The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of September 15, 2024

Cutting from an Antiphonary: Initial A[spiciens a longe]: The Tree of Jesse

Cutting from an Antiphonary: Initial A[spiciens a longe]: The Tree of Jesse

c. 1115–1125
ink, tempera, and gold on vellum
Sheet: 18 x 16 cm (7 1/16 x 6 5/16 in.)
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund 1949.202
Location: not on view

Description

This complex initial "A" is formed of meandering plant tendrils, neatly and symmetrically placed at the center of a succession of square frames to which the letter is securely attached above and below. The whole forms a Tree of Jesse showing Christ's ancestors beginning with King David (bottom). The text would have begun, "Long have I been watching...." These are the words of Isaiah, who foresaw the coming of Christ. Isaiah's prophecies are the basis for the representations of the Tree of Jesse, often seen in medieval art.
  • C.G. Boerner, Leipzig, Germany
    Professor Robert Forrer (1866-1947), Strasbourg, France
    ?-1943
    Mrs. Addie Wolff (Mrs. Otto H. Kahn) (d. 1949), New York, NY, sold to Joseph Brummer Gallery
    1943-1949
    (Joseph Brummer Gallery, sold to Vladimir G. Simkovitch)
    1949
    Vladimir G. Simkhovitch (1874-1959), New York, NY, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    1949-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Forrer, Robert. Unedierte Federzeichnungen, Miniaturen und Initialen des Mittelalters Vol. 2. Straßburg im Elsaß: Schlesier & Schweihhardt, 1907. pl. IV
    Watson, Arthur. The Early Iconography of the Tree of Jesse. London: Oxford University Press, H. Milford, 1934. Pl. XXXI
    The Brummer Gallery Records. Cloisters (Museum), n.d. libmma.contentdm.oclc.org
    Milliken, William M. "A Tree of Jesse." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 36, no. 8 (1949). pp. 156-58 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. 103 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 48 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. 48 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. 53 archive.org
    Hidrio, Guylène. L'iconographie du Speculum virginum. 2017. p. 55, no. 77
  • The Decorated Letter and the Illuminator's Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 25-December 19, 1993).
    The Tree of Life. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (January 7-March 8, 1955).
  • {{cite web|title=Cutting from an Antiphonary: Initial A[spiciens a longe]: The Tree of Jesse|url=false|author=|year=c. 1115–1125|access-date=15 September 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1949.202