Initial S[alve sancta parens] with the Virgin Adored by Angels, and Singing Benedictine Monks: Single Leaf from a Gradual (c. 1270): Art, History and Details

Initial S[alve sancta parens] with the Virgin Adored by Angels, and Singing Benedictine Monks: Single Leaf from a Gradual (c. 1270) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

This large initial S introduces the introit (beginning) for a Saturday Votive Mass of the Virgin Mary. The text begins Salve sancta parens (Hail Holy Parent [Mother]). The double curve of the letter creates two registers for the representation of independent scenes. The initial is set within a rectangular frame and against a background of diapers (geometric patterns). This diapering motif was commonly used in French illumination of this period and thus reveals some French influence in the decoration of the letter. Additionally, Byzantine models were probably used by the artist for the figures of the Virgin flanked by two angels—perhaps inspired by a mosaic.

Object facts

• Title: Initial S[alve sancta parens] with the Virgin Adored by Angels, and Singing Benedictine Monks: Single Leaf from a Gradual
• Date: c. 1270
• Culture: South Italy, 13th century
• Type: Manuscript
• Technique: ink, tempera, and gold on parchment
• Dimensions: Sheet: 47 x 34 cm (18 1/2 x 13 3/8 in.)
• Collection: MED - Manuscript Illuminations
• Department: Medieval Art
• Accession number: 1951.313

Collection credit

Purchase from the J. H. Wade 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.