Manuscript Leaf with the Celebration of a Mass in an Initial S, from an Antiphonary

Manuscript Leaf with the Celebration of a Mass in an Initial S, from an Antiphonary

Master of the Riccardiana Lactantius

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Obscuring much of the letter S, a priest celebrates Mass at a small altar with only one assistant-a scene quite distinct from the communal, music-filled ceremonies for which medieval and Renaissance choir books were created. The Museum owns several pages from the same antiphonary, a type of choir book that monks used at regular daily intervals, following the regimen codified by Saint Benedict in the sixth century. The anonymous master's name is derived from his illuminations of a text by Lactantius, an early Christian author, preserved in the Riccardiana Library in Florence.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Manuscript Leaf with the Celebration of a Mass in an Initial S, from an AntiphonaryManuscript Leaf with the Celebration of a Mass in an Initial S, from an AntiphonaryManuscript Leaf with the Celebration of a Mass in an Initial S, from an AntiphonaryManuscript Leaf with the Celebration of a Mass in an Initial S, from an AntiphonaryManuscript Leaf with the Celebration of a Mass in an Initial S, from an Antiphonary

The Museum's collection of medieval and Byzantine art is among the most comprehensive in the world. Displayed in both The Met Fifth Avenue and in the Museum's branch in northern Manhattan, The Met Cloisters, the collection encompasses the art of the Mediterranean and Europe from the fall of Rome in the fourth century to the beginning of the Renaissance in the early sixteenth century. It also includes pre-medieval European works of art created during the Bronze Age and early Iron Age.