Silvestro de' Gherarducci - Gradual from Santa Maria degli Angeli (Folio 134) - WGA08677

Among the various choir books that Don Silvestro illuminated for his monastery, Santa Maria degli Angeli, one (Cod. Cor. 2, now in the Biblioteca Laurenziana, Florence) clearly stands out for its high artistic quality. As were most of the Santa Maria degli Angeli choir books which entered the Biblioteca Laurenziana, it was mutilated in the Napoleonic period. Twenty pages - many of them the most important and most beautiful - were cut from this gradual and found their way into various collections. There are thirty-eight present and missing illuminations in the codex on which a reconstruction can be based.

The cutting from folio 134 depicts St Lawrence in an initial C. This initial begins the introit to the Mass for the feast of St Lawrence (August 10). The initial encloses a half-length frontal figure of St Lawrence wearing a richly ornamented garment. In his left hand, elegantly hidden by drapery, he holds a book, while his other hand is poised on the instrument of his martyrdom, the gridiron. He is distinguished by a quiet introspection and an air of solemn gravity.