Excised from an Antiphonary: Inital A[spiciens a longe] with Christ in Majesty|url=https://clevelandart.org/art/1939.677|year=c. 1330–1350|access-date=07 December 2023|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

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Single Leaf Excised from an Antiphonary: Inital A[spiciens a longe] with Christ in Majesty

Single Leaf Excised from an Antiphonary: Inital A[spiciens a longe] with Christ in Majesty

Italy, Tuscany or Umbria, 14th century

Location

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