Collection Online as of March 25, 2023

Adjoining Leaves from a Book of Hours: Penitential Psalms and King David in Prayer (2 of 3 Excised Leaves)

c. 1530–35

Part of a set. See all set records

Noël Bellemare

(French, d. 1546)

The 1520s Hours Workshop

(French)

France, 16th century

Ink, tempera, and liquid gold on vellum

Each leaf: 11.2 x 6.4 cm (4 7/16 x 2 1/2 in.)

The Jeanne Miles Blackburn Collection 2003.174

Location

115 Manuscripts & Textiles

Fun Fact

The seven penitential psalms were recited to ask for forgiveness; they coincide with the seven deadly sins.

Description

These two adjoining leaves begin the penitential psalms, or holy poems recited to ask for forgiveness. An elderly King David is depicted kneeling in prayer after having committed great sins. He has cast his harp and hat to the ground as an expression of humility and looks up to the sky to ask forgiveness. The text of Psalm 6 begins with the large decorated initial D and reads, “Domine ne in furore tuo arguas me: neque in ira tua corripias me,” or “O Lord rebuke me not in thy indignation, nor chastise me in thy wrath.”

Inscriptions

Inscription

...Resurrexit, sicut dixit, alleluia: Ora pro nobis Deum, alleluia. Sequuntur septem pfalmi penitentiales. Antiphona. Ne reminiscaris. psalmus: Domine , ne in durore tuo arguas me Miserere mei domine quoniam infirmus sum : sana me domine, quoniam conturbata sunt ossa mea Et anima mea turbata est valde : sed tu domine usquequo Convertere domine et eripe animam meam : salvum me fac propter misericordiam tuam. Quoniam non est in morte qui memor sit tui : in inferno autem quis confitebitur tibi.

Inscription Translation

(...Has risen as he said, alleluia. Pray to God for us, alleluia. Thus follow the Seven Penitential Psalms. Response: Remember Not...[Lord, our offences] Psalm: Lord rebuke me not in thy fury: nor chastise me in thy wrath. Have mercy on me Lord, because I am weak: heal me Lord, because all my bones be troubled. And my soul is troubled exceedingly: but thou Lord how long? Turn thee O Lord, and deliver my soul: save me for thy mercy. Because there is not in death, that is mindful of thee: and in hell who shall confess to thee?

Inscription Remark

2003.174.1: Psalm 6

Provenance

Baron Jerome Pichon, Paris, France (1812-1896)

[Richard Day, London, England (no. 69 only)]

[Sam Fogg, London, England]

[Bruce Ferrini, Akron, OH, sold to Jeanne Miles Blackburn]

-2003

Jeanne Miles Blackburn, Maitland, FL, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art

2003-

The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH

Citations

Sutton, Kay, and Sam Fogg. Medieval Manuscripts. London: Sam Fogg Rare Books and Manuscripts, 1991. pp. 162-5, no. 39

Fliegel, Stephen N. The Jeanne Miles Blackburn Collection of Manuscript Illuminations. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1999. Mentioned and Reproduced: p. 72, cat. no. 70-71 archive.org

Orth, Myra D. Renaissance Manuscripts: the Sixteenth Century. London: Harvey Miller, 2015. Reproduced: Comp. ill. 16-17, no. 45, v. 1: Mentioned: P. 165-167, cat. no. 45, v. 2

Exhibition history

Main Gallery rotation (gallery 113): November 29, 2012 - January 14, 2014.

The Medieval Top Seller: The Book of Hours (Gallery 115 rotation). The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 26, 2022-July 30, 2023).