Gradual (Volume 2, folio 1v)
by SIMONE CAMALDOLESE, Don, Tempera and gold on parchment, 540 x 390 mm (page size)
Volume 1 of the two-volume Gradual is distinguished by red decoration of the appliqu�s. It covers the period from Advent through Lent and contains 3 historiated initials and 58 foliate initials. Volume 2 is distinguished by green decoration of the appliqu�s. It covers the period from Easter through the 24th Sunday after Pentecost and contains 4 historiated initials and 46 foliate initials.
The initials in the two volumes of the Gradual display the full range of Don Simone’s decorative repertoire and the brilliant effects he achieved with a palette of high-key contrasting colours and his signature use of black as a ground colour, both in the framework of large historiated initials and, not infrequently, in the centres of smaller foliate initials.
On folio 1v in Volume 2 the Resurrection is depicted in an initial R. The initial begins the introit to the Mass for Easter Sunday.