Initial D[eus in loco] with a Prophet Excised from a Gradual (1409–10): Art, History and Details

Initial D[eus in loco] with a Prophet Excised from a Gradual (1409–10) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection. The museum's creator attribution is Lorenzo Monaco (Italian, c. 1370–1425).

The work and its context

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

This jewel-like initial is one of a series of prophet portraits painted by Lorenzo in a set of choir books commissioned by the church of Santa Maria Nuova in Florence. Striking for its blue and orange-red foliage, the initial is set against a highly burnished gold ground decorated with punch marks, much like a small panel painting. The initial begins the Introit (introductory section) to the Mass for the eleventh Sunday after Pentacost: Deus in loco sancto suo (God is in his holy place). Lorenzo, who was a Camaldolese monk, produced a vast quantity of work—illuminations, panel paintings, and frescos—an indication that his art was highly esteemed and sought after during his lifetime.

Object facts

• Title: Initial D[eus in loco] with a Prophet Excised from a Gradual
• Date: 1409–10
• Creator attribution: Lorenzo Monaco (Italian, c. 1370–1425)
• Culture: Italy, Florence
• Type: Manuscript
• Technique: ink, tempera, and gold on vellum
• Dimensions: Sheet: 16.7 x 16 cm (6 9/16 x 6 5/16 in.); Framed: 52.4 x 39.7 cm (20 5/8 x 15 5/8 in.); Matted: 48.9 x 36.2 cm (19 1/4 x 14 1/4 in.)
• Collection: MED - Manuscript Illuminations
• Department: Medieval Art
• Accession number: 1949.536

Collection credit

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund

Further reading listed by the museum

• Milliken, William M. “Miniatures by Lorenzo Monaco and Francesco Del Cherico.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 37, no. 3 (March 1950): 43–49.
• “Gothic Art 1360-1440.” The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 50, no. 7 (September 1963): 174–215.
• The Cleveland Museum of Art. Handbook of the Cleveland Museum of Art/1966. Cleveland, OH: The Cleveland Museum of Art, 1966.

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.