Office of the Dead, fol. 226v

Da Costa hours
Illuminated by Simon Bening (1483/84–1561)

Ghent, Belgium
ca. 1515
172 x 125 mm

Purchased by J. Pierpont Morgan (1837–1913), 1910

MS M.399, fol. 226v
Description: 

Christ: Miracle of raising Lazarus―Two men, including one covering his mouth with his hand, look on as a nimbed and partially shrouded Lazarus rises from his grave. Christ, with a rayed nimbus, gestures toward him with His right hand. Nimbed apostles, including Peter and Paul, and Mary and Martha of Bethany, both nimbed and kneeling, look on. A sarcophagus lid on the ground beside the grave is inscribed with pseudo-inscriptions. Behind, figures stand in front of a church facade that is decorated with two statues of female figures flanking a statue of the Virgin Mary and the Christ Child, both seated, within a niche.
The scene is framed by a border with four skulls within illusionistic architectural niches.

Credits: 

Image courtesy of Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt, Graz/Austria.