Leaf from a Beatus Manuscript: Seven Angels Hold the Cups of the Seven Last Plagues; The Hymn of the Lamb
Unknown
ca. 1180 · Tempera, gold, and ink on parchment · The Cloisters
Illustrated Beatus manuscripts bring to life an extraordinary vision of the end of the world, as recorded by Saint John in the Apocalypse (Book of Revelation) and filtered through the lens of Beatus of Liébana, an eighth-century Asturian monk. These manuscripts are unique to medieval Spain and a testament to the pervasive artistry and intellectual milieu of monastic culture there. The leaf shown here comes from a manuscript disassembled in the 1870s. In the top register, the seven angels are depicted holding vessels (rendered in cross section) containing the seven last plagues. Below, the celebrants play musical instruments before the Lamb of God, who carries a Greek type of processional cross. The celebrants sing, "Great and wonderful are thy works, O Lord God Almighty; just and true are thy ways; O King of ages." (Apoc. 15.3)
- Artist
- Unknown
- Date
- ca. 1180
- Medium
- Tempera, gold, and ink on parchment
- Culture
- Spanish
- Department
- The Cloisters
- Credit line
- Purchase, The Cloisters Collection, Rogers and Harris Brisbane Dick Funds, and Joseph Pulitzer Bequest, 1991
