Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

164. MS M.399, fol. 82v

ca. 1515

Da Costa hours
Illuminated by Simon Bening (1483/84–1561)

Ghent, Belgium
172 x 125 mm
MS M.399, fol. 82v

Purchased by J. Pierpont Morgan (1837–1913), 1910

Christ: Bearing cross—Christ, with a rayed nimbus and wearing a crown of thorns and a purple garment, bears a tau cross over His shoulder. Simon of Cyrene grasps the lower end of the cross. Veronica of Rome, nimbed and veiled, kneels before Christ and extends a veil held in both hands towards Him. He grasps it with His right hand. Two horsemen and two soldiers, one carrying a halberd, follow.
The scene is framed by a border decorated with flowers, including viola and columbine, and inhabited by butterflies, caterpillars, and two birds, one grasping a caterpillar and the other spreading its wings.