id: 153408
accession number: 1986.91
share license status: CC0
url: https://clevelandart.org/art/1986.91
updated: 2023-08-18 11:28:16.746000
Biblia Pauperum: The Bible of the Poor (Biblia Pauperum),
Pharaoh's Army Drowned in the Red Sea; Baptism of Christ; and Moses' Spies Returning with Grapes from Canaan
Esau Selling Jacob his Birthright; Temptation of Christ; and Temptation of Adam and Eve, c. 1465. Germany or the Netherlands, 15th century. Woodcut, hand colored with watercolor; sheet: 26.9 x 38.8 cm (10 9/16 x 15 1/4 in.). The Cleveland Museum of Art, John L. Severance Fund 1986.91
title: The Bible of the Poor (Biblia Pauperum),
Pharaoh's Army Drowned in the Red Sea; Baptism of Christ; and Moses' Spies Returning with Grapes from Canaan
Esau Selling Jacob his Birthright; Temptation of Christ; and Temptation of Adam and Eve
title in original language:
series: Biblia Pauperum
series in original language:
creation date: c. 1465
creation date earliest: 1460
creation date latest: 1470
current location:
creditline: John L. Severance Fund
copyright:
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culture: Germany or the Netherlands, 15th century
technique: woodcut, hand colored with watercolor
department: Prints
collection: PR - Woodcut
type: Print
find spot:
catalogue raisonne:
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CREATORS
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measurements: Sheet: 26.9 x 38.8 cm (10 9/16 x 15 1/4 in.)
state of the work:
edition of the work: probably Schreiber III or IV
support materials:
description: cream(3) laid paper
watermarks:
inscriptions:
inscription: text, in block: [see object file]
translation:
remark:
inscription: lower center, in graphite: 9 10
translation:
remark:
inscription: verso, lower left, in graphite: 61083
translation:
remark:
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CURRENT EXHIBITIONS
title: Year in Review for 1986
opening date: 1987-02-04T05:00:00
Year in Review for 1986. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 4-March 15, 1987).
title: Sacred and Profane in Late Gothic Prints
opening date: 1987-06-02T04:00:00
Sacred and Profane in Late Gothic Prints. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (June 2-August 2, 1987).
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: Against the Grain: Woodcuts from the Collection
opening date: 2003-08-17T00:00:00
Against the Grain: Woodcuts from the Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 17-November 9, 2003).
title: Treasures on Paper from the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art
opening date: 2014-03-09T00:00:00
Treasures on Paper from the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 9-June 8, 2014).
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LEGACY EXHIBITIONS
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PROVENANCE
Cloister Wiblingen, Ulm, Germany
date:
footnotes:
citations:
(Karl & Farber, Munich, Germany)
date: May 7, 1935
footnotes:
citations:
Martin Aufhäuser, Munich, Germany & Los Angeles, CA
date:
footnotes:
citations:
(Galerie Kornfeld Auktionen, Bern, Switzerland)
date: June 21, 1985
footnotes:
citations:
(R.M. Light & Co., Inc., Santa Barbara, CA)
date: 1985-86
footnotes:
citations:
The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
date: December 15, 1986
footnotes:
citations:
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fun fact:
This sheet was hand-colored with a limited palette, so that black, for example, plays dual roles of the color of hair, and the shadow on a building.
digital description:
This hand-colored leaf is from the blockbook Biblia Pauperum (Bible of the Poor), which served as an educational handbook for laymen and clerics. Blockbooks, in which images and text were carved in relief from a single block of wood, are the earliest form of printed text in Europe. On each page, two Old Testament episodes flank a New Testament scene, implying a connection between the stories. At left is Christ’s baptism between the Pharaoh’s drowned army and spies returning from Canaan. To the right is Christ’s temptation bordered by Esau selling his birthright to Jacob and the temptation of Adam and Eve.
wall description:
Blockbooks, in which images and text are carved from a single woodblock, were the earliest form of printed text in Europe, preceding the invention of moveable type. The Biblia Pauperum is an early blockbook bible that served as a handbook for poor clerics and friars in northern Europe. The folios here feature a New Testament scene flanked by two from the Old Testament. The page to the left depicts the baptism of Christ centered between Pharaoh’s drowned army in the Red Sea and spies returning from Canaan. To the right is Christ's temptation bordered by Esau selling his birthright to Jacob and the temptation of Adam and Eve.
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RELATED WORKS
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CITATIONS
Turner, Evan H. "The Year in Review for 1986." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 74, no. 2 (1987): 38-79.
page number: p. 73, no. 193, repr. p. 40
url: www.jstor.org/stable/25159974
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IMAGES
web: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1986.91/1986.91_web.jpg
print: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1986.91/1986.91_print.jpg
full: https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1986.91/1986.91_full.tif