A raven brings food to Elijah (folio 72 recto), from a Mirror of Holiness (Mir’at al-quds) of Father Jerome Xavier,

Description

The Old Testament prophet Elijah sits like an Indian holy man on a raised rocky platform under a tree. A raven has come to bring him bread and meat until the river runs dry, as commanded by God. Father Jerome recounted the story of Elijah to explain a reference made by Jesus in the context of his being rejected by the people of Nazareth, where he grew up. The unusual combination of Elijah’s salmon pink and light blue garments draws the viewer’s attention to him as the focus of the composition and echoes the paler hues of the sky.

Provenance

An Indian family in Great Britain, whose grandfather brought the manuscript to England in the 1930s or 1940s (before 1930s–2005); (Oliver Forge and Brendan Lynch Ltd., London, England, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art) (2005); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (2005–)

A raven brings food to Elijah (folio 72 recto), from a Mirror of Holiness (Mir’at al-quds) of Father Jerome Xavier,

[]

1602–4

Accession Number

2005.145.72.a

Medium

Gum tempera, ink, color, and gold on paper

Dimensions

Page: 26.2 x 15.7 cm (10 5/16 x 6 3/16 in.)

Classification

Manuscript

Museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Credit Line

John L. Severance Fund