Getty Museum

Two Leaves from a Gospel Book

Date

about 1000

Medium

Tempera colors, gold leaf, and ink

Culture

English

Department

Manuscripts

Institution

Getty Museum

These two leaves with full-page miniatures are the only surviving fragments of a Gospel book made around the year 1000 in England. The three illuminations on the two leaves show rarely illustrated episodes from the miracles and ministry of Jesus as told by the Evangelist Matthew. The style of the miniatures suggests that the manuscript was made at the scriptorium of one of the monasteries at Canterbury, which was one of the largest and most important sites of manuscript production in early medieval England. The artist used a frenetic linear style, characteristic of an early medieval English manuscript painting, to establish the lively tone of his visual narratives.

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