Getty Museum

Decorated Monogram IN

Date

late 10th century

Medium

Tempera colors, gold paint, silver paint, and ink

Culture

Ottonian

Department

Manuscripts

Institution

Getty Museum

Beneath an ornamental arch supported by columns, the anonymous artist of the gospel lectionary introduces the reading for the third Christmas Mass with an intertwined *IN,* the first word of the Saint John the Evangelist's Gospel. Giving a monumental format to the page, the artist balanced an angular structure with rounded designs. Stylized, three-lobed leaves within tear-shaped forms fill the columns and the arch. The straight lines of the letters contrast with the exuberant curling tendrils and the bird's head at the ends of their vertical strokes.

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