ID: 700007304 Page link: http://vocab.getty.edu/page/cona/700007304	Record Type: Movable Work
Images: 1 2

Initial S: The Conversion of Saint Paul (cutting (partial work); Attributed to Pisanello (Italian, by 1395 - about 1455) (Ita...; about 1440 - 1450; J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center (Los Angeles, Los A...; 91.MS.5.verso ; Ms. 41, verso)

Note: In this closely trimmed historiated initial S from a gradual, the illuminator represented Saul's dramatic conversion to Christianity. Dressed in a soldier's helmet and armor, Saul tumbles to earth, his horse collapsing beneath him. Though the artist omitted the rest of the biblical account, in which Saul changes his name to Paul and takes up an evangelical Christian mission, the initial's viewers would have been familiar with the story. In the top half of the initial, another soldier, seated erect on a more elaborately liveried steed, wears a fancy hat and tunic trimmed in green, white, and red, the colors of both the Gonzaga and Este families. Given his visual precedence in the image, this man may have been the book's patron, commissioning the gradual for use in his family's private chapel or for an ecclesiastical foundation under his protection. Interplay between the naturalistic and decorative elements in the initial adds visual tension to the miniature. The artist represented the imposing physical presence of the horses, including details such as the horseshoes and armor and subtly modeling the surfaces, such as the animals' coats. He then harmoniously integrated these carefully observed figures and their details within the artificial constraints of the shape of the letter S.

Titles:

Initial S: The Conversion of Saint Paul (preferred,C,U,RP,English-P,U,U)

Cutting from a Gradual (C,U,English,U,U)

Catalog Level: item

Work Types:

cutting (partial work) [300403972] (preferred)

..... (Objects Facet, Visual and Verbal Communication (hierarchy name), Visual Works (hierarchy name), visual works (works), <visual works by state>)

detached leaf [300379890]

..... (Objects Facet, Components (hierarchy name), components (objects parts), <components by specific context>, information form components, gathered matter components, leaves (gathered matter))

Classifications:

manuscripts (preferred)

Creation Date: about 1440 - 1450

Creator Display:

Attributed to Pisanello (Italian, by 1395 - about 1455) (Italian Illuminator); Attributed to the Master of the Antiphonal Q of San Giorgio Maggiore (Italian, about 1440 - about 1470) (Italian Illuminator) [preferred,JPGM]

Pisanello (Italian painter, medalist, by 1395-ca. 1455) Qualifier: undetermined Extent: undetermined [500027080]

Master of the Antiphonal Q of San Giorgio Maggiore (Italian illuminator, active ca. 1440-ca. 1470) Qualifier: undetermined Extent: undetermined [500055814]

Locations:

Current: J. Paul Getty Museum at the Getty Center (Los Angeles, Los Angeles county, California, United States) [500329598] J. Paul Getty Museum, J. Paul Getty Trust, Corporate Bodies (Corp. Body)

Repository Numbers: 91.MS.5.verso ; Ms. 41, verso

Other: Creation: Veneto [7002997] Italy (nation), Europe (continent), World (facet) (Geographic)

Other: Creation: Verona [7003262] Verona province (province), Veneto (region (administrative division)), Italy (nation), Europe (continent), World (facet) (Geographic)

Display Materials: Tempera colors, gold leaf, gold paint, silver leaf, and ink on parchment

	tempera [300015062]
	.......(Materials Facet, Materials (hierarchy name), materials (substances), <materials by function>, coating (material), <coating by form>, paint (coating), <paint by composition or origin>, water-base paint)

	gold leaf [300264831]
	.......(Materials Facet, Materials (hierarchy name), materials (substances), <materials by composition>, inorganic material, metal, <metal by form>, leaf (metal))

	gilt paint [300343596]
	.......(Materials Facet, Materials (hierarchy name), materials (substances), <materials by function>, coating (material), <coating by form>, paint (coating), <paint by composition or origin>, metallic paint)

	silver leaf [300265199]
	.......(Materials Facet, Materials (hierarchy name), materials (substances), <materials by composition>, inorganic material, metal, <metal by form>, leaf (metal))

	ink [300015012]
	.......(Materials Facet, Materials (hierarchy name), materials (substances), <materials by function>, coating (material), <coating by form>)

	parchment (animal material) [300011851]
	.......(Materials Facet, Materials (hierarchy name), materials (substances), <materials by origin>, biological material, animal material, processed animal material)

Dimensions: Leaf: 14.1 x 8.9 cm (5 9/16 x 3 1/2 in.); closely trimmed

Cultures:

Italian (preferred)

General Subject:

religion and mythology (preferred)

Specific Subjects:

	Conversion of Saint Paul [901001238]
	.....((Life of Saint Paul, Other Christian narratives, Christian iconography, Legend, Religion, Mythology)) (ICON)

	gradual [300026462]
	.....(Objects Facet, Visual and Verbal Communication (hierarchy name), Information Forms (hierarchy name), information forms (objects), document genres, <documents by function>, religious texts, liturgical texts) (AAT)

	horses (species) [300250148]
	.....(Agents Facet, Living Organisms (hierarchy name), living organisms (entities), Eukaryota (domain), Animalia (kingdom), Chordata (phylum), Vertebrata (subphylum), Mammalia (class), Perissodactyla (order), Equidae (family), Equus (genus)) (AAT)

	war [300055314]
	.....(Activities Facet, Events (hierarchy name), events (activities), armed conflicts) (AAT)

	initial (layout feature) [300168055]
	.....(Objects Facet, Components (hierarchy name), components (objects parts), <components by specific context>, information form components, layout features) (AAT)

Inscriptions: Label: Paper hinge on reverse, of unknown date, inscribed in pencil: "Ital / ... / 15Jhr" (?)

List/Hierarchical Position:

..... Movable Works

.......... Movable Works by class: drawings, paintings, prints, other two-dimensional media

Sources and Contributors:
Initial S: The Conversion of Saint Paul	........ [JPGM,VP]
	........ J. Paul Getty Museum database for collections (2000-)
Cutting from a Gradual	........ [JPGM,VP]
	........ J. Paul Getty Museum database for collections (2000-)

Subject: ....... [JPGM,VP]

Note:
English	..... [VP]
	..... J. Paul Getty Museum, collections online (2000-)