The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 19, 2024

Bifolio from an Antiphonary: Historiated Initial O with the Nativity

early 1400s

Bohemia, Prague, 15th century

Sheet: 56.8 x 38.9 cm (22 3/8 x 15 5/16 in.); Framed: 61.6 x 76.8 cm (24 1/4 x 30 1/4 in.); Matted: 71.1 x 55.9 cm (28 x 22 in.)

Andrew R. and Martha Holden Jennings Fund 1976.100

Location: not on view

Description

This splendid bifolium (a sheet folded in half to form two leaves) once formed part of an important antiphonary produced for an unidentified Benedictine monastery in Bohemia. With its rich illumination, it provides an important example of Bohemian painting during the opening years of the 15th century as well as painting in the city of Prague, one of the great court centers of Europe. The decoration of the leaf is dominated by a majestic initial O that depicts the Nativity. A scene in the background shows the angel Gabriel’s Annunciation to the Shepherds. The initial itself is placed within a square frame outside of which a single Benedictine monk observes the sacred event. The initial introduces the Latin chants for the first vespers of Christmas Day: O iuda et iherusalem (“Oh Judea and Jerusalem”). Framing the text are luxurious, scrolling acanthus leaves. Within the upper margin, two prophets emerge from the lush, foliated tendrils to observe the nativity below. In this way, the foretelling of the birth of Christ in the Old Testament is established visually.

early 1930s-1976
L. V. Randall, Luzern and Montreal, Canada, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art
1976-
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Austria. Europäische Kunst um 1400: achte Ausstellung unter den Auspizien des Europarates. Wien: Kunsthistorisches Museum, 1962. catalogue no. 183, p. 207
Schmidt,Gerhard "Fragmente eines Böhmischen Antiphonariums des frühen 15 Jahrhunderts (ehemals in Seitenstetten) und eine Marientod-Initiale der Rosenwald Collection," Wiener Jahrbuch für Kunstgeschichte, XXII (1969). pp. 148-156, figs. 195, 201
J. Kiasa, Umeni 18 (1970). p. 412, repr.
National Gallery of Art (U.S.), Carl Nordenfalk, Lessing J. Rosenwald, and Edith Goodkind Rosenwald. Medieval & Renaissance Miniatures from the National Gallery of Art: [Catalogue]. [Washington]: The Gallery, 1975. p. 154, fig. 41 g
Lee, Sherman E. “The Year in Review for 1976.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 64, no. 2 (1977). p. 74, cat. #27, repr. p. 45 www.jstor.org
Wixom, William D. “Leaves from a Prague Antiphonary.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 64, no. 10 (1977). p. 309-325, repr. front cover and figs. 1, 7, 8, 9 www.jstor.org
Lambert, G.; Oberthür, M, "Marc-Antoine Raimondi: Saints et Saintes," Gazette des Beaux-Arts, (July-August 1978). p. 20, fig. 43
Boehm, Barbara Drake, and Jiří Fajt. Prague: The Crown of Bohemia, 1347-1437. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2005. ex. cat. no. 116b, p. 269-270
Cleveland Museum of Art, and Holger A. Klein. Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 2007. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 234-235, no. 86
Fliegel, Stephen N. Resplendent Faith: Liturgical Treasuries of the Middle Ages. Kent, Ohio: Kent State University Press, 2009. Pg. 84, fig. 69
Theisen, Maria,and Eberhard König. Das Wiener Musterbuch: Kommentarband zur Faksimile-Edition des Musterbuchs Inv.-Nr. KK 5003/5004 aus der Kunstkammer des Kunsthistorischen Museums in Wien. Simbach/Inn: Verlag Müller & Schindler, 2012. Mentioned: p. 32, 78, note 103; Reproduced: p. 59, fig. 17
Wolf, Fabian. Die Weihnachtsvision der Birgitta von Schweden: Bildkunst und Imagination im Wechselspiel. Regensburg: Schnell + Steiner, 2018. Mentioned: p. 343, note 1719; Reproduced: p. 343. Abb. 173
Kubínová, Kateřina, and Klára Benešovská. Imago, imagines I-II: výtvarné dílo a proměny jeho funkcí v českých zemích od 10. do první třetiny 16. století. Praha: Academia, 2019. Reproduced: Vol. 1, p. 306, fig. 22
Hamburger, Jeffrey F., Joshua O'Driscoll, and Colin B. Bailey. Imperial Splendor: The Art of the Book in the Holy Roman Empire, 800-1500. 2021.
Imperial Splendor: The Art of the Book in the Holy Roman Empire, 800-1500. The Morgan Library & Museum, New York, NY (organizer) (October 15, 2021-January 23, 2022) https://www.themorgan.org/exhibitions/imperial-splendor.
Visions of the Divine: Textiles and Manuscripts from Medieval Germany (Manuscript and Textile Rotation) - Gallery 115. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 14, 2016-December 4, 2017).
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).
Sacred Gifts and Worldly Treasures: Medieval Masterworks from the Cleveland Museum of Art. National Museum of Bavaria, Munich, Germany (May 10-September 16, 2007); J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA (October 30, 2007-January 20, 2008); Frist Art Museum, Nashville, TN (February 13-June 7, 2009).
Prague: The Crown of Bohemia. The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, NY (organizer) (September 19, 2005-January 3, 2006); Prague Castle Picture Gallery, Czech Republic (February 16-May 21, 2006).
The Decorated Letter and the Illuminator's Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 25-December 19, 1993).
When Angels Bent Near the Earth to Touch Their Harps of Gold: The Christmas Story. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 1, 1981-January 17, 1982).
Year in Review, 1976. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 1-March 6, 1977).
Europaische Kunst um 1400, Kunsthistorischen Museum, Vienna, Austria (May 7, 1962-July 31, 1962).
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