A single leaf from a Gradual.
Initial: 175 x 152 mm.
Contents: "Omnes gentes” begins the Introit for the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost. Banner held by Saint reads: "exhibete membra vestra servir justitiae in sanctificationem" (yield your members to serve justice, unto sanctification).
Decoration: Historiated initial "O" for "Omnes gentes plaudite manibus" (O clap your hands, all people), Introit for the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost; the initial is inhabited by a full length figure of St. Paul, standing atop a checkered floor, within a low-walled enclosure; the saint holds a scroll, the inscription of which is taken from the Epistle of Paul to the Romans, Romans 6:19-23, the Epistle reading for the Seventh Sunday after Pentecost; the figure is flanked by two tall cypress trees of the type that inspired the artist's nickname; floral border with burnished gold accents.
This leaf was cut from a Gradual set made for the Cathedral of Seville. It, and other detached leaves, were probably removed before the end of the 19th century. There are approximately 83-84 miniatures still present in the 22 choir books preserved in the Cathedral.
Additional known cuttings: Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Museum, MS 291: Initial "V" with the Ascension, Feast of the Ascension; Chazy, NY, Alice T. Miner Museum (as the "Alice Gradual Leaf"): Leaf with St. Paul seated with pen and scroll in initial "D," 12th Sunday after Pentecost; Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago, 1916.401: Leaf with Christ and a Pharisee in initial "D," 18th Sunday after Pentecost; Private collection (ex-London, Christies, 21 November 2012, lot 8): Leaf with Pharisee and the Publican in initial "D," 11th Sunday after Pentecost; Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum, MS. 15 (85.MS.211): Initial "R" or "K" with a personification of Caritas, either the 3rd or 13th Sunday after Pentecost; Private collection (ex-New York, Christies, 21 March 2005, lot 1; ex-Bernard Breslauer): Leaf with God supporting the heavens in initial "I," 21st Sunday after Pentecost; Princeton, Princeton University Library, Manuscripts Division, Department of Rare Books and Special Collections, Garrett MS. 44: Leaf with King David seated in initial "E," 9th Sunday after Pentecost; Rochester, University of Rochester, Eastman School of Music, Sibley Music Library, MS. 11: Leaf with Christ blessing a kneeling man in initial "O," 20th Sunday after Pentecost; Washington, D.C., National Gallery of Art, Rosenwald Collection: Eight historiated initials have been attributed to the Master of the Cypresses.
Artist: the name "Master of the Cypresses" was given by Diego Angulo Iñiguez in 1928, inspired by the distinctive tall trees that can be seen in the landscapes of his initials. Iñiguez originally identified the master as Pedro de Toledo and dated the works to a period of 1431-1436. Iñiguez originally suggested that another candidate was the painter and illuminator Nicolás Gómez, an illuminator documented as working on the Seville Cathedral choir books from 1454 to 1496. His identity as the Master of the Cypresses has more recently been championed by Rosario Marchena Hidalgo, “La obra de Nicolás Gómez, pintor y miniaturista del siglo XV,” Laboratorio de Arte, X, 1997, 373-89.