Gradual 2 for San Michele a Murano (Folio 74)

According to Vasari, in the Camaldolese monastery of Santa Maria degli Angeli in Florence there were twenty choir books written by a certain Don Jacopo and illustrated by Don Silvestro dei Gherarducci. He also points out that several other choir books by the same masters were in the library in the monastery of San Michele of the same order in Murano. Single illuminated pages representing a number of scenes from a large gradual by Don Silvestro have survived in various museums. Together with several other stylistically consistent historiated pages and with a considerable number of cut initials scattered in various museums, they formed the major portion of the illuminated decoration of two large graduals for San Michele a Murano. Fifty-one full pages and initials have been discovered so far that can now be firmly associated with the two San Michele a Murano graduals, Gradual 1 (The First Sunday of Advent to Passion Week) and Gradual 2 (Easter to the Twenty-fourth Sunday after Pentecost).

The initial B, formed of red intertwining tendrils with abundant foliage, encloses the Trinity. It offers place for two different representations. In the upper section, behind a richly ornamented altar and two candelabra, appear the Three Divine Persons with the respective symbols above their heads. The lower section includes an Old Testament antetype for the Trinity: Abraham kneels before the three angels, who announce to him the miraculous birth of a son.

The initial B begins the introit to the Mass for the Trinity Sunday.