CMA: Medieval Art

This manuscript was illuminated by a circle of at least five highly organized manuscript painters active in the Flemish cities of Ghent and Bruges. The principal illuminator was Alexander Bening, who painted the majority of the book's miniatures. Manuscripts produced by this circle of artists are renowned for the decoration of their borders, which typically feature a rich variety of realistically-painted flowers, birds, and butterflies. This prayer book, called a book of hours, was intended not for a cleric, but for the private devotions of a lay person-in this case, Isabella the Catholic, Queen of Spain (1451-1504). Isabella's coat of arms embellishes the book's frontispiece. It is unlikely that the book was commissioned by the Queen herself; rather, she probably received it as a diplomatic gift from someone courting her patronage, perhaps Cardinal Francisco Jimenez de Cisneros. A Franciscan friar, Jimenez was dependent upon Isabella for his advancement, first to the post of Queen's confessor in 1492, and then to Archbishop of Toledo in 1495.

Hours of Queen Isabella the Catholic, Queen of Spain: Fol. 121v https://clevelandart.org/art/1963.256.121.b

Book of Hours (Use of Rouen): fol. 50r

Book of Hours (Use of Rouen): fol. 50r https://clevelandart.org/art/1952.227.50.a

Gift of Mrs. Gilbert W. Chapman

To Pablo Picasso (Paul Eluard)
https://botfrens.com/collections/111/contents/1147455

This initial comes from a large bible (about 23 inches in height) and introduces the opening text of the Book of Esdras: Et fecit Josias in Jerosolymis Domino... (When Josiah celebrated the Passover festival in Jerusalem to his Lord...). The artist, a close follower of Master Honoré at Paris, set his figure against a diapered ground of alternating gold and blue diamonds with fleur-de-lys. Instead of portraying Josiah as a Jew, however, the artist abandoned historical perspective and painted him as a Christian priest sprinkling (aspersing) the altar with holy water in preparation for the Mass.

Fragment from a Lectern Bible: Initial E[t fecit Josias] with Josiah Aspersing the Altar https://clevelandart.org/art/1924.428

Book of Hours (Use of Rouen): fol. 135r

Book of Hours (Use of Rouen): fol. 135r https://clevelandart.org/art/1952.227.135.a

Printed Book of Hours (Use of Rome): fol. 101r, St. Lawrence

Printed Book of Hours (Use of Rome): fol. 101r, St. Lawrence https://clevelandart.org/art/2009.276.101.a

This unfinished sketch is a study for Pils's lost painting <em>Soldiers Distributing Bread to the Poor</em>, which was inspired by an actual scene he witnessed in the center of Paris. Here the artist focused his attention on the youth's upper body and left the legs lightly sketched in, indicating that he must have executed the sketch after he had already worked out the larger composition (where the legs are obscured by a low wall).

Young Man Leaning Forward with Outstretched Arms (Study for Soldiers Distributing Bread to the Poor) https://clevelandart.org/art/2008.361

Five Guineas

Five Guineas https://clevelandart.org/art/1969.201

The compositional motif of confronted and addorsed beasts illustrated on this capital was especially popular in churches along the pilgrimage roads.

Engaged Capital with Lions https://clevelandart.org/art/1968.210

Printed Book of Hours (Use of Rome): fol. 109v, St. Catherine

Printed Book of Hours (Use of Rome): fol. 109v, St. Catherine https://clevelandart.org/art/2009.276.109.b

Printed Book of Hours (Use of Rome): fol. 2v, January calendar illustration

Printed Book of Hours (Use of Rome): fol. 2v, January calendar illustration https://clevelandart.org/art/2009.276.2.b

Byzantine Gold Coins The vast number of surviving Byzantine coins attests to the level of trade across the empire. Controlled and supervised by the emperor, the producers of coins took care to represent his authority and reflect his stature. Talented artists were recruited to engrave the dies (molds) used for the striking of coins. Emperors increasingly came to include their heirs and co-emperors on their coinage, as well as other family members or even earlier rulers. Coins were recognized, then as now, as small, portable works of art. With their inscriptions and images, Byzantine coins provide valuable documentation of historical events and a record of the physical appearance of the emperors. The coins shown here include the solidus, the basic gold coin of 24 karats; the tremissis, a gold coin of one-third the weight and value of the solidus; and the nomisma, which in the 10th century replaced the solidus as the standard gold coin.

Solidus with Tiberius III Apsimarus https://clevelandart.org/art/1968.58

Pound (obverse)

Pound (obverse) https://clevelandart.org/art/1969.185.a

Characteristic of the artist's hand, the bright orange-reds combine with deep blues, greens, and an abundance of gold wash in this leaf. He used fine parallel lines or crosshatching in gold to indicate the shading, highlights, and texture of draperies, suggesting some knowledge of printmaking, an art for which Rouen was also an important center. His figures have large, thickly outlined oval faces. This miniature also demonstrates the emerging fashion in both Rouen and Paris for highly involved, Italianate architectural frames: winged putti, swags, urns, garlands, scallop shells, pillasters, and masks. These elements could be assembled in different ways so that no two frames were identical. Rouen in the late 1400s and early 1500s was an established and important center for book production. Richly decorated library texts and books of hours, such as the present leaves, were made in Rouen for sale in the<em> cours des libraires</em>, next to the cathedral.

Leaf from a Book of Hours: Text with Illustrated Border (verso) https://clevelandart.org/art/2011.66.b

Clouds over Bor

Clouds over Bor https://www.wikiart.org/en/paul-klee/view-towards-the-port-of-hammamet-1914

Flat Bowl

Flat Bowl https://clevelandart.org/art/1921.627

Le Sommeil du Grand Condé

Le Sommeil du Grand Condé https://clevelandart.org/art/2015.46

Promenade

Promenade, 1871
https://botfrens.com/collections/43/contents/11639

This manuscript was illuminated by a circle of at least five highly organized manuscript painters active in the Flemish cities of Ghent and Bruges. The principal illuminator was Alexander Bening, who painted the majority of the book's miniatures. Manuscripts produced by this circle of artists are renowned for the decoration of their borders, which typically feature a rich variety of realistically-painted flowers, birds, and butterflies. This prayer book, called a book of hours, was intended not for a cleric, but for the private devotions of a lay person-in this case, Isabella the Catholic, Queen of Spain (1451-1504). Isabella's coat of arms embellishes the book's frontispiece. It is unlikely that the book was commissioned by the Queen herself; rather, she probably received it as a diplomatic gift from someone courting her patronage, perhaps Cardinal Francisco Jimenez de Cisneros. A Franciscan friar, Jimenez was dependent upon Isabella for his advancement, first to the post of Queen's confessor in 1492, and then to Archbishop of Toledo in 1495.

Hours of Queen Isabella the Catholic, Queen of Spain: Fol. 14r https://clevelandart.org/art/1963.256.14.a

This elegant Latin manuscript is known today as The Gotha Missal after its eighteenth-century owners, the German Dukes of Gotha. The volume was originally copied and illuminated in Paris around 1375 -- a commission of the Valois king, Charles V "the Wise" (1364-1380), one of the great bibliophiles of the fifteenth century and brother of Dukes Philip the Bold of Burgundy and Jean de Berry. Manuscript missals were not intended for the lay user, but rather for the use of the celebrant at Mass. The present volume was therefore meant to be used by the king's private chaplain and was probably housed in Charles's private chapel, possibly in his principle residence, the Palace of the Louvre (demolished in the sixteenth century). The main decorative body of the missal consists of two full-page miniatures comprising the Canon of the Mass and twenty-three small miniatures. The style and high quality of the decoration points to its inclusion withing a select group of manuscripts accepted today as from the hand of Jean Bondol. Bondol was active at the court of Charles V from 1368 until 1381 where he headed the court workshop and also served as the king's valet de chambre. The blind-tooled leather binding dates to the fifteenth century.

The Gotha Missal: Fol. 114v, St. Peter and Paul https://clevelandart.org/art/1962.287.114.b

This elegant Latin manuscript is known today as the Gotha Missal after its eighteenth-century owners, the German Dukes of Gotha. The volume was originally copied and illuminated in Paris around 1375—a commission of the Valois king, Charles V "the Wise" (reigned 1364–80), one of the great bibliophiles of the 1400s and brother of Dukes Philip the Bold of Burgundy and Jean de Berry. Manuscript missals were not intended for the lay user; the present volume was used by the king's private chaplain and was probably housed in Charles's private chapel, possibly in his principle residence, the Palace of the Louvre (demolished in the 1500s). The main decorative body of the missal consists of two full-page miniatures comprising the Canon of the Mass and 23 small miniatures. The style and high quality of the decoration points to its inclusion within a select group of manuscripts accepted today by the hand of Jean Bondol. Bondol was active at the court of Charles V from 1368 until 1381, where he was head of the court workshop and also served as the king's valet de chambre. The blind-tooled leather binding dates to the 1400s.

The Gotha Missal: Fol. 28v, Text https://clevelandart.org/art/1962.287.28.b

Half Sovereign

Half Sovereign https://clevelandart.org/art/1969.176

Barnaby Rudge Helping Lead the Gordon Riots

Barnaby Rudge Helping Lead the Gordon Riots https://clevelandart.org/art/2013.238

This manuscript was illuminated by a circle of at least five highly organized manuscript painters active in the Flemish cities of Ghent and Bruges. The principal illuminator was Alexander Bening, who painted the majority of the book's miniatures. Manuscripts produced by this circle of artists are renowned for the decoration of their borders, which typically feature a rich variety of realistically-painted flowers, birds, and butterflies. This prayer book, called a book of hours, was intended not for a cleric, but for the private devotions of a lay person-in this case, Isabella the Catholic, Queen of Spain (1451-1504). Isabella's coat of arms embellishes the book's frontispiece. It is unlikely that the book was commissioned by the Queen herself; rather, she probably received it as a diplomatic gift from someone courting her patronage, perhaps Cardinal Francisco Jimenez de Cisneros. A Franciscan friar, Jimenez was dependent upon Isabella for his advancement, first to the post of Queen's confessor in 1492, and then to Archbishop of Toledo in 1495.

Hours of Queen Isabella the Catholic, Queen of Spain: Fol. 235v https://clevelandart.org/art/1963.256.235.b

These small statuettes would have originally flanked a crucifix as suggested by this arrangement. According to the Gospels, the Virgin and Saint John were present on Golgotha at Christ’s death. Medieval artists frequently depicted them standing next to the cross.

Mourning Virgin https://clevelandart.org/art/1942.1092

These elaborately carved chests were given by husbands to their wives on the occasion of their wedding. Inside the home such chests were used for the storage of clothing and were elaborately painted and gilded. These chests are examples of a type produced in Barcelona from the late 1400s onward.

Gothic Marriage Chest https://clevelandart.org/art/1915.535

This panel was probably part of a small altarpiece of private devotion. The artist was active in Florence and Siena following the Black Death, which began in the late 1340s. His works, like others created during that troubled time, are charged with emotion.

The Crucifixion https://clevelandart.org/art/1916.776

"The World Beyond" by Remedios Varo depicts a surreal vessel navigating through a dreamscape, featuring elegantly intricate structures and whirlpools that suggest a mystical voyage. Varo's characteristic style blends elements of fantasy and metaphysics, creating a composition that invites viewers to explore the realms of imagination and the unknown.

The World Beyond
https://botfrens.com/collections/69/contents/20030

This elegant Latin manuscript is known today as The Gotha Missal after its eighteenth-century owners, the German Dukes of Gotha. The volume was originally copied and illuminated in Paris around 1375 -- a commission of the Valois king, Charles V "the Wise" (1364-1380), one of the great bibliophiles of the fifteenth century and brother of Dukes Philip the Bold of Burgundy and Jean de Berry. Manuscript missals were not intended for the lay user, but rather for the use of the celebrant at Mass. The present volume was therefore meant to be used by the king's private chaplain and was probably housed in Charles's private chapel, possibly in his principle residence, the Palace of the Louvre (demolished in the sixteenth century). The main decorative body of the missal consists of two full-page miniatures comprising the Canon of the Mass and twenty-three small miniatures. The style and high quality of the decoration points to its inclusion withing a select group of manuscripts accepted today as from the hand of Jean Bondol. Bondol was active at the court of Charles V from 1368 until 1381 where he headed the court workshop and also served as the king's valet de chambre. The blind-tooled leather binding dates to the fifteenth century.

The Gotha Missal: Fol. 5r, Text https://clevelandart.org/art/1962.287.5.a

The Ladies on the Bridge

The Ladies on the Bridge 1903
https://botfrens.com/collections/90/contents/25382