Missal

Matteo da Milano

about 1520

Tempera, gold, and ink, Tempera, Ink

J. Paul Getty Museum

An illuminated manuscript page features a large, ornate initial 'E' with a figure in a turban and purple robe. Decorative borders with floral motifs and coats of arms surround the text. This missal (a book containing the necessary texts for the celebration of mass) is illuminated with four large historiated initials and lavish decorated borders filled with cameos, gems, flowers, and hybrid creatures. The painting in the manuscript is both technically precise and conceptually playful. The figures inhabiting the initials have the minutely rendered details of manuscript illumination while still asserting a monumental presence. The border elements are as creative as the finest Italian manuscripts, executed with a wit that leaves the viewer wondering where the observation of nature leaves off and artifice begins. The ma