3-041-176 - Heritage Art/Heritage Images

Initial A: Christ Wiping the Tears from the Eyes of the Saved; Cutting from an antiphonal, about 1330-1340. Additional Info: This initial A introduced a chant derived from Saint John's Apocalypse, or vision of the end of days: Absterget Deus omnem lacrimam ob oculis sanctorum, "God will wipe away every tear from the eyes of the saints..." (Revelation 21:4). The illuminator, who likely trained in Pisa and Florence, filled the lower half of the letter with a direct but inventive visualization of the passage by showing Christ wiping away the tears of the saved, who piously kneel before their savior. Saints Peter and other saints stand to the side. The upper portion of the scene is dedicated to a later verse, which describes an angel descending from heaven with a glass vial to pour out a final plague of destruction upon the earth. Attributed to the Master of the Antiphonary of San Giovanni Fuorcivitas.