The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 21, 2024

The Bible of the Poor (Biblia Pauperum), Pharaoh's Army Drowned in the Red Sea; Baptism of Christ; and Moses' Spies Returning with Grapes from Canaan Esau Selling Jacob his Birthright; Temptation of Christ; and Temptation of Adam and Eve

The Bible of the Poor (Biblia Pauperum), Pharaoh's Army Drowned in the Red Sea; Baptism of Christ; and Moses' Spies Returning with Grapes from Canaan Esau Selling Jacob his Birthright; Temptation of Christ; and Temptation of Adam and Eve

c. 1465
woodcut, hand colored with watercolor
Sheet: 26.9 x 38.8 cm (10 9/16 x 15 1/4 in.)
John L. Severance Fund 1986.91
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

This sheet was hand-colored with a limited palette, so that black, for example, plays dual roles of the color of hair, and the shadow on a building.

Description

This hand-colored leaf is from the blockbook Biblia Pauperum (Bible of the Poor), which served as an educational handbook for laymen and clerics. Blockbooks, in which images and text were carved in relief from a single block of wood, are the earliest form of printed text in Europe. On each page, two Old Testament episodes flank a New Testament scene, implying a connection between the stories. At left is Christ’s baptism between the Pharaoh’s drowned army and spies returning from Canaan. To the right is Christ’s temptation bordered by Esau selling his birthright to Jacob and the temptation of Adam and Eve.
  • Cloister Wiblingen, Ulm, Germany
    May 7, 1935
    (Karl & Farber, Munich, Germany)
    Martin Aufhäuser, Munich, Germany & Los Angeles, CA
    June 21, 1985
    (Galerie Kornfeld Auktionen, Bern, Switzerland)
    1985-86
    (R.M. Light & Co., Inc., Santa Barbara, CA)
    December 15, 1986
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Turner, Evan H. "The Year in Review for 1986." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 74, no. 2 (1987): 38-79. p. 73, no. 193, repr. p. 40 25159974
  • Treasures on Paper from the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 9-June 8, 2014).
    Against the Grain: Woodcuts from the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 17-November 9, 2003).
    Scriptorium: The Illuminated Book in Medieval Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 5, 1991-February 2, 1992).
    Sacred and Profane in Late Gothic Prints. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 2-August 2, 1987).
    Year in Review for 1986. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 4-March 15, 1987).
  • {{cite web|title=The Bible of the Poor (Biblia Pauperum), Pharaoh's Army Drowned in the Red Sea; Baptism of Christ; and Moses' Spies Returning with Grapes from Canaan Esau Selling Jacob his Birthright; Temptation of Christ; and Temptation of Adam and Eve|url=false|author=|year=c. 1465|access-date=21 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1986.91