Illustrated Beatus manuscripts bring to life an extraordinary vision of the end of the world, as recorded by Saint John in the Apocalypse (Book of Revelation) and filtered through the lens of Beatus of Liébana, an eighth-century Asturian monk. These manuscripts are unique to medieval Spain and a testament to the pervasive artistry and intellectual milieu of monastic culture there. The leaf shown here comes from a manuscript disassembled in the 1870s.
These leaves trace the ancestry of Christ back through time to the beginning of the world. The diagram culminates in a depiction of the Magi adoring the Christ child, who is held by the enthroned Virgin.
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Title:Leaves from a Beatus Manuscript: Bifolium with part of the Genealogy of Christ and the Adoration of the Magi
Date:ca. 1180
Culture:Spanish
Medium:Tempera, gold, and ink on parchment
Dimensions:Overall (folio): 17 1/2 x 11 13/16 in. (44.4 x 30 cm)
Classification:Manuscripts and Illuminations
Credit Line:Purchase, The Cloisters Collection, Rogers and Harris Brisbane Dick Funds, and Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1991
Accession Number:1991.232.2a-d
From the Benedictine monastery of San Pedro de Cardeña, Burgos; Victor Martin Le Roy, Neuilly-sur-Seine ; Jean-Joseph Marquet de Vasselot, Paris ; [ Alain Moatti, Paris (sold 1991)]
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