Title
Illuminated MS leaf on vellum. The Flight into Egypt, semi-grisaille.
Coverage
Bruges,
Date
ca. 1470.
Description
This medieval leaf is in a transitional bâtarde hand often used for luxury manuscripts. It contains a text from Compline, a Roman Catholic prayer traditionally performed at the end of the day, and it features a seven-line historiated initial enclosing a scene of Joseph and Mary’s flight from King Herod into Egypt. The semi-grisaille painting is largely composed in subdued colors, and the letterform surrounding it is painted in blue pigment with white tracery. The burnished gold bordering the letter would have sparkled in candlelight.
Source
From the collection of Rare Book School