Fol. 1r, Genesis, with a full-length historiated initial I, showing the Creation and the Crucifixion, all on burnished gold grounds, with diapered pink and blue frames and cusped dragon and foliage ex

Fol. 1r, Genesis, with a full-length historiated initial I, showing the Creation and the Crucifixion, all on burnished gold grounds, with diapered pink and blue frames and cusped dragon and foliage extensions at top and bottom, on which are perched a vari (c. 1275–1300) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

Biblical manuscripts were highly prized and important possessions of churches, monasteries, cathedral schools, and universities throughout medieval Europe. The biblical texts were known as the vulgate, the translations made by Saint Jerome in the fourth century from Hebrew and Greek into Latin, which became the definitive and official Latin version of the Roman Church. In the 13th century, the bible was, for the first time, produced as a single volume with an officially sanctioned sequence to its books and chapters as illustrated by this example. The very extensive decoration of this bible is arranged hierarchically to indicate the relative importance of the various texts so that full or almost full-page initials mark the openings of the first prologue, Genesis, and the first Gospel; historiated initials mark the beginning of each book and illuminated initials mark the Prologues.

Object facts

• Title: Fol. 1r, Genesis, with a full-length historiated initial I, showing the Creation and the Crucifixion, all on burnished gold grounds, with diapered pink and blue frames and cusped dragon and foliage extensions at top and bottom, on which are perched a vari
• Date: c. 1275–1300
• Culture: Southern France, Toulouse(?), 13th century
• Type: Bound Volume
• Technique: ink, tempera and gold on vellum
• Dimensions: Overall: 35.6 x 24.2 cm (14 x 9 1/2 in.)
• Collection: MED - Gothic
• Department: Medieval Art
• Accession number: 2008.2.1.a

Collection credit

John L. Severance Fund

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.