Manuscript Illumination with Singing Monks in an Initial D, from a Psalter

Girolamo dai Libri

1501–2 · Tempera, ink, and gold on parchment · Medieval Art

While one monk looks down in pious contemplation, two others gaze at the divine beams of radiating light that inspire their song. But their eyes and voices are drawn outside the frame to the text and music on the page, as if they were reading and singing from the book. Dressed in white, they are members of the Olivetan order, which commissioned Girolamo dai Libri and his father, Francesco, to create the psalter.

Artist: Girolamo dai Libri
Date: 1501–2
Medium: Tempera, ink, and gold on parchment
Culture: Italian
Department: Medieval Art
Credit line: Rogers Fund, 1912

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