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Leaf from a Beatus Manuscript: at the Clarion of the Fifth Angel's Trumpet, a Star Falls from the Sky; the Bottomless Pit is Opened with a Key; Emerging from the Smoke, Locusts Come Upon the Earth and Torment the Deathless

ca. 1180
On view at The Met Cloisters in Gallery 14
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.

The catastrophic events heralded by the fifth angel's trumpet are depicted in this illustration as terrifying and otherworldly: the smoke from the pit darkens the sun, menacing striped locusts sting their victims with scorpion-like tails, and the figures of the undead plead for mercy with closed eyes.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Leaf from a Beatus Manuscript: at the Clarion of the Fifth Angel's Trumpet, a Star Falls from the Sky; the Bottomless Pit is Opened with a Key; Emerging from the Smoke, Locusts Come Upon the Earth and Torment the Deathless
  • Date: ca. 1180
  • Culture: Spanish
  • Medium: Tempera, gold, and ink on parchment
  • Dimensions: Overall (folio): 17 1/2 x 11 13/16 in. (44.5 x 30 cm)
    Mat: 22 x 16 in. (55.9 x 40.6 cm)
  • Classification: Manuscripts and Illuminations
  • Credit Line: Purchase, The Cloisters Collection, Rogers and Harris Brisbane Dick Funds, and Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1991
  • Object Number: 1991.232.10
  • Curatorial Department: Medieval Art and The Cloisters

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