King David in Penitence
A manuscript miniature from about 1480 by the Master of the Houghton Miniatures, held by the J. Paul Getty Museum, showing King David kneeling in penitence before a Gothic city. The picture shows a bearded figure in a long golden robe and ermine-trimmed white cloak, hands clasped in prayer, against pale blue sky, grey stone towers and a green ground. A designer could take its flat jewel-toned palette, the layered Gothic architecture receding behind a single kneeling figure, and the gilded halo-like sky.
