![Initial D[eus in loco] with a Prophet Excised from a Gradual, by Lorenzo Monaco, 1409–10](/thumbs/cma/1949.536/1949.536_web.jpg)
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Initial D[eus in loco] with a Prophet Excised from a Gradual
Lorenzo Monaco (Italian, c. 1370–1425)
1409–10
- Medium
- ink, tempera, and gold on vellum
- Classification
- Manuscript
- Dimensions
- Sheet: 16.7 x 16 cm (6 9/16 x 6 5/16 in.); Framed: 52.4 x 39.7 cm (20 5/8 x 15 5/8 in.); Matted: 48.9 x 36.2 cm (19 1/4 x 14 1/4 in.)
- Culture
- Italy, Florence
- Museum
- Cleveland Museum of Art, Medieval Art
- Credit line
- Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund
- Rights
- Public domain (CC0), as the museum states it.
- Who can see it
- Tweens profiles and older: its subjects are known and suit older children. How works are placed
View at the Cleveland Museum of Art
About this work
This jewel-like initial is one of a series of prophet portraits painted by Lorenzo in a set of choir books commissioned by the church of Santa Maria Nuova in Florence. Striking for its blue and orange-red foliage, the initial is set against a highly burnished gold ground decorated with punch marks, much like a small panel painting. The initial begins the Introit (introductory section) to the Mass for the eleventh Sunday after Pentacost: Deus in loco sancto suo (God is in his holy place). Lorenzo, who was a Camaldolese monk, produced a vast quantity of work—illuminations, panel paintings, and frescos—an indication that his art was highly esteemed and sought after during his lifetime.
