Getty Museum

Decorated Text Page

Date

about 1528–1530

Medium

Tempera colors and gold paint

Culture

French

Department

Manuscripts

Institution

Getty Museum

A text page from the Getty Epistles demonstrates the profound influence of the aesthetics of printed books on manuscripts of the 1500s. The page opens with a rubric, centered and written in spacious square capitals: *INCIPIT ARGUMENTUM IN EPISTOLAM BEATI PAULI APOSTOLI AD ROMANOS.* The prologue of Saint Paul's letter to the Romans follows, introduced by a large initial *R* within a square field. Square capitals in gold announce the main text in another rubric, and a large initial *P* begins the body of the letter. Italian printed books of the time, which featured more space between words, paragraphs, and different sections, than was traditional in earlier manuscripts, inspired the spaciousness of this presentation and the styles of script, including the large initials. The border design with fruits and flowers shows the influence of contemporary Flemish manuscript illumination.

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