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cmamedieval.bsky.social
CMA: Medieval Art
@cmamedieval.bsky.social
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Sharing public domain works from the Medieval Art department of
the Cleveland Museum of Art.
Automated thanks to @andreitr.bsky.social and @botfrens.bsky.social
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cmamedieval.bsky.social
Buckle with Embossed Head in Profile https://clevelandart.org/art/1948.23
Buckle with Embossed Head in Profile
November 27, 2025 at 5:51 PM
cmamedieval.bsky.social
Spoon https://clevelandart.org/art/1952.6
Spoon
November 27, 2025 at 3:50 PM
cmamedieval.bsky.social
Sovereign (obverse) https://clevelandart.org/art/1969.169.a
Sovereign (obverse)
November 27, 2025 at 12:02 PM
cmamedieval.bsky.social
Buckle https://clevelandart.org/art/1918.929
Buckle
November 27, 2025 at 8:17 AM
cmamedieval.bsky.social
Five Pounds https://clevelandart.org/art/1969.220
Five Pounds
November 26, 2025 at 6:31 PM
cmamedieval.bsky.social
Hours of Queen Isabella the Catholic, Queen of Spain: Fol. 50v https://clevelandart.org/art/1963.256.50.b
This manuscript was illuminated by a circle of at least five highly organized manuscript painters active in the Flemish cities of Ghent and Bruges. The principal illuminator was Alexander Bening, who painted the majority of the book's miniatures. Manuscripts produced by this circle of artists are renowned for the decoration of their borders, which typically feature a rich variety of realistically-painted flowers, birds, and butterflies. This prayer book, called a book of hours, was intended not for a cleric, but for the private devotions of a lay person-in this case, Isabella the Catholic, Queen of Spain (1451-1504). Isabella's coat of arms embellishes the book's frontispiece. It is unlikely that the book was commissioned by the Queen herself; rather, she probably received it as a diplomatic gift from someone courting her patronage, perhaps Cardinal Francisco Jimenez de Cisneros. A Franciscan friar, Jimenez was dependent upon Isabella for his advancement, first to the post of Queen's confessor in 1492, and then to Archbishop of Toledo in 1495.
November 26, 2025 at 4:03 PM
cmamedieval.bsky.social
Five Guineas [pattern] (obverse) https://clevelandart.org/art/1969.211.a
Five Guineas [pattern] (obverse)
November 26, 2025 at 12:36 PM
cmamedieval.bsky.social
Antiphonary https://clevelandart.org/art/1930.661
The initial A with the resurrected Christ, shown here, was painted by an immediate follower of Girolamo da Cremona, who was likely working in Siena using the master's designs. Girolamo was intermittently active until 1474 in Siena, where he decorated choir books for the cathedral in collaboration with other North Italian illuminators. Antiphonaries like this one were usually made in several volumes for use by a clerical congregation. They were applied to the singing of the Daily Office, the cycle of daily devotions throughout the year. The chant introduced by this initial reads: Angelus Domini descendit de celo... (An angel of the Lord descended...). It is the First Matins Response for Easter.
November 26, 2025 at 10:06 AM
cmamedieval.bsky.social
Hunting Sword https://clevelandart.org/art/1916.1686
Hunting Sword
November 25, 2025 at 7:38 PM
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Stained Glass Panel with Female Donor https://clevelandart.org/art/1919.1.2
The origin of these stained glass panels is unknown. They depict a male and female donor, presumably husband and wife, who gaze upon a now-lost central panel. The object of their devotions was likely a crucified Christ or a standing figure of the Virgin Mary. The man, dressed in armor, and the woman, wearing a bejeweled and richly embroidered gown, are accompanied by their coats-of-arms (unidentified). They are undoubtedly members of an aristocratic elite who commissioned these windows, perhaps for a family chapel.
November 25, 2025 at 4:00 PM
cmamedieval.bsky.social
Book of Hours (Use of Rouen): fol. 25v https://clevelandart.org/art/1952.227.25.b
Book of Hours (Use of Rouen): fol. 25v
November 25, 2025 at 2:16 PM
cmamedieval.bsky.social
Fol. 358v, Micah, historiated initial V, Micah kneeling, bust of God above https://clevelandart.org/art/2008.2.358.b
Biblical manuscripts were highly prized and important possessions of churches, monasteries, cathedral schools, and universities throughout medieval Europe. The biblical texts were known as the vulgate, the translations made by Saint Jerome in the fourth century from Hebrew and Greek into Latin, which became the definitive and official Latin version of the Roman Church. In the 13th century, the bible was, for the first time, produced as a single volume with an officially sanctioned sequence to its books and chapters as illustrated by this example. The very extensive decoration of this bible is arranged hierarchically to indicate the relative importance of the various texts so that full or almost full-page initials mark the openings of the first prologue, Genesis, and the first Gospel; historiated initials mark the beginning of each book and illuminated initials mark the Prologues.
November 25, 2025 at 12:34 PM
cmamedieval.bsky.social
Virgin and Child https://clevelandart.org/art/1965.236
This sculpture-damaged during the 19th century and now missing the figure of the Christ child-is a fine early example of the type known as the Schöne Madonna or "Beautiful Virgin." This type became popular around 1400 and emphasized the graceful curve of the Virgin’s posture combined with deep, slightly exaggerated drapery folds. This sculpture is known to have come from the Church of Mariapfarr in the Diocese of Salzburg. It was made using a casting technique known as "lost shape." The casting consisted of pulverized limestone combined with quicklime and milk curd poured into a mold. After the cement-like mixture set for several weeks, the mold was destroyed to remove the sculpture, which could then be filed, polished, and painted.
November 25, 2025 at 8:21 AM
cmamedieval.bsky.social
Peter of Poitier's "Compendium Historiae in Genealogia Christi" (pair) https://clevelandart.org/art/1973.5
This manuscript roll, composed of four membranes formerly stitched together as one continuous unit, has been divided in the middle for easier visibility and study. The first part is on the left. If displayed as a continuous roll, it would measure over nine feet in length. The text is an abridgement of biblical history focused on the descent of Christ from Adam. It was written by Peter of Poitiers (about 1130-1205), who taught theology and history in Paris and was widely copied. The present roll is an English copy of Peter's text made shortly after his death. Although manuscript rolls were hung on the walls of a classroom as instructional aids to students, some of them have value beyond their textual and historical interest because of the fine quality of their drawings, as seen in this example. A comparison with Canterbury manuscripts and stained glass of around 1220 is the basis for the attribution to Canterbury. The Text of the Compendium Historiae in Genealogia Christi According to his necrologer, Peter of Poitiers, "being mindful of poor clerics, invented historical trees of the Old Testament which were painted on skins." Peter's aim in this project was to assist students prevented from mastering biblical history because of its length and because they were too poor to own books. His text on roll is the briefest possible summary of biblical history. It is arranged in six historical stages, denoting the six ages of the world, as decreed by theological tradition. The first five ages were inaugurated by individuals in the Old Testament: Adam, Noah, Abraham, David, and Sedecias. The birth of Christ heralded the sixth stage. Beginning at the top of the first membrane, the text consists of brief biographical entries on the ancestors of Christ (Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, and David) and other biblical personalities. These extend to the birth of Christ on the fourth membrane, ending with accounts of Hebrew and Roman kings and the Apostles. Each Compendium shows the names of the ancestors inscribed within circles-those of direct descent placed vertically in a central column, others scattered in clusters to the right and left. The Decoration of the Compendium Historiae in Genealogia Christi The decoration of the roll consists of a series of medallions of diverse geometrical frames filled with either a figural drawing or a diagram. The style of these pen-and-ink drawings-some illuminated in tempera or tinted with wash-stems from English manuscript and glass painting attributed to the school of Canterbury Cathedral. The style of the museum's illustrations is so close to the stained glass panels made for Trinity Chapel at Canterbury (about 1220) to suggest that an artist active as a glazier in the Cathedral workshop may also have executed the manuscript. In the least, the painter of the roll manuscript was familiar with the style of the painted glass, and on this basis, a date of about 1220 seems appropriate. Additional evidence is supplied by a Psalter (Paris, Bibl. nat., MS. Lat. 770) illuminated at Canterbury shortly before 1220. The figurative scenes in this psalter were apparently illustrated by the same hand that executed the line and wash drawings in the museum's roll.
November 24, 2025 at 6:55 PM
cmamedieval.bsky.social
Crossbow Bolt https://clevelandart.org/art/1916.1761
Crossbow Bolt
November 24, 2025 at 5:01 PM
cmamedieval.bsky.social
Hours of Queen Isabella the Catholic, Queen of Spain: Fol. 167v, St. Michael https://clevelandart.org/art/1963.256.167.b
This manuscript was illuminated by a circle of at least five highly organized manuscript painters active in the Flemish cities of Ghent and Bruges. The principal illuminator was Alexander Bening, who painted the majority of the book's miniatures. Manuscripts produced by this circle of artists are renowned for the decoration of their borders, which typically feature a rich variety of realistically-painted flowers, birds, and butterflies. This prayer book, called a book of hours, was intended not for a cleric, but for the private devotions of a lay person-in this case, Isabella the Catholic, Queen of Spain (1451-1504). Isabella's coat of arms embellishes the book's frontispiece. It is unlikely that the book was commissioned by the Queen herself; rather, she probably received it as a diplomatic gift from someone courting her patronage, perhaps Cardinal Francisco Jimenez de Cisneros. A Franciscan friar, Jimenez was dependent upon Isabella for his advancement, first to the post of Queen's confessor in 1492, and then to Archbishop of Toledo in 1495.
November 24, 2025 at 1:26 PM
cmamedieval.bsky.social
Leaf Excised from a Psalter: Massacre of the Innocents https://clevelandart.org/art/1953.145.7
Traditional locations within manuscript psalters were designated by decorated initials or, as is the case here, full-page miniatures. These locations marked the major divisions of the psalms as used in the daily office. The extraordinary quality of these miniatures suggests they once decorated a deluxe psalter made for a wealthy or aristocratic patron, possibly a cleric.
November 24, 2025 at 11:54 AM
cmamedieval.bsky.social
Sovereign https://clevelandart.org/art/1969.170
Sovereign
November 24, 2025 at 10:38 AM
cmamedieval.bsky.social
The Gotha Missal: Fol. 158v, Text https://clevelandart.org/art/1962.287.158.b
This elegant Latin manuscript is known today as The Gotha Missal after its eighteenth-century owners, the German Dukes of Gotha. The volume was originally copied and illuminated in Paris around 1375 -- a commission of the Valois king, Charles V "the Wise" (1364-1380), one of the great bibliophiles of the fifteenth century and brother of Dukes Philip the Bold of Burgundy and Jean de Berry. Manuscript missals were not intended for the lay user, but rather for the use of the celebrant at Mass. The present volume was therefore meant to be used by the king's private chaplain and was probably housed in Charles's private chapel, possibly in his principle residence, the Palace of the Louvre (demolished in the sixteenth century). The main decorative body of the missal consists of two full-page miniatures comprising the Canon of the Mass and twenty-three small miniatures. The style and high quality of the decoration points to its inclusion withing a select group of manuscripts accepted today as from the hand of Jean Bondol. Bondol was active at the court of Charles V from 1368 until 1381 where he headed the court workshop and also served as the king's valet de chambre. The blind-tooled leather binding dates to the fifteenth century.
November 23, 2025 at 7:00 PM
cmamedieval.bsky.social
Saint George https://clevelandart.org/art/1948.135
Saint George
November 23, 2025 at 5:41 PM
cmamedieval.bsky.social
The Crucifixion https://clevelandart.org/art/1940.535
This small picture belonged to a predella, a series of subsidiary panels consisting of narrative scenes and situated at the bottom of an altarpiece. Predella paintings are significant because the artist was allowed more freedom and inventiveness here than in the higher part of the altarpiece. In this Crucifixion scene, the harmony of colors, the monumentality of the figures, and the symmetry of the composition all reflect the classical spirit of Renaissance Italy. Moreover, the panel shows some characteristics of the traditional Sienese school—such as the quality and elegance of the lines—which persists in Giovanni’s works.
November 23, 2025 at 1:31 PM
cmamedieval.bsky.social
The Gotha Missal: Fol. 8r, Text https://clevelandart.org/art/1962.287.8.a
This elegant Latin manuscript is known today as The Gotha Missal after its eighteenth-century owners, the German Dukes of Gotha. The volume was originally copied and illuminated in Paris around 1375 -- a commission of the Valois king, Charles V "the Wise" (1364-1380), one of the great bibliophiles of the fifteenth century and brother of Dukes Philip the Bold of Burgundy and Jean de Berry. Manuscript missals were not intended for the lay user, but rather for the use of the celebrant at Mass. The present volume was therefore meant to be used by the king's private chaplain and was probably housed in Charles's private chapel, possibly in his principle residence, the Palace of the Louvre (demolished in the sixteenth century). The main decorative body of the missal consists of two full-page miniatures comprising the Canon of the Mass and twenty-three small miniatures. The style and high quality of the decoration points to its inclusion withing a select group of manuscripts accepted today as from the hand of Jean Bondol. Bondol was active at the court of Charles V from 1368 until 1381 where he headed the court workshop and also served as the king's valet de chambre. The blind-tooled leather binding dates to the fifteenth century.
November 23, 2025 at 12:05 PM
cmamedieval.bsky.social
Virgin and Child https://clevelandart.org/art/1916.814
In his left hand the Christ Child holds a swallow. Swallows were thought to hibernate during winter in nests of mud. Their re-emergence in spring symbolized the Resurrection of Christ. This painting was probably the central panel of an altarpiece. After the altarpiece was broken up, the work was cut into its present octagonal shape.
November 23, 2025 at 10:36 AM
cmamedieval.bsky.social
Noble (reverse) https://clevelandart.org/art/1969.163.b
Noble (reverse)
November 22, 2025 at 6:08 PM
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Crucifix with Scenes of the Passion https://clevelandart.org/art/1995.5
Large painted crucifixes dating from the 1100s and 1200s are among the earliest surviving Italian panel paintings. Large crosses, like this beautiful example, were typically suspended high above an altar in the main apse of Italian churches. Smaller crosses were placed on or just above altars in small side chapels. Such crosses served as the visual focus for devotion and symbolized the Eucharistic sacrament performed by the priest on the altar below. This crucifix shows Christ alive on the cross as the triumphant savior of mankind. Smaller images on the "apron" represent images of Christ's Passion (to the left) and his death and Resurrection (to the right). On the far left terminal appear the mourning Virgin and Saint John the Evangelist, while on the right the viewer is shown Saint James Major and Saint Bona, patroness of the city of Pisa. The concluding event, the Ascension of Christ, once appeared on the upper terminal, just above the Virgin and Apostles. The figure of Christ is painted in a severe and hieratic style suggestive of medieval Pisa's artistic and commercial links with the Byzantine East. The appearance of Saint Bona on this cross may suggest that it was made for the Church of S. Martino in Pisa, where Franciscan nuns tended the holy woman's relics.
November 22, 2025 at 2:57 PM