Leaf from the Antiphonal

Place of OriginItaly, Siena

Date15th century

Dimensions16 5/8 x 25 in.

MediumTempera on vellum

ClassificationManuscripts

Credit LineMuseum Purchase

Object number

1950.262

Not on View

Label TextSano di Pietro, an early Renaissance miniaturist, painted the scene within the initial “H” on this manuscript leaf, which comes from an antiphonal—a book containing music for daily Christian services. The scene shows the birth of the Virgin Mary, future mother of Jesus. Although the Bible provides little information about the girlhood of Mary, sources like the Golden Legend—a book detailing the lives of the saints—elaborated on her life with apocryphal tales. The architecture (a groin vault) frames the figures and creates a sense of interior and exterior space (note the blue sky above the vault). Even though we know the manuscript leaf is a flat piece of parchment, we experience the illusion of depth, as the artist has convincingly suggested a recession into space. Religious and fanciful imagery are often side-by-side in medieval manuscripts. While the decorated initial depicts a devotional scene, it also features a variety of foliage, fruit, and three fanciful beasts. Look for a wyvern (a two legged, winged dragon), a similar serpent-like creature, and a heron cleverly hidden in the tendrils.