Bifolio from a Book of Hours: The Crucifixion (recto), Text (verso) (c. 1435): Art, History and Details

Bifolio from a Book of Hours: The Crucifixion (recto), Text (verso) (c. 1435) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

The museum's open-access catalogue describes the work:

In most books of hours, the Hours of the Cross and the Hours of the Holy Spirit are much shorter than the Hours of the Virgin. Like the Hours of the Virgin, each hour consists of specific hymns, devotional poems, and prayers to be said throughout the day. Accompanying illustrations are either events surrounding the Crucifixion or the Pentecost, the descent of the Holy Spirit on the disciples of Jesus after his ascension to heaven. Traditionally, the Hours of the Cross begins with a scene of the Crucifixion of Christ. The illumination, or illustration, can help determine which series is indicated, as the Hours of the Cross and Holy Spirit begin with the same text. After 1400, such text no longer appeared solely in Latin but could be in French or Dutch, making it more accessible to laypeople.

Object facts

• Title: Bifolio from a Book of Hours: The Crucifixion (recto), Text (verso)
• Date: c. 1435
• Culture: France (Angers, Nantes, or Poitiers)
• Type: Manuscript
• Technique: ink, tempera, and gold on vellum
• Dimensions: Sheet: 22 x 16.2 cm (8 11/16 x 6 3/8 in.)
• Collection: MED - Manuscript Illuminations
• Department: Medieval Art
• Accession number: 1926.244

A detail from the museum

The images and decorated initials in the book of hours were used to provoke meditation and prayer, leading to books of hours sometimes being referred to as “painted prayers.”

Collection credit

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Ricci, Seymour de. Census of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in the United States and Canada, Supplement. New York: Bibliographical Society, 1961.
• Gothic Art 1360-1440. (1963). The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art, 50(7).

View the collection record

See the museum's photographs and full catalogue entry. Catalogue text is reproduced from the Cleveland Museum of Art's open-access data, with HTML formatting removed. This object and its supplied image are designated CC0.