Portrait of the Evangelist Matthew

Description The Evangelist Matthew is seated on a cushioned bench, his pen poised to write in a book supported by an elaborate animal-shaped lectern. He looks for inspiration to his symbol, the winged man. Matthew's drapery, which is drawn from the tradition of classical author portraits, cascades around him, lending the figure a sense of nervous energy as he prepares to write, an energy that is echoed in the tumultuous red and orange clouds behind him. This is a late example of the artistic style developed at the Carolingian school of Reims in the 830s and 840s.

Exhibitions

• Illuminated Manuscripts: Masterpieces in Miniature. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1984-1985.
• The Book and the Author: Portraits of the Evangelists in Eastern and Western Manuscripts. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. 1990-1991.

Provenance Freising, Germany, ca. 865-875; Germany, 19th century; Leon Gruel and Robert Engelmann, Paris, late 19th-early 20th century [mode of acquisition unknown, no.78]; Henry Walters, Baltimore, February 19, 1917 [mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.

Credit Acquired by Henry Walters