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Freising Gospels
(Manuscripts and Rare Books, Medieval Europe )
This Gospel Book was written in the diocese of Freising, Germany, ca. 875. Surprisingly small for a Gospel Book, it is nonetheless richly illuminated and offers an excellent example of Carolingian art and Caroline minuscule script. The expressive and emotive quality of the Evangelist portraits, characterized by quick, sketchy brushwork, recalls the style developed by the Carolingian school of Reims in northern France. The canon tables, however, derive from a different tradition, and recall Franco-Saxon imagery in their use of interlace within the columns and of acanthus springing from the top corners. The manuscript is one of a small group of codices produced at Freising at this time, among them another Gospel Book, Munich, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek Clm 6215. It is complete, consisting of 215 folios and includes readings for the liturgical year, Jerome's Plures fuisse and Novum opus letters, decorated canon tables, and Evangelist portraits.
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
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.
Exhibitions
| 2006 | Schatzkammer: Henry Walters' German Manuscripts. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
| 2004 | Illuminating the Word: Gospel Books in the Middle Ages. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
| 1999-2000 | Vive la France! French Treasures from the Middle Ages to Monet. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1990-1991 | The Book and the Author: Portraits of the Evangelists in Eastern and Western Manuscripts. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1984-1985 | Illuminated Manuscripts: Masterpieces in Miniature. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1968 | In Remembrance of Creation: Evolution of Art and Scholarship in the Medieval and Renaissance Bible. Brandeis University Library, Waltham. |
| 1965 | 2,000 Years of Calligraphy. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1965 | Medieval Art. Philbrook Museum of Art, Tulsa. |
| 1953-1954 | Art in the Book. Albright Art Gallery, Buffalo. |
| 1949 | Illuminated Books of the Middle Ages and Renaissance. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore. |
| 1939 | The Greek Tradition in Painting and the Minor Arts. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 10/6/1977 | Treatment | loss compensation |
Geographies
Germany, Freising (Place of Origin)
Measurements
H: 6 7/8 x W: 4 13/16 in. (17.5 x 12.2 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, 1917
Location in Museum
Not on view
Accession Number
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
W.4
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