Bifolium from an Antiphonary: Initial M with Saint Dominic Preaching and Music

The representation of Saint Dominic (1170–1221), founder of the Dominican Order of Preachers, in this initial suggests that this double page was at one time part of a manuscript made for a Dominican convent. Saint Dominic traveled much, preaching throughout Europe, and was particularly venerated in Bologna, the city in which he died and was buried. The illuminator of this initial is named after a volume he decorated of Seneca’s works (now in the Bibliothèque nationale in Paris). His workshop specialized in large-scale manuscripts destined for wealthy religious institutions in the region of Emilia, for which Bologna was the artistic and intellectual center.