Description
Saint Barbara was popular in France, known for being imprisoned in a tower by her father and living as a hermit. In piety, she asked builders to construct her three windows to symbolize the Holy Trinity of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. Her father, enraged by her conversion to Christianity, killed her, after which he was struck by lightning from heaven. She was seen as a protector from sudden death, a common medieval concern, and the patron saint of architects and builders. The text on this leaf is in French, as opposed to Latin.
Provenance
Damascène Morgand, Paris, France, sold to Thomas Yates Thompson (-1894); Henry Yates Thompson (1838-1928), London, England (1894-1904); (Sale: Sotheby's, London, May 3, 1904, no. 31) (May 3, 1904); [Bruce Ferrini, Akron, Ohio], sold to Jeanne Miles Blackburn; Jeanne Miles Blackburn, Maitland, Fl, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art (-2011); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio (2011-)
Leaf from a Book of Hours: St. Barbara (2 of 2 Excised Leaves)
Master of Jacques de Luxembourgc. 1465
Accession Number
2011.63
Medium
ink, tempera and gold on vellum
Dimensions
Leaf: 23.7 x 18.6 cm (9 5/16 x 7 5/16 in.)
Classification
Manuscript
Credit Line
The Jeanne Miles Blackburn Collection