Object Image

Leaf from a Gradual: Historiated Initial R: The Resurrection (recto) and Initial D (verso)

This leaf was taken from a gradual, a large volume containing songs for the mass. This single leaf shows the introductory passage for Easter Sunday. The initial R is filled with the representation of the resurrection of Christ. The depiction of Saint Francis of Assisi in the floral decoration points to an origin from a Franciscan monastery. Due to the great plague, the mendicant orders to which the Franciscans belonged were the recipients of civil charitable donations. Naples, where the leaf is said to have been made, was struck by a severe earthquake around the middle of the 1300s, in addition to the plague.

Credit: Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund...

mid-1300s
Ink, tempera, and gold on parchment
55.0 x 40.0cm
1954.145
Image and text: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 2023

Where you'll find this

The Cleveland Museum of Art
Permanent collection