- Period
- Gothic
- Date
- 1371–77
- Collection
- Cleveland Museum of Art
- Object no.
- 1930.105
Initial G[audeamus omnes] from a Gradual: The Court of Heaven
Don Silvestro dei Gherarducci, 1371–77
![Initial G[audeamus omnes] from a Gradual: The Court of Heaven at the Cleveland Museum of Art](https://openaccess-cdn.clevelandart.org/1930.105/1930.105_web.jpg)
Cleveland Museum of Art · Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund · Public domain
- Maker
- Don Silvestro dei Gherarducci
- Date
- 1371–77
- Medium
- ink, tempera, and gold on vellum
- Dimensions
- Sheet: 38.6 x 36.5 cm (15 3/16 x 14 3/8 in.); Framed: 68.9 x 53 cm (27 1/8 x 20 7/8 in.); Matted: 63.5 x 47.6 cm (25 x 18 3/4 in.)
- Period
- Gothic
The record
Why it matters
This elegant and colorful initial G comes from a multivolume set of choral books illuminated by Don Silvestro, a Camaldolese monk, for his monastery of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Florence. In the original book, this initial would have introduced the text: Gaudeamus omnes in Domino (“Let us rejoice in the Lord”), the beginning of Introit, the introduction, for the Feast of All Saints on November 1. This beautiful initial is generally considered to be the artist’s masterpiece.