Getty Museum
Initial D: David in Prayer
Creator
Master of the Ingeborg PsalterFrench Illuminator · 1195–1210
All works by this person →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
More on Getty ULAN- Date
- after 1205
- Medium
- Tempera colors and gold leaf
- Culture
- French
- Department
- Manuscripts
- Institution
- Getty Museum
Buffeted by a wind that represents his adversaries, King David addresses his prayer to an angel above. The image illustrates Psalm 101, which begins with the words *Lord, hear my prayer.* The illuminator's portrayal of the wind's power, affecting not only David's garments but also his hair, makes the wind as much a subject of the initial as David himself, isolated against a plain gold background. The illuminator made it clear, however, that David's prayer has been heard, because the angel's arm reaches from outside the letter *D* into David's space.
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