Leaf from a Gradual with Music (verso)

Cleveland Museum of Art

Leaf from a Gradual with Music (verso)

Date
c. 1420–1450
Medium
ink, tempera, and gold on vellum
Culture
Northern Italy, 15th century
Department
Medieval Art
Institution
Cleveland Museum of Art

In manuscript missals and their musical counterparts, the gradual, votive Masses are generally assigned one to each day of the week with Saturday reserved for the Blessed Virgin. The votive Mass to the Virgin varied from season to season. Three Masses were, therefore, supplied—one for advent, one to be used from Christmas to purification, and a third, represented by this leaf, to be used from purification to advent. This text introduces the opening of the Introit for the Saturday votive Mass for the Nativity of the Virgin (September 8) in the liturgical calendar. The identity of the artist remains elusive, as does his precise place of origin. The figure style and ornament suggest a source in North Italy, perhaps in an artistic center such as Pavia, Mantua, or Padua.

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