Highlights of the Exhibition

Initial M with the Annunciation: Cutting from an Antiphonary This miniature depicts the Angel Gabriel's announcement to the Virgin Mary (Luke 1:26-38): "You shall conceive and bear a son, and you shall give him the name Jesus." The style and palette of this cutting suggest some relationship to the work of the anonymous illuminator known as Maestro Daddesco, an important figure in Florentine manuscript painting during the first half of the 14th century.			The Annunciation in an Initial M. Cutting from an Antiphonary. Painted by Maestro Daddesco(?) Italy, Florence, about 1310-15 Tempera and gold on parchment H. 13.6 cm W. 13.4 cm. The Metroplitan Museum of Art, Robert Lehman Collection, 1975. (1975.1.2478) Photograph (c) 1986 The Metropolitan Museum of Art
Initial A with the Last Judgment: Leaf from a Gradual South Italy or Umbria, about 1270-80 Ink and tempera on parchment Private Collection	Initial A with the Last Judgment: Leaf from a Gradual This image of the Last Judgment reveals the terror of the final moment: Christ sits above, exposing his wounds to the viewer, while angels sound trumpets and the dead, seen below, rise from their graves. The stylistic origins of this leaf remain obscure. The archaic figural style and linear emphasis suggest a link to Byzantine models. A South Italian source may be possible as intimated by specific decorative elements, such as the elaborately intertwined initials and the variously colored, small concentric circles within the haloes of some of the figures.
Initial E with David Lifting up his Soul to God: Frontispiece from an Antiphonary This leaf, which displays the coat of arms of Cardinal Bessarion (about 1399/1408-1472) in the lower border, was originally the frontispiece of the first volume of a four-part antiphonary. This illumination belonged to the Bessarion choir book series. The exuberantly ornate initial and foliate border is now considered to be the work of Franco dei Russi, a Mantuan illuminator.			Initial E with David Lifting up his Soul to God: Frontispiece from an Antiphonary Painted by Franco dei Russi (Italian, active Ferrara, documented 1453-1482) Italy, about 1455-60/63 Ink, tempera and gold on parchment. Private Collection
Initial D with Saint John the Baptist: Cutting from a Gradual Painted by Cosimo Tura (Italian, Ferrara, about 1430-1495) Italy, about 1470-80 Ink, tempera and gold on parchment. Private Collection	Initial D with Saint John the Baptist: Cutting from a Gradual This initial D shows John the Baptist standing against a barren landscape, holding a scroll with the following text: EGO VOX CLAMANTIS [IN DESERTO]; "I am the voice crying aloud in the wilderness" (Luke 3:4). Recent scholarship associates this fragment with nine other cuttings from a lost series of choir books decorated by Cosimo Tura, the preeminent painter to the Este court in Ferrara. With his craggy landscapes, this artist was among the most original and, in artistic and spiritual terms, the most consistently intense of the school of painters centered around the court in late 15th-century Ferrara. He is noted for his convoluted rock forms, angular draperies, and sharp palette favoring vivid pinks and reds, which clash with bright greens and cold blues.
Initial A with the Pentecost: Cutting from an Antiphonary This cutting is remarkable for its refinement of execution and delicate palette. This splendid initial A is formed by the intertwined heads of two dragons. The lower half includes the Virgin surrounded by the twelve Apostles.			Initial A with the Pentecost: Cutting from an Antiphonary Painted by Stefano da Verona (Italian, Lombardy, about 1375-1438). Italy, about 1430-35 Tempera and gold on parchment. Private Collection
Initial T with Christ Blessing: Leaf from an Antiphonary Painted by Belbello da Pavia (Italian, Lombard, active about 1420-1470) Italy, about 1467-70 Ink, tempera and gold on parchment. Private Collection	Initial T with Christ Blessing: Leaf from an Antiphonary Between 1467 and 1470, under the abbacy of Cipriano Rinaldini, the Benedictines of San Giorgio Maggiore, Venice, commissioned a new series of choir books for their monastery, entrusting its decoration to a prestigious team of Lombard illuminators headed by Belbello da Pavia. Belbello was the foremost representative of the late Gothic style in northern Italy. The monumental quality of the large figure of Christ, which dominates this leaf, and the broadly rendered foliate border and acidic palette are typical of Belbello's style during these final years of his career.
Initial M with the Annunciation: Leaf from an Antiphonary This leaf is one of a group of twelve cuttings excised from two volumes of an antiphonary. Its style, palette and border decoration suggest the work of Neri da Rimini, an Emilian artist and one of the leading figures in 14th-century Italian manuscript illumination. Neri dated and signed many of his works, documenting his career between 1300 and 1338. His illuminations reveal an awareness of Giotto's formal vocabulary and expressive range as well as a dependence on decorative elements drawn from Bolognese illumination. Giotto was the foremost artist of his time, known principally for his fresco cycles and his simple solutions to the problems of volume and space. Neri must have been exposed to Giotto's work in Florence or Padua.			Initial M with the Annunciation: Leaf from an Antiphonary Painted by Neri da Rimini (Italian, born Rimini, active Emilia, 1300-1338) Italy, about 1310-15 Ink, tempera and gold on parchment. Private Collection

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