The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 23, 2024

Single Leaf from an Antiphonary: Initial H[odie nobis] with The Nativity

Single Leaf from an Antiphonary: Initial H[odie nobis] with The Nativity

1471
(Italian, 1436–1509/17)
Italy, Siena
ink, tempera, and gold on parchment
Sheet: 56 x 40 cm (22 1/16 x 15 3/4 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1952.282
Location: not on view

Description

This initial h introduces the first matins response for Christmas Day: Hodie nobis celorum rex (“On this day the King of Heaven”). Illustrating this artist’s love of fantastic detail, an entwined dragon climbs the ascender of the h. Christ’s nativity is within the letter, complete with adoring shepherds. Above is the figure of Christ blessing, surrounded by singing angels intended to suggest the heavenly realm. Benvenuto is first recorded in 1453, when he is known to have been working on the frescoes in the Siena Baptistery. This leaf comes from a set of choir books commissioned for Siena’s Hospital of Santa Maria della Scala by Niccolò Ricoveri, the hospital’s rector, as indicated by the coat of arms at the bottom of the leaf.
  • The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966. Reproduced: p. 82 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1969. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1969. Reproduced: p. 82 archive.org
    The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1978. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1978. Reproduced: p. 95 archive.org
  • Italian Choral Books of the Renaissance (Manuscript Rotation) - Gallery 115. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 10, 2015-December 12, 2016).
    Main Gallery Rotation (gallery 115): December 7, 2015 -
    Main Gallery Rotation (gallery 117): January 14, 2014 - July 8, 2014.
    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"
    The Decorated Letter and the Illuminator's Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 25-December 19, 1993).
  • {{cite web|title=Single Leaf from an Antiphonary: Initial H[odie nobis] with The Nativity|url=false|author=Benvenuto di Giovanni|year=1471|access-date=23 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1952.282