Initial V: Christ Blessing, cutting from a gradual
This is a single decorated initial letter cut from a choir book, painted by Lorenzo Monaco around 1423 in Florence for liturgical use in church singing. The picture shows Christ in a pink robe and blue mantle, raised hands in blessing, set within a gilded ground and a curling acanthus-and-leaf border in orange, green and blue. A designer might take from it the framing of a figure inside a letter shape, and the way gold leaf and bright ornamental scrolls surround a central image.
