Item Info

Script: Rotunda
Language: Latin
Folio Number: front
Source: Rare Book Department
Notes: Initial T with the Lamentation of Christ
Notes: This cutting can be dated to ca. 1520.
Notes: This initial begins the first words of the Canon of the Roman Mass, "Te igitur, clementissme Pater, per Iesum Christum Filium tuum Dominum nostrum, supplices rogamus ac petimus" (We therefore, humbly pray and beseech thee, most merciful Father, through Jesus Christ, thy son, our lord). In the narrative of Christ's Passion, the lamentation over Christ's dead body follows his deposition from the Cross. The Virgin is joined in her sorrow by other witnesses to the Crucifixion; in this initial John the Evangelist, Mary Magdalene, Joseph of Arimathea, and Nicodemus accompany her. Lamentation scenes such as this one formed the basis for the popular late medieval devotional image known as the Pietà, in which the Virgin mourns alone as she cradles Christ's body.

Attavante degli Attavanti (b. 1452-1520/25) was one of Florence's most sought after illuminators of the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries. Among his many patrons, were Federigo da Montefeltro, the Duke of Urbino (1477?8), and Matthias Corvinus, King of Hungary (1458-1490).
Sirsi Catalog Key: 1594367
Country: Country:Italy
City/Town/Township:Florence

Creation Year (Single Year or Range Begin): 1525
Image Dimensions Width: 137 mm
ShelfMark: Lewis E M 25:9
Creator Name: Attavante degli Attavanti - Artist