id: 135735
accession number: 1959.271
share license status: CC0
url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1959.271
updated: 2023-03-09 12:48:12.080000
Single Leaf from a Bible: Initial E[t factum est] with Jonah Swallowed by the Whale, c. 1290. France, Paris, 13th century. Ink, tempera, and gold on vellum; sheet: 26.7 x 40.3 cm (10 1/2 x 15 7/8 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, The Harold T. Clark Educational Extension Fund 1959.271
title: Single Leaf from a Bible: Initial E[t factum est] with Jonah Swallowed by the Whale
title in original language:
series:
series in original language:
creation date: c. 1290
creation date earliest: 1285
creation date latest: 1295
current location:
creditline: The Harold T. Clark Educational Extension Fund
copyright:
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culture: France, Paris, 13th century
technique: ink, tempera, and gold on vellum
department: Medieval Art
collection: MED - Manuscript Illuminations
type: Manuscript
find spot:
catalogue raisonne:
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CREATORS
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measurements: Sheet: 26.7 x 40.3 cm (10 1/2 x 15 7/8 in.)
state of the work:
edition of the work:
support materials:
inscriptions:
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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
title: Scriptorium: The Illuminated Book in Medieval Art
opening date: 1991-11-05T05:00:00
Scriptorium: The Illuminated Book in Medieval Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 5, 1991-February 2, 1992).
title: The Decorated Letter and the Illuminator's Art
opening date: 1993-09-25T04:00:00
The Decorated Letter and the Illuminator's Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 25-December 19, 1993).
title: Illuminated Manuscripts
opening date: 2004-10-10T00:00:00
Illuminated Manuscripts. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (October 10, 2004-October 2, 2005).
title: The Glory of the Painted Page: Manuscript Illuminations from the Permanent Collection
opening date: 2010-11-06T00:00:00
The Glory of the Painted Page: Manuscript Illuminations from the Permanent Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (November 6, 2010-April 17, 2011).
title: Devotion and Leaning in the Middle Ages- (Manuscript Rotation) - Gallery 115
opening date: 2017-12-04T05:00:00
Devotion and Leaning in the Middle Ages- (Manuscript Rotation) - Gallery 115. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer).
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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS
* The Cleveland Museum of Art (10/10/2004 - 10/02/2005); "Illuminated Manuscripts"
* Cleveland Museum of Art, (11/06/2010 - 04/17/2011); "The Glory Of the Painted Page: Manuscript Illuminations from the Permanent Collections"
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PROVENANCE
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fun fact:
digital description:
wall description:
This leaf and the bifolium (double-leaf) displayed to the right both come from the same manuscript: a large lectern bible. The decorative scheme consists of a single historiated initial and spiky ivy-leaf tendrils along the margins, a Parisian convention just developing at this time. These "ascenders" and "descenders" originate from two of the initials and meander along the margins as separators and framing devices for the text. This ivy-leaf motif dominated book illumination in Paris through the early 15th century.
The interior of the initial E contains a background of geometric patterns (called diapering) against which is set Jonah and the whale and the ancient city of Nineveh, the capital of the Assyrian Empire. The illusionistic effect creates three layers of perspective-the framing initial, the figures, and the background.
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RELATED WORKS
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CITATIONS
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IMAGES
web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1959.271/1959.271_web.jpg
print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1959.271/1959.271_print.jpg
full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1959.271/1959.271_full.tif