ILLUMINATED INITIAL 'D' on a leaf from an Italian Gradual [Florence, last quarter 14th century].
A glowing initial on a leaf from a Florentine choirbook painted at the end of the 14th century, possibly one of the great series produced for the Camoldolese monastery of Santa Maria degli Angeli, the volumes of which were dismembered and dispersed following the Napoleonic invasion of Italy in 1796. The leaf comes from a Gradual, a manuscript collation of the sung portions of the Mass, opening the introit to the mass for the Nativity ('In nocte nativitatis domini') at Christmastime. The restrained acanthus flourishes, generous use of gold, and bold palette of orange, blue and green against a paler pink are similar to initials attributed to the illuminator Don Silvestro dei Gherarducci (1339-1399), such as those held at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge (Marlay cuttings It. 13A, 13.i and 13.ii).
Measurements:
368 x 238mm, the initial c.75 x 70mm.
Bibliography:
Nigel Morgan, Stella Panayotova & Suzanne Reynolds (eds.),
Illuminated Manuscripts in Cambridge, Part II: Italy and the Iberian Peninsula, vol. II, pp. 46-50.
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