Getty Museum
Initial S: The Lord Appearing to David in the Water
Creator
Bute MasterIlluminator · 1260–1290
All works by this person →The anonymous artist known as the Bute Master was named for his work on a psalter formerly in the collection of the Marquess of Bute, Scotland, and now in the Getty Museum. Though the Bute Master often collaborated with other illuminators, as was common in the 1200s, he was solely responsible for all 190 historiated initials in the Bute Psalter. A prolific artist who worked in the prosperous citie
More on Getty ULAN- Date
- text and illumination about 1285
- Medium
- Tempera colors, gold, and iron gall ink
- Culture
- French
- Department
- Manuscripts
- Institution
- Getty Museum
- Object ID
- 66f7d736-d660-4288-bad7-6f7d54d4e04a
From the Getty Museum record
"Save me, O God, for the waters have come up unto my soul," sings King David in the opening line of Psalm 68. The illuminator illustrated this prayer for salvation by showing David in the bottom of the initial, nude in the rising waters, his graceful gestures expressive of helplessness. In the top half of the *S* , God descends from the clouds. While his body echoes David's curving posture, God's raised right arm with his hand ending in a gesture of blessing functions as a sign of his saving power. In the space of the lower margin, a figure prays to heaven while a monkey prepares to strike him from behind.
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