Artwork Page for Bifolio from a Gradual: Initial (G) with Christ, the Virgin, and Apostles and Initial (O) (recto)

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Bifolio from a Gradual: Initial (G) with Christ, the Virgin, and Apostles and Initial (O) (recto)

c. 1300

Italy, Siena

(?)
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Medium
Ink, tempera, and gold on vellum
Measurements
Sheet: 55.7 x 37.9 cm (21 15/16 x 14 15/16 in.)
Credit Line
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1950.391.a
Public Domain
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Location
Not on view
Print
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Words written in red ink, called rubrics, indicate titles and chapter headings that are not part of a manuscript’s main text.

Description

The large decorated initial G introduces the text, Gaudeamus omnes in Domino (Let us rejoice in the Lord). It is the beginning of the opening prayer, or introit, of the Mass for the Feast of All Saints (November 1). The figures within the initial include Christ, the Virgin Mary, and various saints.
A creased vellum bifolio features black and red Latin script alongside square musical notation. On our left, a large gold-leaf initial G frames Christ, Mary, and apostles with golden halos. On our right, a similar initial O is filled with scrolling blue and orange vines. Decorative flourishes extend from the letters into the margins. The cream-colored surface is wrinkled and aged, with visible stains throughout the composition.

Bifolio from a Gradual: Initial (G) with Christ, the Virgin, and Apostles and Initial (O) (recto)

c. 1300

Italy, Siena(?)

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