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Open 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.

Visit
Open today 10:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m.
Admission is always free

6th and Constitution Ave NW
Washington, DC 20565

Sculpture Garden Extended Hours

Open late until 8:00 p.m. on select nights
Through September 5
Exhibitions & Events
America’s 250th

Celebrating American art and artists
Art & Artists
Open Call

Artists Reimagining the Collection
Meet the 50 makers selected from more than 1,600 submissions

Praying Prophet

1410/1413

Lorenzo Monaco

Associated Names

Lorenzo Monaco

Artist, Florentine, c. 1370 - c. 1425

This is a painting of an alphabetic initial. The image features a decorated letter 'O' with rich colors and intricate designs, surrounded by a gold leaf background. The letter is composed of vines, foliage, shades of blue, green, pink, and gold, and bejeweled circular motifs. Inside the 'O', a robed figure is depicted, raising one hand. The use of gold and detailed patterns is indicative of illuminated manuscript illustrations typical of Medieval or Renaissance art.

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Artwork overview

Medium

miniature on vellum
Credit Line

Rosenwald Collection
Dimensions

overall: 13.1 x 12.9 cm (5 3/16 x 5 1/16 in.)
Accession Number

1950.1.8
Catalogue Raisonné

NGA Miniatures 1975, no. 13

Artwork history & notes

Exhibition History

1962

The Saints in Prints & Illuminations from the Lessing J. Rosenwald Collection, The Art Gallery of the University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, IN, 1962-1963, no. 18.

1965

Works of Faith, Bezalel National Museum, Jerusalem, Israel, 1965, no cat.

1975

Medieval and Renaissance Miniatures from the National Gallery of Art, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1975, no. 13, repro.

1994

Painting and Illumination in Early Renaissance Florence 1300-1450, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York, 1994-1995, no. 38a (incorrectly labelled as 1952.8.277).

2009

Heaven on Earth: Manuscript Illuminations from the National Gallery of Art, NGA, 2009.

Bibliography

1975

National Gallery of Art. Medieval and Renaissance Miniatures from the National Gallery of Art. Washington, 1975: no. 13.

2012

Hadlington, Simon. "Near-infrared Spectroscopy Illuminates Medieval Art." Chemistry World, 25 April 2012 (on-line publication at http://www.rsc.org/chemistryworld/News/2012/April/)

Wikidata ID

Q64593361

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