Single Miniature Excised from Boccaccio's Des Cleres et nobles femmes: Queen Medusa and Her Court

Cleveland Museum of Art

Single Miniature Excised from Boccaccio's Des Cleres et nobles femmes: Queen Medusa and Her Court

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Date
c. 1470
Medium
tempera and gold on vellum
Culture
France
Department
Medieval Art
Institution
Cleveland Museum of Art
Object ID
105933

From the Cleveland Museum of Art record

This miniature comes from the French translation of a book by the Italian poet Giovanni Boccaccio (1313–1375). A compilation of biographies of famous women, Boccaccio’s work remained popular in France throughout the 1400s, especially with aristocratic bibliophiles, and was usually beautifully illustrated in the form of a deluxe manuscript. Shown here is the miniature introducing the chapter dealing with the legend of Queen Medusa. Surrounded by her courtiers, Medusa instructs the reader on the disadvantages of possessing wealth, which brings fear and superstition as well as loss of sleep, security, and peace of mind. Medusa is shown here with her attendants before she was turned into the gorgon, a fierce frightening monster.

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Provenance & credit

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Credit line
Gift from J. H. Wade
Provenance
Jacques d'Armagnac, Duc de Nemours; Lord Mostyn, London (sale July 13, 1920, no. 9; entire MS); Mme. Th. Belin, Paris (remainder of MS., sale Paris, 1936); Durlacher Brothers, New York.

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