Dominican Antiphonary from San Domenico in Forlì
Artist/Maker
DatesMade: Made ca 1300
Material / Technique
Dimensionsh x w: Mått 19,7 x 16,7 cm
Inventory numberNMB 1689
AcqusitionPurchase 1954 funded by Hjalmar and Anna Wicanders fund
Other titlesTitle (sv): Kristus i Getsemane. Fragment ur antifonarium Title (en): Dominican Antiphonary from San Domenico in Forlì Alternative title: Antiphonarium
DescriptionDescription: NMB 1689 A cutting from a Dominican antiphonary from San Domenico in Forlì, illuminated by Neri da Rimini. [Rimini, c.1303-1310] Catalogue raisonné: NMB 1689 A cutting from a Dominican antiphonary from San Domenico in Forlì, illuminated by Neri da Rimini. [Rimini, c.1303-1310] Physical Description MATERIAL: Gouache and gold on parchment. DIMENSIONS: 197 × 167 mm. NUMBER OF LEAVES: 1. FOLIATION: Unknown. RULING: Two lines visible. LANGUAGE: Latin. SCRIPT: Italian rotunda. RUBRICATION: Red and blue fleuronné rubric. Text In Monte Oliveti oravit. First response of first nocturn for Holy Thursday. Sister leaves 1. Boston Museum of Fine Arts, 20.880-883. 2. Cambridge MA, Houghton Library MS Typ 1003. 3. Chicago, Art Institute 42.549-553. 4. Dublin, Chester Beatty Library, W 195.96-99. 5. Forlì, Biblioteca Saffi, MSS 2, 6, 13, 20, 23, 28, 31, 34. 6. New York, Columbia University, Rare Book and Manuscript Library, Plimpton 040 E. 7. Philadelphia, Free Library, Lewis E M 48:18-20, 73:7-9. 8. Venice, Cini Foundation inv. 22230, 22231, 22170, 22181. Decoration The response of first nocturn for Holy Thursday, In Monte Oliveti oravit (on the Mount of Olives he prayed) is based on a passage from Mark 26:39. “And going a little further, he fell upon his face, praying and saying: My Father, if it be possible, let this chalice pass from me. Nevertheless, not as I will but as thou wilt.” The context is the scene known as The Agony in the Garden which takes place in the Garden of Gethsemane on the slopes of the Mount of Olives. While his disciples are asleep, Christ, in a moment of agony over his forthcoming fate, prays to God and asks him to remove his burden, but immediately after surrenders to God’s will. Shortly after this scene, Christ is arrested, and the incidents of the Passion begin. Here Christ and God are placed in a beautiful initial I. The initial I is coloured orange-red in the stem with green patterns. Blue and green leaves, with gold discs making the endings. Christ is the central figure in the scene, and he almost leans on the I as if it were a pillar to support him. Behind Christ is the blue of the sky, with delicate white tracing patterns. In front of Christ is the green-grey Mount of Olives, while God appears in a peach-coloured disc at the top right of the image. Christ wears a light blue tunic, with orange patterns at the sleeves and neck. On top of this he wears a peach cloak. He is praying with his face looking slightly up to God, who in turn is wearing a blue tunic with a green cloak. God and Christ’s faces are almost identical, with long hair and thin beard with red cheeks. God looks slightly down to Christ and makes the sign of blessing with his hand. Provenance Parent volume 1. Choirbook commissioned by the Dominican house of San Domenico in Forlì in the first decade of the fourteenth century. Present leaf 1. Exhibited by Sandbergs Bokhandel, Stockholm at the Golden Books exhibition in 1952. 2. Purchased for the Nationalmuseum from Sandbergs Bokhandel in 1954. Exhibited 1. Copenhagen, National Museum, Gyldne Böger, April-May 1952. 2. Stockholm, Nationalmuseum, Gyllenne böcker, May-September 1952. 3. Stockholm, Nationalmuseum, Gyllene böcker. Nyförvärv och nyupptäckter, December 1987-March 1988. Commentary NMB 1689 is closely related to a group of nearly 50 cuttings that were taken from eight choirbooks that survive in the Biblioteca Saffi in Forlì (Freuler 2018). These are products of Neri da Rimini’s workshop. Neri da Rimini (fl. 1300-1338) was one of the leading figures in fourteenth century manuscript illumination. Pia Palladino (2003) states that his early work “reveals a precocious assimilation of Giotto’s expressive and formal vocabulary mixed with linear and decorative elements derived from Bolognese illumination”. As Neri’s work progressed there was “a progressive expansion of the forms and generalization of facial features as well as a simplification of the compositions” (Palladino 2003). The choirbooks were commissioned by the Dominican house of San Domenico in Forlì, about 50 kilometres north of Rimini, at the beginning of the fourteenth century. It is unknown when the cuttings left San Domenico. The fragment that makes NMB 1689 was on display in the Golden Books exhibition in 1952, loaned by Sandbergs Bokhandel. Two years later it was purchased by the Nationalmuseum. Bibliography Abel, Ulf, and Nils Göran Hökby (eds.), Gyllene böcker. Nyförvärv och nyupptäckter (Stockholm: Nationalmuseum, 1987), no. 24, p. 35. Emiliani, Andrea (ed.), Neri da Rimini. Il Trecento riminese tra pittura e scrittura (Milan: Mondadori Electa, 1995). Freuler, Gaudenz, Italian Miniatures from the Twelfth to Sixteenth Centuries (Milan: Cinisello Basalmo, 2013), pp. 214-227. Freuler, Gaudenz, The McCarthy Collection: Italian and Byzantine Miniatures (London: AD ILLISSVM, 2018), pp. 132-135. Lollini, Fabrizio, and Simonetta Nicolini, ‘I corali miniate della Biblioteca “A Saffi” di Forlì’ in Studi Romagnoli LII, (2001), pp. 103-128 Medica, Massimo, and Federica Toniolo (eds.), Le Miniature della Fondazione Giorgio Cini, Pagine, ritagli, manoscritti (Cinisello Balsamo: Silvana Editoriale, 2016), pp. 251-257. Nordenfalk, Carl, Bokmålningar från medeltid och renässans i Nationalmusei samlingar (Stockholm: Rabén & Sjögren, 1979), no. 17, pp. 76-77. Palladino, Pia, Treasures of a Lost Art: Italian Manuscript Painting of the Middle Ages and Renaissance (New York: The Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2003), no. 5, pp. 15-19. Sandgren, Eva Lindqvist, Illuminated Manuscripts in Swedish Collections, https://www.alvin-portal.org/alvin/resultList.jsf?dswid=7830&p=1&searchType=EXTENDED&sortString=creationYear_sort_asc&noOfRows=10&af=%5B%22ARCHIVE_ORG_ID_facet%3A67%22%5D&query=&aq=%5B%5B%7B%22HOST%22%3A%22alvin-record%3A471052%22%7D%5D%5D&aqe=%5B%5D Research project 2022-2023, Illuminated Manuscript, Christian Etheridge, Art Historian.
Collection
Geographical origin
TechniquePainting