Getty Museum
Psalter
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, gold leaf, and ink
- Culture
- French
- Department
- Manuscripts
- Institution
- Getty Museum
In northeastern France, probably in the area around Noyon, an anonymous artist known as the Master of the Ingeborg Psalter illuminated this psalter shortly after 1205. Almost certainly made for a wealthy layperson for use in private prayer, the book contains the 150 psalms and other poetic texts from the Bible, preceded by a calendar indicating the particular saints and events to be remembered on each day of the year. The book's program of illumination originally consisted of large painted initials at Psalms 1, 26, 38, 51, 52, 68, 80, 97, 101, and 109, dividing the text of the psalms into ten sections. Regrettably, the initial for Psalm 1 was removed from the manuscript long ago and is now lost. The remaining nine initials constitute a stunning display of the achievements of the psalter's illuminator. Many of the initials feature King David, who is often shown acting out the psalm's opening verse.
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