Title
Leaf. Formerly part of the Beatus of San Andrés de Arroyo
Generic classification
Manuscripts and illuminationsObject
ManuscriptDate
ca. 1220Century
First quarter of the 13th c.Cultural context / style
GothicDimensions
11 9/16 × 9 1/4 inMaterial
ParchmentIconography / Theme
ApocalipsisProvenance
Monastery of Santa María and San Andrés (San Andrés de Arroyo, Palencia, Spain)Current location
The Getty Center (Los Ángeles, United States)Inventory Number in Current Collection
Ms. 77 (2003.103)Object history
This folio was part of the Beatus of San Andrés de Arroyo (Palencia), an illuminated manuscript produced around the year 1220 for the Monastery of Santa María and San Andrés (Palencia), as indicated by the inscription on folio 167r: "Conventus Sancti Andree de R". It has been hypothesized that it was produced in the scriptorium of the Monastery ofSan Pedro de Cardeña, based on its stylistic similarities to the Beatus of San Pedro de Cardeña (National Archaeological Museum, Madrid). All evidence suggests that the manuscript entered the monastery through a donation, likely made by Ferdinand III (1199–1252).
As a result of Mendizábal’s confiscation, the codex left the Monastery of Santa María and San Andrés in 1836 (Yarza, 1998). This is how several of its folios, such as this one, were torn from the original volume and sold individually. However, the main body of the manuscript was acquired in 1882 from Mr. Toca by the Bibliothèque Nationale de France (Avril, 1982), where it is currently preserved. This folio appeared after folio 145, so its corresponding number is folio 146.
It was torn from the folio in 1836, and although we do not know who did so, we know that by the late 19th century it was in the possession of Eugène Rodrigues, a French collector. He sold off a substantial portion of his collection at an auction held in July 1921 in Amsterdam, where the folio was listed as lot 243. It subsequently became part of the private collection of the German industrialist Robert von Hirsch, who was very interested in acquiring medieval and Renaissance objects. Following his death, his art collection was dispersed, and the folio was auctioned at Sotheby’s London in 1978 as lot 4. Bernard H. Breslauer, a dealer and collector of rare books, purchased the folio in 1978 (Voelke and Roger, 1992). Finally, in 2003, he sold it through Sam Fogg Rare Books & Manuscripts to the Paul Getty Museum, where it is currently housed in Los Angeles (United States).
Description
It was originally part of a breviary consisting of 167 folios. This illumination covers the entire page, as does folio 13r. It depicts the victory of Christ, symbolized by the lamb and the banner. In the blue band, Christ defeats those who oppose him, while in the lower section—the red band—the vanquished are punished and devoured by a serpent.
Locations
XIIIth c. - ca. 1836
XIXth c. - 1921
private collection
Eugène Rodrigues, Paris (France) *
1921 - 1978
private collection
Robert von Hirsch, Basilea (Switzerland) *
1978 - 2003
private collection
Bernard H. Breslauer, New York (United States) *
2003 - present
Bibliography
- (1978): The Robert von Hirsch Collection: Old Master Drawings, Paintings, and Medieval Miniatures, vol. 1, Sotheby's Parke Bernet, Londres, pp. 10-11.
- AVRIL, François; ANIEL, Jean-Pierre; MENTRÉ, Mireille; SAULNIER, Alix y ZALUSKA, Yolanda (1982): Manuscrits enluminés de la Péninsule Ibérique, Bibliothèque Nationale, París, pp. 65-66.
- VIVANCOS, Miguel (1998): Beato de Liébana: Códice del Monasterio Cisterciense de San Andrés de Arroyo, Moleiro, Barcelona.
- VOELKLE, William M. y WIECK, Roger S. (1992): The Bernard H. Breslauer Collection of Manuscript Illuminations, Pierpont Morgan Library, Nueva York, pp. 108-109.
Record manager
Isabel Escalera FernándezCitation:
Isabel Escalera Fernández, "Leaf. Formerly part of the Beatus of San Andrés de Arroyo" in Nostra et Mundi. Cultural Heritage from Castile and Leon around the world, Fundación Castilla y León, 2025. https://inventario.nostraetmundi.com/en/work/575
