Initial D: Pentecost, cutting from an antiphonal

From the Getty Museum record

This elegantly decorated initial *D* represents a calmly composed group of the apostles encircling the Virgin Mary as the Holy Spirit (in the form of a dove) descends upon them. It once decorated the first response to the morning services of Pentecost in a Christian choir book. This initial is considered one of the earliest works of Girolamo dai Libri, already featuring the artist’s signature style, characterized by somewhat hard-edged figures, balanced compositions, and attention to naturalistic details. Descended from a lineage of prestigious book painters in Verona (his name literally translates as “Giralamo of the books”), he was the most prominent illuminator of Northern Italy at the beginning of the sixteenth century.