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Initial A: King David Enthroned
Master Michaelabout 1420–1430
The J. Paul Getty Museum
Los Angeles, United States
King David sits pensively within an elegant initial A, opening the introit for the first Sunday in Advent. The introit, whose text is taken from Psalm 24, continues vertically on the side of the initial in alternating red and blue letters: Ad te levavi an[imam meam] (To you I will lift up my spirit). King David, believed to be the author of the psalms, holds a scepter and an orb with a cross on top as attributes of royal authority.
The elegance of the International style is evident in the subtle modeling of the face and the drapery folds.
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Details
- Title: Initial A: King David Enthroned
- Creator: Master Michael
- Date Created: about 1420–1430
- Location Created: Vienna, Austria
- Physical Dimensions: Leaf: 41.9 × 31 cm (16 1/2 × 12 3/16 in.)
- Type: Folio
- External Link: Find out more about this object on the Museum website.
- Medium: Tempera colors, gold leaf, and ink on parchment
- Terms of Use: Open Content
- Number: 83.MG.81.7
- Culture: Austrian
- Credit Line: The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, Ms. Ludwig V 6, fol. 7
- Creator Display Name: Master Michael (Austrian, active about 1420 until the mid-15th century)
- Classification: Manuscripts (Documents)
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