The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of December 18, 2025

Leaf from a Gradual with Historiated Initial (G): Mary as Queen of Heaven

c. 1425–1450

Italy, Lombardy, Milan?, 15th century

ink, tempera, and gold on parchment
Sheet: 42 x 30 cm (16 9/16 x 11 13/16 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1928.652
Location: Not on view

Description

This initial G introduces the Feast of the Assumption (August 15) in the gradual, a choir book used for singing the Latin Mass. The historiated initial bears the image of the Virgin, alone and unaccompanied by saints, borne aloft by angels. The Virgin was believed to have been assumed into heaven, body and soul, three days after her death. Here she is surrounded by a host of angels who play musical instruments, suggesting the celestial realm.
  • Marczell von Nemes, Budapest
    Marczell von Nemes, Budapest
  • Milliken, William. "A Florentine Illumination." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 32, no. 1 (January 1945): 5-7. Mentioned: p. 6 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art Handbook. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1958. Mentioned and Reproduced: cat. no. 212 archive.org
    Wixom, William. "Traditions in the Chaumont Tapestries." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 48, no. 7 (September 1961): 182-190. Mentioned: p. 184; Reproduced: p. 185 www.jstor.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 61 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. 61 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. 69 archive.org
  • Italian Choral Books of the Renaissance (Manuscript Rotation) - Gallery 115. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 10, 2015-December 12, 2016).
    Main Gallery Rotation (gallery 115): December 7, 2015 -
    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"
    The Decorated Letter and the Illuminator's Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 25-December 19, 1993).
    Gothic Art 1360-1440. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 6-September 15, 1963).
    Pages From Medieval and Renaissance Illuminated Manuscripts. Berkeley Art Museum and Pacific Film Archive, Berkeley, CA (April 24-June 8, 1963).
  • {{cite web|title=Leaf from a Gradual with Historiated Initial (G): Mary as Queen of Heaven|url=false|author=|year=c. 1425–1450|access-date=18 December 2025|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1928.652