The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 20, 2024
Leaf from a Gradual: Decorated Initial (verso)
c. 1480
(Italian, 1501)
Sheet: 77 x 52 cm (30 5/16 x 20 1/2 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1927.425.2.b
Location: not on view
Description
This leaf was excised from a volume of a large set of choral books known to have been commissioned by Bartolomeo delle Rovere for Ferrara Cathedral. Delle Rovere, nephew of Pope Sixtus IV, was the Bishop of Ferrara from 1474 to 1494 and his arms appear in the rondel at the bottom of the page-a shield bearing an oak tree (rovere in Italian) surmounted by a patriarchal cross, the symbol of his rank and authority. Payment records indicate that Argenta worked on the choir books for Ferrara Cathedral from 1478 to 1486. The large historiated initial R dominates the extensive decoration including a realistically painted scene in which a priest (center) surrounded by acolytes stands over the body of the deceased as he reads the Office of the Dead. The ceremony takes place within a vaulted chapel that recedes in space to create the illusion of perspective. This leaf and the one to the right are from the same set of choir books.- Giovanni Pinni, Florence
- The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned: cat. no. 210 archive.org
- {{cite web|title=Leaf from a Gradual: Decorated Initial (verso)|url=false|author=Jacopo Filippo d' Argenta|year=c. 1480|access-date=20 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1927.425.2.b