Portrait of John, folio 324 (recto), from a Gospel Book with Commentaries (c. 1000–1100): Art, History and Details

Portrait of John, folio 324 (recto), from a Gospel Book with Commentaries (c. 1000–1100) is in the Cleveland Museum of Art collection.

The work and its context

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

Each of the four gospels in this book opens on a page with brilliantly illuminated borders depicting the author of the text as well as birds-principally peacocks, symbols of the immortality of the soul-and fountains, representing the fountain of life and the salvation of the soul. This volume consists of 428 leaves with texts in Greek. Its level of sophistication suggests that it was probably written and decorated in a monastery in Constantinople.

Object facts

• Title: Portrait of John, folio 324 (recto), from a Gospel Book with Commentaries
• Date: c. 1000–1100
• Culture: Byzantium, Constantinople
• Type: Bound Volume
• Technique: ink, tempera, and gold on vellum; leather binding
• Dimensions: Sheet: 28 x 23 cm (11 x 9 1/16 in.)
• Collection: MED - Byzantine
• Department: Medieval Art
• Accession number: 1942.152.324.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.