Leaves from Jacques Le Lieur, Poème sur la Passion

Physical Description

Description and Contents

MS 1-2006.1: parchment, 150 x 100 mm, 18 long lines ruled in red ink with 15 lines of text written in iron-gall ink on reverse

 

MS 355-1984: parchment pasted on paper, 153 x 100 mm

 

MS 1-2012.1: parchment pasted on paper, 154 x 101 mm

 

MS 1-2012.2: parchment pasted on paper, 152 x 104 mm

 

MS 1-2006.2: parchment pasted on paper, 155 x 103 mm

With his hands clasped in prayer, Christ kneels in the Garden of Gethsemane, gazing up at an angel holding a cross, a symbol of his impending death. In the foreground, Christ’s disciples, Peter, John and perhaps James succumb to sleep, oblivious to his distress. A group of armed men, coming to arrest Christ, are shown in the background. Led by the traitor, Judas, they enter the garden. The men in the foreground may represent the spiritual pilgrims to which the poet refers. The miniature is set within an architectural frame with trees and foliage forming an arch over the scene.