Carolingian Gospel Books of Brussels, Antique Chromolithograph, 1849

An evangelist seated at his writing desk with the pen in his hand, set in an arched frame of green and gold, and beside him two smaller panels with Christ enthroned and a line of red display capitals. The sheet is lettered as ninth century work from two manuscripts in the Royal Library at Brussels, the Codex Evangeliorum numbered 18,723 and the Lectionarius Evangeliorum numbered 9,428, both from the Burgundian collection.

The sheet comes from Le Moyen Age et la Renaissance, the great illustrated survey of medieval and Renaissance life edited by Paul Lacroix and Ferdinand Sere and published in Paris from the Administration at 5 rue du Pont-de-Lodi. This is Tome Second, dated 1849 on its own title page. The colored drawings were made by A. Rivaud and his colleagues and printed in chromolithography by the Paris house of Lemercier, then the finest color printer in Europe.

The Burgundian library in Brussels is one of the great survivals of medieval Europe, assembled by the dukes of Burgundy and now the core of the Belgian royal collection. Plates drawn from it carry that provenance, which matters to Belgian and Dutch buyers in particular. The horizontal format suits a space over a door or a low chest. Two miniatures on one sheet also means two subjects for one frame, an evangelist at work and Christ enthroned, which is more than most plates in this volume offer. The ninth century date puts it among the earliest images in the book.

Light uneven toning, browner towards the edges. Marked handling soiling along the bottom, left and right edges. All four corners complete.

This is an original antique print, not a modern reproduction. This item is sold unframed.