alb3626476
Leaf from a Beatus Manuscript: the Sixth Angel Delivers the Four Angels that had been Bound at the River Euphrates; an Altar Appears in the Heavens as the Enthroned Christ Raises His Hand in Blessing. Culture: Spanish. Dimensions: Overall (folio): 17 1/2 x 11 13/16 in. (44.4 x 30 cm)Mat: 22 x 16 in. (55.9 x 40.6 cm). Date: ca. 1180.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.The Christ figure, offering a blessing, is framed by a celestial arch in the upper left corner of the miniature. Below him, four angels have been freed from their bindings. The Euphrates River, complete with swimming fish, divides these angels from the golden altar and the trumpeting sixth angel. Museum: Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, USA.
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