Initial G[audeamus omnes] from a Gradual: The Court of Heaven

Description

This elegant and colorful initial G comes from a multivolume set of choral books illuminated by Don Silvestro, a Camaldolese monk, for his monastery of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Florence. In the original book, this initial would have introduced the text: Gaudeamus omnes in Domino (“Let us rejoice in the Lord”), the beginning of Introit, the introduction, for the Feast of All Saints on November 1. This beautiful initial is generally considered to be the artist’s masterpiece.

Provenance

W.Y. Ottley (London, 1838, no. 182); Edouard Kann, Paris.

Initial G[audeamus omnes] from a Gradual: The Court of Heaven

Don Silvestro dei Gherarducci

1371–77

Accession Number

1930.105

Medium

ink, tempera, and gold on vellum

Dimensions

Sheet: 38.6 x 36.5 cm (15 3/16 x 14 3/8 in.); Framed: 68.9 x 53 cm (27 1/8 x 20 7/8 in.); Matted: 63.5 x 47.6 cm (25 x 18 3/4 in.)

Classification

Manuscript

Museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Credit Line

Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund