Initial P: Saint John the Baptist, cutting from a gradual
This is a cutting from a choir book, an illuminated initial P made around 1446 in Italy for liturgical use in a church, now held by the J. Paul Getty Museum. The large letter is filled with gold leaf, blue and red scrollwork, and acanthus-like foliage, with a small robed figure of Saint John the Baptist, hands pressed together and halo gilded, set inside an oval medallion. A designer might take from it the framing of gold ground, interlaced ornament, and jewel-like colour used to build a decorated capital.
