Curtain of the Tabernacle, one of six illustrated leaves from the Postilla Litteralis (Literal Commentary) of Nicholas of Lyra

Unknown

ca. 1360–1380 · Opaque watercolor, iron-gall ink and gold on vellum · The Cloisters

One of the most influential university texts of the Middle Ages, the Postilla litteralis provided an extended commentary on the entire Christian Bible. Its author, Nicholas of Lyra, who taught at the University of Paris, was particularly interested in architecture and included numerous diagrams of biblical structures to clarify his explanations. This leaf accompanies a discussion of the Tabernacle from the book of Exodus. It shows the ten panels of the curtain ordered by God to be made “of violet and purple, and scarlet twice-dyed, and fine, twisted linen.”

Artist

Unknown

Date

ca. 1360–1380

Medium

Opaque watercolor, iron-gall ink and gold on vellum

Culture

French

Department

The Cloisters

Credit line

The Cloisters Collection, 2011