Initial S: David in Prayer

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Initial S: David in Prayer

Creator

Master of the Ingeborg Psalter

French Illuminator · 1195–1210

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Scholars named the Master of the Ingeborg Psalter for a manuscript of the psalms he illuminated, together with another painter, for Queen Ingeborg of France. In the years around 1200, he was active in northeastern France. The style of the Master of the Ingeborg Psalter represents a turning point in the history of European painting, when artists left behind abstract and highly stylized forms in fav

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Date: after 1205
Medium: Tempera colors and gold leaf
Culture: French
Department: Manuscripts
Institution: Getty Museum

Within the opening letter *S* of Psalm 68, the anonymous illuminator of this manuscript showed the Old Testament king David kneeling and looking up in prayer, with a winged demon at his side. Christ, flanked by angels, appears in the top of the initial and offers his blessing. The illuminator used the shape of the letter *S,* together with the inclusion of the angels and the demon, to draw a stark contrast between the celestial and earthly realms.

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