Leaf with an Illuminated Initial D

This leaf, also cut from a medieval Book of Hours, pairs a miniature painting of Christ carrying the cross to Calvary with an illuminated initial letter D, opening a psalm text (Deus in adiutorium meum intende — 'O God, come to my assistance') that would have been recited at a specific canonical hour each day. The border is worked in the period's characteristic ivy-leaf and gold-dot pattern, framing the page on all four sides — a level of decorative investment typical even for a book's less climactic pages, since Books of Hours were illuminated throughout, not just at their major feast-day openings. What to notice: the scene inside the miniature is genuinely crowded and violent — soldiers pulling at the cross, Christ stumbling under its weight, the Virgin reaching toward him from the left — a small, intense drama compressed into a space barely larger than a postage stamp.

Maker

Unidentified illuminator

Date

15th century

Medium of the original

Illuminated manuscript

Original held by

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Credit

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

Rights

Public domain, verified

Catalogue number

PA-00305