WLA lacma Madonna and Child with Sts John Baptist and Paul

Silvestro dei Gherarducci (c. 1339 – c. 1399) was an Italian

painter Painting is a Visual arts, visual art, which is characterized by the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called "matrix" or "Support (art), support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with ...

and illuminator in

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

. He became a monk and later a

prior The term prior may refer to: * Prior (ecclesiastical), the head of a priory (monastery) * Prior convictions, the life history and previous convictions of a suspect or defendant in a criminal case * Prior probability, in Bayesian statistics * Prio ...

of the monastery of Santa Maria degli Angeli where he first started work on illustrations for manuscripts.

Paintings

* ''Madonna and Child with Sts. John Baptist and Paul (?)'', circa 1375, tempera on panel, 83.82 × 76.835 cm (

Los Angeles County Museum of Art The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Page Museum). LACMA was founded in 1961 ...

, M.39.1) * ''Assumption of the Virgin'', circa 1365, tempera on panel, 41 × 27 cm (

Pinacoteca Vaticana The Vatican Museums (; ) are the public museums of the Vatican City. They display works from the immense collection amassed by the Catholic Church and the papacy throughout the centuries, including several of the best-known Roman sculptures and ...

) * ''Madonna and Child'', circa 1365–1370, tempera on panel, 49 × 30.5 cm (private collection) * ''The Assumption of Saint Mary Magdalene'', 1380s, tempera on panel, 161.1 × 81.9 cm (

National Gallery of Ireland The National Gallery of Ireland () houses the national collection of Irish and European art. It is located in the centre of Dublin with one entrance on Merrion Square, beside Leinster House, and another on Clare Street, Dublin, Clare Street. It ...

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

, NGI.841) * ''Madonna and Child'', circa 1366–1375, tempera on panel, 164 × 89 cm (

Galleria dell'Accademia The Galleria dell'Accademia di Firenze () is an art museum in Florence, Italy. It is best known as the home of Michelangelo's sculpture ''David''. It also has other sculptures by Michelangelo and a large collection of paintings by Florentine a ...

, inv. 3161) * ''The Madonna and Child'', tempera on panel, 30.5 × 20.3 cm ( The Legion of Honor,

Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco The Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco (FAMSF), comprising the de Young Museum in Golden Gate Park and the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park, is the largest public arts institution in the city of San Francisco. FAMSF's combined attendance was 1,1 ...

, 1999.32)

Illuminated manuscripts

Gradual from Santa Maria degli Angeli

Gradual The gradual ( or ) is a certain chant or hymn in liturgical Christian worship. It is practiced in the Catholic Mass, Lutheran Divine Service, Anglican service and other traditions. It gets its name from the Latin (meaning "step") because i ...

from Santa Maria degli Angeli, considered to be Don Silvestro's crowning achievement, is currently preserved in the

Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana The Laurentian Library (Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana or BML) is a historic library in Florence, Italy, containing more than 11,000 manuscripts and 4,500 early printed books. Built in a cloister of the Medicean Basilica di San Lorenzo di Firenze u ...

in Florence (Codice Corale 2 / Cod. Cor. 2), with twenty detached pages in various collections around the world: * folio 15: ''Saint Stephen Enthroned in an Initial E'' (private collection,

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

) * folio 18: ''The Four Evangelists in an Initial I'' (

Calouste Gulbenkian Museum The Calouste Gulbenkian Museum houses one of the world's most important private art collections. It includes works from Ancient Egypt to the early 20th century, spanning the arts of the Islamic art, Islamic World, China and Japan, as well as the F ...

Lisbon Lisbon ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Portugal, with an estimated population of 567,131, as of 2023, within its administrative limits and 3,028,000 within the Lisbon Metropolitan Area, metropolis, as of 2025. Lisbon is mainlan ...

, inv. no. M34) * folio 23: ''Saint Silvester in an Initial S'' (

Nationalmuseum Nationalmuseum is the List of national galleries, national gallery of fine arts of Sweden, located on the peninsula Blasieholmen in central Stockholm. The museum's operations stretch far beyond the borders of Blasieholmen, including the Natio ...

Stockholm Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, NMB 1797) * folio 32: ''Saint Agnes in an Initial M'' ( Library of Geneva,

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

) * folio 42: ''The Presentation in the Temple in an Initial S'' (

Fitzwilliam Museum The Fitzwilliam Museum is the art and antiquities University museum, museum of the University of Cambridge. It is located on Trumpington Street opposite Fitzwilliam Street in central Cambridge. It was founded in 1816 under the will of Richard ...

Cambridge Cambridge ( ) is a List of cities in the United Kingdom, city and non-metropolitan district in the county of Cambridgeshire, England. It is the county town of Cambridgeshire and is located on the River Cam, north of London. As of the 2021 Unit ...

, England, Marlay Cutting It. 13A) * folio 49: ''Saint Scholastica in an Initial V'' (location unknown) * folio 56: ''Saint Benedict Enthroned with Eight Saints'' (Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, inv. no. M35) * folio 60: ''The Annunciation in an Initial R'' (

British Library The British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom. Based in London, it is one of the largest libraries in the world, with an estimated collection of between 170 and 200 million items from multiple countries. As a legal deposit li ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, Add. MS 35254 C)Kanter 1994, pp. 141–144 text + images + ''Six Bust-Length Prophets'' (Nationalmuseum, Stockholm, NMB 1797) * folio 80: ''Saint Michael Fighting the Dragon in an Initial B'' ( Abegg-Stiftung,

Riggisberg Riggisberg is a Municipalities of Switzerland, municipality in the Bern-Mittelland (administrative district), Bern-Mittelland administrative district in the Cantons of Switzerland, canton of Bern (canton), Bern in Switzerland. On January 1, 2009, ...

, Switzerland) * folio 90: ''Saint Romuald Enthroned with Four Saints in an Initial O'' (British Library, Add. MS 37472, folio 3) * folio 97: ''The Birth of Saint John the Baptist'' (

Walker Art Gallery The Walker Art Gallery is an art gallery in Liverpool, which houses one of the largest art collections in England outside London. It is part of the National Museums Liverpool group. History The Walker Art Gallery's collection dates from 1819 ...

Liverpool Liverpool is a port City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. It is situated on the eastern side of the River Mersey, Mersey Estuary, near the Irish Sea, north-west of London. With a population ...

, inv. no. 2764) * folio 104: ''Saints Peter and Paul in an Initial N'' (private collection, England) * folio 113: ''Saint Margaret in an Initial L'' (private collection,

Milan Milan ( , , ; ) is a city in northern Italy, regional capital of Lombardy, the largest city in Italy by urban area and the List of cities in Italy, second-most-populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of nea ...

) * folio 119: ''Saints James and Andrew in an Initial M'' (

Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art The Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art is an art gallery, art museum in Kansas City, Missouri, Kansas City, Missouri, known for its encyclopedic collection of art from nearly every continent and culture, and especially for its extensive collection of A ...

Kansas City The Kansas City metropolitan area is a bi-state metropolitan area anchored by Kansas City, Missouri. Its 14 counties straddle the border between the U.S. states of Missouri (9 counties) and Kansas (5 counties). With and a population of more t ...

, inv. no. F61–14) * folio 134: ''Saint Lawrence in an Initial C'' (

Walters Art Museum The Walters Art Museum is a public art museum located in the Mount Vernon, Baltimore, Mount Vernon neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. Founded and opened in 1934, it holds collections from the mid-19th century that were amassed substantially ...

Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...

, MS W.416) * folio 137: ''The Virgin and Child in an Initial S'' (

Cleveland Museum of Art The Cleveland Museum of Art (CMA) is an art museum in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. Located in the Wade Park District of University Circle, the museum is internationally renowned for its substantial holdings of Asian art, Asian and Art of anc ...

, 1924.1012) * folio 142: ''The Death and Assumption of the Virgin'' (British Library, Add. MS 37955 A) * folio 148: ''The Birth of the Virgin in an Initial G'' (

Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

, 21.168) * folio 155: ''The Virgin and Christ in Glory in an Initial G'' (Cleveland Museum of Art, 1930.105) * folio 159: ''Pope Saint Clement in an Initial D'' (Fitzwilliam Museum, MS 5-1979)

Gradual 1 from San Michele a Murano

Gradual 1 from San Michele a Murano can be reconstructed from individual pages and numerous cuttings in various collections:Kanter 1994, pp. 155–176 * folio 1: ''God the Father Presenting the Infant Christ to a group of Saints in an Initial A'' (

Victoria and Albert Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum (abbreviated V&A) in London is the world's largest museum of applied arts, decorative arts and design, housing a permanent collection of over 2.8 million objects. It was founded in 1852 and named after Queen ...

, London, MS 434, no. I 30-A) * ''Saint Paul in an Initial G'' (

Morgan Library & Museum The Morgan Library & Museum (originally known as the Pierpont Morgan Library and colloquially known the Morgan) is a museum and research library in New York City, New York, U.S. Completed in 1906 as the private library of the banker J. P. Morg ...

, New York, MS M.478, no. 6 (I.3)) * ''Foliate Decoration in an Initial M'' (Victoria and Albert Museum, MS 983, no. 2868) * folio 32: ''The Nativity of Christ in an Initial D'' (Victoria and Albert Museum, MS 966, no. 3074) * ''The Adoration of the Shepherds in an Initial L'' (Victoria and Albert Museum, MS 967, no. D.229-1906) * folio 38: ''The Nativity and the Annuciation to the Shepherds in an Initial P'' (Morgan Library & Museum, MS M.653, no. 1 (I.8)) * ''A Prophet in an Initial D'' (Victoria and Albert Museum, MS 973, no. D.222-1906) * folio 46: ''The Adoration of the Magi in an Initial E'' (Morgan Library & Museum, MS M.653, no. 5 (I.15)) * ''A Prophet Looking Up to the Enthroned Christ in an Initial I'' (Morgan Library & Museum, MS M.478, no. 7 (I.16)) * ''A Prophet in an Initial O'' (

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park. Its collection, stewa ...

, acc. no. 1915.550) * ''A Prophet in an Initial A'' (Morgan Library & Museum, MS M.478, no. 10 (I.18)) * ''A Prophet in an Initial С'' (Victoria and Albert Museum, MS 976, no. D.227-1906) * ''A Prophet in an Initial E'' (Victoria and Albert Museum, MS 982, no. D.219-1906) * ''A Prophet in an Initial R'' (Museo Civico,

Padua Padua ( ) is a city and ''comune'' (municipality) in Veneto, northern Italy, and the capital of the province of Padua. The city lies on the banks of the river Bacchiglione, west of Venice and southeast of Vicenza, and has a population of 20 ...

, M.C. 887) * ''A Prophet in an Initial O'' (Victoria and Albert Museum, MS D.217-1906) * ''An Initial I'' (Museo Civico,

, M.C. 886) * ''The Entry into Jerusalem in an Initial D'' (Wildenstein Collection, Musée Marmottan, Paris)

Gradual 2 from San Michele a Murano

Gradual 2 from San Michele a Murano can be reconstructed from individual pages and numerous cuttings in various collections: * ''The Resurrection in an Initial R'' (

Musée Condé The – in English, the Condé Museum – is a French museum located inside the Château de Chantilly in Chantilly, Oise, 40 km north of Paris. In 1897, Henri d'Orléans, Duke of Aumale, son of Louis Philippe I, bequeathed the château and ...

Chantilly Chantilly may refer to: Places France *Chantilly, Oise, a city ** US Chantilly, a football club *Château de Chantilly United States * Chantilly, Missouri, an unincorporated community * Chantilly (Charlotte neighborhood), North Carolina ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, inv. no. PE 2) * ''A Prophet in an Initial A'' (Victoria and Albert Museum, MS 969, no. 432) * ''A Prophet in an Initial V'' (Morgan Library & Museum, MS M.478, no. 17 (II.5))Zoomable image
of MS M.478.16 and M.478.17 * ''A Prophet in an Initial V'' (Victoria and Albert Museum, MS D.226-1906) * ''A Prophet in an Initial E'' (Morgan Library & Museum, MS M.478, no. 3 (II.7)) * ''A Prophet in an Initial M'' (Morgan Library & Museum, MS M.478, no. 9 (II.10)) * ''An Initial I'' (Museo Civico, Padua, M.C. 878) * ''A Prophet in an Initial C'' (Victoria and Albert Museum, MS 968, no. 431) * ''A Prophet in an Initial V'' (Victoria and Albert Museum, MS 970, no. 3087) * folio 44: ''The Ascention of Christ in an Initial V'' (Morgan Library & Museum, MS M.653, no. 3 (II.14)) * ''A Prophet in an Initial E'' (Morgan Library & Museum, MS M.478, no. 4 (II.15)) * folio 58: ''The Pentecost in an Initial S'' (Victoria and Albert Museum, MS 970, inv. no. 3045) * ''A Prophet in an Initial A'' (Victoria and Albert Museum, MS 975, no. D.224-1906) * ''A Prophet in an Initial R'' (Morgan Library & Museum, MS M.478, no. 14 (II.26)) * folio 74: ''The Trinity in an Initial B'' (Morgan Library & Museum, MS M.653, no. 2 (II.23)) * folio 78: ''The Last Supper in an Initial C'' (Morgan Library & Museum, MS M.653, no. 4 (II.25)) * ''A Prophet in an Initial D'' (Victoria and Albert Museum, MS 974, no. D.225-1906) * ''A Prophet in an Initial D'' ( Kupferstichkabinett,

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

, MS 682) * ''A Prophet in an Initial D'' (Victoria and Albert Museum, MS 981, no. D.221-1906) * ''A Prophet in an Initial O'' (Morgan Library & Museum, MS M.478, no. 11 (II.31)) * ''A Prophet in an Initial S'' (Victoria and Albert Museum, MS 978, no. D.218-1906) * ''A Prophet in an Initial E'' (Morgan Library & Museum, MS M.478, no. 5 (II.33)) * ''A Prophet in an Initial D'' (Morgan Library & Museum, MS M.478, no. 1 (II.35)) * ''A Prophet in an Initial D'' (Morgan Library & Museum, MS M.478, no. 2 (II.36)) * ''A Prophet in an Initial R'' (Morgan Library & Museum, MS M.478, no. 15 (II.37)) * ''A Prophet in an Initial P'' (Morgan Library & Museum, MS M.478, no. 13 (II.38)) * ''An Initial I'' (Museo Civico, Padua, M.C. 904) * ''A Prophet in an Initial M'' (Morgan Library & Museum, MS M.478, no. 8 (II.40)) * ''An Initial I'' (Museo Civico, Padua, M.C. 879) * ''A Prophet in an Initial D'' (Victoria and Albert Museum, inv. no. D.228-1906) * ''A Prophet in an Initial S'' (Morgan Library & Museum, MS M.478, no. 16 (II.43)) * ''A Prophet in an Initial O'' (Morgan Library & Museum, MS M.478, no. 12 (II.44)) * ''A Prophet in an Initial I'' (Museo Civico, Padua, M.C. 880) * ''A Prophet in an Initial D'' (Morgan Library & Museum, MS M.718, no. 18 (II.47)) * ''A Prophet in an Initial L'' (formerly, Victoria and Albert Museum, inv. no. D.220-1906; missing since the early 1940s)Kanter 1994, p. 165 n. 5 * ''A Prophet in an Initial E'' (formerly, Victoria and Albert Museum, inv. no. D.223-1906; missing since the early 1940s) * ''A Prophet in an Initial E'' (private collection, England)

Other works

* ''Saint Augustine in an Initial I'' (Biblioteca Medicea Laurenziana, Codice Corale 19 (Cod. Cor. 19), folio 149)Kanter 1994, p. 234, n. 4

Notes

References

* *
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*
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* (see index; plate 32) * *

External links

Biography
of Silvestro dei Gherarducci (in Italian) {{DEFAULTSORT:Silvestro dei Gherarducci 1339 births 1399 deaths Trecento painters 14th-century Italian painters Italian male painters Painters from Florence Italian manuscript illuminators