The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 25, 2024

Single Leaf from a Bible: Initial E[t factum est] with Jonah Swallowed by the Whale

Single Leaf from a Bible: Initial E[t factum est] with Jonah Swallowed by the Whale

c. 1290
ink, tempera, and gold on vellum
Sheet: 26.7 x 40.3 cm (10 1/2 x 15 7/8 in.)
The Harold T. Clark Educational Extension Fund 1959.271
Location: not on view

Description

This leaf and the bifolium (double-leaf) displayed to the right both come from the same manuscript: a large lectern bible. The decorative scheme consists of a single historiated initial and spiky ivy-leaf tendrils along the margins, a Parisian convention just developing at this time. These "ascenders" and "descenders" originate from two of the initials and meander along the margins as separators and framing devices for the text. This ivy-leaf motif dominated book illumination in Paris through the early 15th century. The interior of the initial E contains a background of geometric patterns (called diapering) against which is set Jonah and the whale and the ancient city of Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire. The illusionistic effect creates three layers of perspective-the framing initial, the figures, and the background.
  • Devotion and Leaning in the Middle Ages- (Manuscript Rotation) - Gallery 115. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer).
    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"
    Illuminated Manuscripts. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (October 10, 2004-October 2, 2005).
    The Cleveland Museum of Art (10/10/2004 - 10/02/2005); "Illuminated Manuscripts"
    The Decorated Letter and the Illuminator's Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 25-December 19, 1993).
    Scriptorium: The Illuminated Book in Medieval Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 5, 1991-February 2, 1992).
  • {{cite web|title=Single Leaf from a Bible: Initial E[t factum est] with Jonah Swallowed by the Whale|url=false|author=|year=c. 1290|access-date=25 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1959.271