The Cleveland Museum of Art
Collection Online as of April 24, 2024
Leaf from a Latin Bible: Initial A and Initial A: Judith Beheading Holofernes
c. 1230–1240
circle or workshop of Leber Group
(French)
Each leaf: 14.8 x 10.4 cm (5 13/16 x 4 1/8 in.)
Location: not on view
Description
This pair of leaves survives with at least 13 sister leaves from the same Bible that are now in other collections. Their miniatures have been variously assigned to the Dominican Group, the Dominican Painter, and the Leber Workshop. This lack of precision suggests the difficulty often encountered in isolating individual styles in the highly formalized milieu of 13th-century Paris. The ornament, figure style, and facial details of the initials bear closest comparison with manuscripts produced in a workshop active in Paris known as the Leber Group. With its precise ornamental vocabulary, the Leber Group's style may be identified by the elaborate outgrowths extending into the margins from the initials (known as ascenders and descenders). These are characterized by cusped edges and spiraling terminals, lotus petals, and meandering hybridized animal forms, the latter often terminating in winged, dragon-like creatures. Compartmentalized initials, featuring multiple scenes, are also commonly found in manuscripts of the Leber Group.- [Bruce Ferrini, Akron]
- Fliegel, Stephen N. The Jeanne Miles Blackburn Collection of Manuscript Illuminations. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1999. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 15, cat. nos. 6 archive.org
- The Jeanne Miles Blackburn Collection of Manuscript Illuminations. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 19, 1999-February 27, 2000).CMA, 19 December 1999 - 27 February 2000, The Jeanne Miles Blackburn Collection of Manuscript Illuminations, cat. 6, illus. p. 15.
- {{cite web|title=Leaf from a Latin Bible: Initial A and Initial A: Judith Beheading Holofernes|url=false|author=Leber Group|year=c. 1230–1240|access-date=24 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}
Source URL:
https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2005.207