Fragment from a Lectern Bible: Initial E[t fecit Josias] with Josiah Aspersing the Altar
![Fragment from a Lectern Bible: Initial E[t fecit Josias] with Josiah Aspersing the Altar by Master Honoré (French, Paris, active 1288–1300)](/_next/image?url=https%3A%2F%2Fimages.artheonmuseum.org%2Fcleveland%2Fthumb%2Ffragment-from-a-lectern-bible-initial-e-t-fecit-josias-cleveland-106345.webp&w=3840&q=75)
Medium
ink, tempera, and gold on vellum
Dimensions
10.5 × 8 cm
Classification
Manuscript
Department
Medieval Art
Museum
Cleveland Museum of Art
Credit
Gift from J. H. Wade
Accession Number
1924.428
Rights
Public Domain
Tags
male
About this artwork
This initial comes from a large bible (about 23 inches high) and introduces the opening text of the Book of Esdras: Et fecit Josias in Jerosolymis Domino (When Josiah celebrated the Passover festival in Jerusalem to his Lord). The artist, a close follower of Master Honoré at Paris, set his figure against a diapered ground of alternating gold and blue diamonds with fleur-de-lys. Instead of portraying Josiah as a Jew, however, the artist abandoned historical perspective and painted him as a Christ...