Art Institute of Chicago

Four Saints in a Historiated Initial "P" from a Choirbook or Antiphonal

Northern Italian (likely Lombardy)

Date

1460/80

Medium

Manuscript cutting in tempera and gold leaf, with gold paint, with rounded gothica textualis inscriptions in black ink, ruled in red, on parchment

Culture

Italy

Department

Prints and Drawings

Institution

Art Institute of Chicago

Late medieval music manuscripts for celebrating the Christian Mass frequently included large historiated (or illustrated) initials, like this letter “P” that contains an image of four saints. It was a common practice to cut out these elaborate initials, particularly in the 19th century, to display individually or use to make a collage. Scholars today are actively trying to reconstruct these cut-up manuscripts; this cutting, for instance, comes from the same manuscript as four other illuminated letters now at the J. Paul Getty Museum in Los Angeles.

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