Getty receives Transformative Gift of Rare Italian Manuscript Illuminations

The leaves, which largely originated from Christian choir books and depict religious scenes mostly drawn from the lives of Jesus, Mary, and the saints, were donated to the Getty Museum by T. Robert Burke and Katherine States Burke.

“Over the past quarter century Robert and Katherine Burke have assembled the most important private collection of Italian illuminated manuscript leaves in the United States,” says Timothy Potts, Maria Hummer-Tuttle and Robert Tuttle Director of the Getty Museum. “This generous gift will almost double our representation of Italian manuscript leaves, making a transformative enhancement to the status and quality of our medieval and Renaissance collections. These works will be fully accessible to students and scholars, and will be highlighted regularly in our changing displays in the Museum’s galleries.”

Bridging the High Middle Ages to the Renaissance, the Burke Collection captures the rich diversity of premodern Italian book painting and includes examples by the most prominent artists of the 14th and 15th centuries including Lorenzo Monaco, Don Silvestro dei Gherarducci, Don Simone Camaldolese, Lippo Vanni, Giovanni di Paolo, and Sano di Pietro. 

During the premodern period, manuscript illumination flourished in Italy, and many of these artists were also commissioned to create altarpieces, frescoes, and panel paintings. Usually of impressive dimensions, choir books often featured oversized illuminated initials with religious figures or scenes to visually emphasize important text, provide visual aids, and demonstrate the artist’s skill. Centuries later, it became common for these beautifully designed choir books to be disassembled, with individual leaves bought and sold by collectors as individual art works.

Among the most significant of the manuscript leaves is Initial V: Christ Blessing, painted by Lorenzo Monaco, the most celebrated illuminator of early 15th-century Florence. In the figure Christ is nestled within lush vegetation enwrapping the letter V, and the image is further enhanced by Monaco’s use of vivid colors and a rich golden background. This is the first work painted by Monaco to enter Getty’s collection.

Another notable work in the collection is an initial containing Saint Michael and the Dragon, attributed to Giovanni di Paolo and Sano di Pietro. Colorful, spiky leaves dotted with gold decorate a large initial and the scene within features the archangel Micheal triumphantly standing on a dragon and wielding a sword (hidden by the letter) to cut off the dragon’s head. The exuberant style of the initial, golden armor, multicolored wings, and dark modeling of the skin are characteristic of illuminations executed by Giovanni di Paolo, the leading painter of 15th-century Siena.

The donation also includes Initial H: The Nativity, made by prolific illuminator of the period around 1400 Don Simione Camaldolese. The work, over a foot in height, features the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph kneeling before the Christ Child while angels hover in the sky above. Camaldolese created this composition on a monumental scale, approaching it like a panel painting, featuring brilliant colors and the lavish use of both gold and silver leaf.