
Angel in a Historiated Initial "A" from an Antiphonary
Neri da Rimini · 1300/10
- Medium
- Manuscript cutting in tempera and gold leaf, with gothica textualis inscriptions in Latin in black ink, ruled in red and blue, and with other decorations, on parchment
- Original size
- Initial: 13 × 12.5 cm (5 1/8 × 4 15/16 in.); Sheet: 53.5 × 38.5 cm (21 1/8 × 15 3/16 in.)
- Currently held
- Art Institute of Chicago
- Movement
- Medieval
Nestled within the curve of an ornate initial letter, this luminous angel from Neri da Rimini captures the intimate devotion of early fourteenth-century Italian manuscript art at its most refined. Neri da Rimini was among the foremost illuminators working in the Adriatic region during the late Duecento and early Trecento, a period when Rimini had developed its own distinctive school of painting influenced by both Byzantine tradition and the emerging naturalism spreading from central Italy. His figures carry a gentle solemnity — faces modelled with careful gradation, drapery folded in precise, rhythmic patterns — executed in egg tempera and burnished gold leaf on parchment, a medium demanding both precision and patience. The gothic textualis script surrounding the image was integral to the composition, not decoration as an afterthought. This cutting originates from an antiphonary, a liturgical book used by choral communities to sing the Divine Office, meaning this angel once accompanied the voices of monks or canons in prayer. Our hand-painted oil reproduction translates Neri's layered tempera technique into oils, preserving the warm gold tones, the delicate flesh modelling, and the jewel-like intensity that make this small-scale masterpiece feel far larger than its physical dimensions suggest.
Hand-painted oil reproduction
Painted in real oil on stretched canvas by master copyists. Delivered unframed — ready to frame at home.
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In Rimini's style.
Send us a photograph of your family, pet, or home — we'll paint it as a custom oil on stretched canvas in any style you like. From £220.

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