Sep 20, 2019
Jun 26, 2006

Leaf from a Book of Hours: Office of the Dead: Angel Chasing a Devil (recto) and Two Devils (verso)

Leaf from a Book of Hours: Office of the Dead: Angel Chasing a Devil (recto) and Two Devils (verso)

c. 1460

Part of a set. See all set records

circle of Coëtivy Master

(French)

Ink, tempera and gold on vellum

Leaf: 19.7 x 14.3 cm (7 3/4 x 5 5/8 in.)

The Jeanne Miles Blackburn Collection 2005.206

Location

Description

The elaborate floral and foliated borders of this leaf, decorating the top, bottom, and sides of both recto and verso, contain four separate elements: blue and gold acanthus leaves, gold-leaf ivy vines, sprays of flowers or fruit, and a grotesque. Here the margin prominently includes an illuminated roundel with an angel chasing a devil with a lance. As a time-saving device, illuminators in the 1450s and later would often paint identical borders on both sides of a leaf. The motifs would be drawn on one side and then traced on the other by holding the leaf against a window. The manuscript from which this leaf came is no longer intact. It included numerous painted roundels relating to the lives of Saint Catherine of Alexandria and the more obscure Saint Alexis. It is possible that the manuscript originally belonged to a married couple for whom these saints served as patrons.

See also

Contact us

The information about this object, including provenance, may not be currently accurate. If you notice a mistake or have additional information about this object, please email collectionsdata@clevelandart.org.

To request more information about this object, study images, or bibliography, contact the Ingalls Library Reference Desk.

All images and data available through Open Access can be downloaded for free. For images not available through Open Access, a detail image, or any image with a color bar, request a digital file from Image Services.