Three leaves from an antiphonal

Master of the Golden Bull

about 1405

Tempera colors, gold leaf, and gold paint, Tempera Colors, Gold paint

J. Paul Getty Museum

A manuscript page features a decorated initial 'P' with a figure of a saint, surrounded by musical notation and text on a parchment background. These leaves displaying chants, musical notation, and initials filled with figural scenes come from an antiphonal made for a Benedictine monastery in Bohemia (the modern-day Czech Republic). Antiphonals contain all of the chants sung by choirs of monks or nuns during the divine office (the cycle of prayers said at specific hours throughout the day). In the most luxurious examples, each chant in an antiphonal begins with a large decorative letter that acts as a bookmark for the singers. The elegant figures that fill the initials in this manuscript reflect an artistic style known as the International style, which was closely associate