The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of May 31, 2023

Plaque: The Crucifixion with Angels and Saints

c. 1400–1425

Northern Italy, Padua?, 15th century

Verre églomisé (reverse gilded glass, engraved and painted)

Overall: 19.4 x 9.4 x 0.4 cm (7 5/8 x 3 11/16 x 3/16 in.)

John L. Severance Fund 1978.41

Location

117A Italian Renaissance

Description

Small glass plaques like this were often combined with plaques of painted wood and framed within elaborate architectural reliquaries or small altarpieces. The decorative technique, called verre églomisé, is a process in which the reverse side of a glass is gilded and then engraved with designs. The pelican, shown above the cross piercing its breast to feed its young, became a common symbol of Christ's sacrifice on the cross.

Inscriptions

Inscription

the letters on the banderoles may be described as a composite script called Gothic majuscule, which intermingles Roman capitals and uncial alphabets. This script was especially favored by Italian artists for inscriptions in architecture, sculpture, panel painting, and manuscript illustrations during the 14th and 15th centuries. The banderole on the left reads: "POSVIT. ME. DESOLAT.[UM]" (God has forsaken me); the other banderole reads: "CRUS. DOMINI. MECUM" (the cross of the Lord is with me). A third inscription with the abbreviations for the words of Pilate--"I. N. R. I." (IESUS, NASARENUS RES IUDAEORUM), or Jesus of Nazareth, the King of the Jews" appears on the plaque (tabula ansata) at the top of the cross.

Citations
Cleveland Museum of Art, “The Cleveland Museum of Art Acquires Six Works from Von Hirsch Collection,” August 1, 1978, Cleveland Museum of Art Archives. archive.org
Cohen, Meredith. "The Bestiary beyond the Book." In Book of Beasts: The Bestiary in the Medieval World. Elizabeth Morrison and Larisa Grollemond, eds. pp. 177 - 225. Los Angeles: The J. Paul Getty Museum, 2019. Mentioned and reproduced: p. 202, cat. 52
Exhibition history

Year in Review: 1978. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 13-March 18, 1979).

The Book of Beasts: The Bestiary in the Medieval World. J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA (organizer) (May 14-August 18, 2019).

Source URL: https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1978.41