Initial D: Pentecost, cutting from an antiphonal
A decorated initial D cut from a choir book (antiphonal), painted around 1490 by Girolamo dai Libri, now held by the J. Paul Getty Museum, made for liturgical use in singing the church services. The picture shows the Virgin and apostles gathered under a blue sky with a dove of the Holy Spirit releasing rays of light, framed by gold leaf and green and pink acanthus-like scrolls, offering a designer a model for combining gilded ornament with a richly coloured central scene.
