Gospel Book

Unknown

late 13th century

Tempera colors, gold leaf, gold ink, and ink, Tempera Colors, Ink

J. Paul Getty Museum

A man with a beard, dressed in robes, sits on a stool and writes in a book. He is positioned in front of a golden background with a decorative border. This small gospel book was made in the later years of the Byzantine Empire, which was the eastern Roman Empire, centered in Constantinople (modern Istanbul), that existed from 330-1453 CE. It contains luxurious and gracefully-rendered author portraits of the four Evangelists, Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. Bound by simple, decorated frames, they sit in attitudes of work or contemplation, each before a slightly different style of desk or writing stand and each backed by a solid field of brightly burnished gold. While the anonymous artist or artists of the manuscript added fine details and delicate highlights to each painting, the Eva