Miniature Excised from a Gospel Book with Initial L[iber generationis]: The Symbol of Saint Matthew (recto) (c. 1125–50): Art, History and Details

Miniature Excised from a Gospel Book with Initial L[iber generationis]: The Symbol of Saint Matthew (recto) (c. 1125–50) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

This initial L, for Liber generationis... (The book of the generation of Jesus Christ...), originally served as an introduction to the Gospel of St. Matthew. Unlike the Helmarshausen illuminator, who painted an actual portrait bust of St. Matthew (displayed nearby), this artist chose to paint within the letter the Evangelist's symbol, a winged man holding a book.

Object facts

• Title: Miniature Excised from a Gospel Book with Initial L[iber generationis]: The Symbol of Saint Matthew (recto)
• Date: c. 1125–50
• Culture: Italy, Florence
• Type: Manuscript
• Technique: ink and tempera on vellum
• Dimensions: Sheet: 17.5 x 11.5 cm (6 7/8 x 4 1/2 in.)
• Collection: MED - Manuscript Illuminations
• Department: Medieval Art
• Accession number: 1950.373.a

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.