Manuscript Leaf from a Book of Hours (incip. Passionis)1390

This is a drawing of a decorated manuscript page. The image features an ornate design with illuminated letters and intricate floral borders. The text is in Latin, written in a Gothic script, with larger, stylized letters at the beginning of paragraphs. Floral motifs and vine patterns, painted in vibrant colors including gold, blue, and red, frame the text. Illustrations of a bird and a peacock are integrated into the decorative borders. A small heraldic shield appears just below the middle of the page, adding a heraldic element to the composition. The craftsmanship and artistry associated with illuminated manuscript traditions are showcased, inviting viewers to appreciate the detailed embellishments and the skillful blending of text and imagery.

Description from the National Gallery of Art.

An unrecorded French artist painted this in 1390. It is now at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC.

How it was made

Opaque watercolour

Watercolour made opaque with white or chalk and laid in flat, even layers. Persian and Indian painters ground their colours from minerals, applied them with the finest brushes and burnished the finished page.

Gold ground

Gold leaf laid over a red clay and burnished to a mirror shine, often tooled with punches so it flickers in candlelight. Behind sacred figures it stands for heavenly light.

Pen and ink

Drawn with a quill or reed pen, often with wash added by brush to model light and shadow.