News | June 24, 2025

Major Donation of Italian Manuscript Illuminations to Getty

Getty Museum

Initial V: Christ Blessing, cutting from a gradual, 1423 – 1424, by Lorenzo Monaco (Italian, about 1370 – 1423). Tempera colors and gold.

The J. Paul Getty Museum has been gifted 38 manuscript leaves made by Italian artists from the 12th to 17th centuries, largely for Christian choir books and depicting religious scenes mostly drawn from the lives of Jesus, Mary, and the saints.

“Over the past quarter of a century Robert and Katherine Burke have assembled the most important private collection of Italian illuminated manuscript leaves in the United States,” said Timothy Potts, Maria Hummer-Tuttle and Robert Tuttle Director of the Getty Museum. “This generous gift will almost double our representation of Italian manuscript leaves. These works will be fully accessible to students and scholars, and will be highlighted regularly in our changing displays in the Museum’s galleries.”

Bridging the High Middle Ages to the Renaissance, the Burke Collection captures the diversity of premodern Italian book painting and includes examples by the most prominent artists of the 14th and 15th centuries including Lorenzo Monaco, Don Silvestro dei Gherarducci, Don Simone Camaldolese, Lippo Vanni, Giovanni di Paolo, and Sano di Pietro.

During the premodern period, manuscript illumination flourished in Italy. Usually of impressive dimensions, choir books often featured oversized illuminated initials with religious figures or scenes to visually emphasize important text, provide visual aids, and demonstrate the artist’s skill. Centuries later, it became common for these beautifully designed choir books to be disassembled, with individual leaves bought and sold by collectors as individual art works.

Getty Museum

Initial A: Saint John the Baptist and the Messiah, cutting from a gradual, about 1400 – 1450, by
Master of the Burke Saint John the Baptist and the Messiah. Tempera colors and gold.

Getty Museum

Initial V: Saint Placidus, cutting from an antiphonal, about 1385 – 1390, by Don Silvestro dei Gherarducci (Italian, 1339 – 1399). Tempera colors, gold, and ink

Getty Museum

Initial A: The Three Marys at the Tomb, leaf from an antiphonal, about 1471, by Pellegrino di Mariano Rossini (Italian, active 1449, died 1492). Tempera colors, gold, and ink

Getty Museum

Initial D: Christ in Majesty with the Symbols of the Four Evangelists, leaf from an antiphonal, about 1390 – 1400, by Andre di Bartolo (Italian, active by 1389, died 1428). Tempera colors, gold, and ink

Highlights include:

* Initial V: Christ Blessing, painted by Lorenzo Monaco, the most celebrated illuminator of early 15th century Florence. In the figure Christ is nestled within lush vegetation enwrapping the letter V, and the image is further enhanced by Monaco’s use of vivid colors and a rich golden background. This is the first work painted by Monaco to enter Getty’s collection

* an initial containing Saint Michael and the Dragon, attributed to Giovanni di Paolo and Sano di Pietro. Colorful, spiky leaves dotted with gold decorate a large initial and the scene within features the archangel Micheal triumphantly standing on a dragon and wielding a sword (hidden by the letter) to cut off the dragon’s head. The exuberant style of the initial, golden armor, multicolored wings, and dark modeling of the skin are characteristic of illuminations executed by Giovanni di Paolo, the leading painter of 15th-century Siena.

* Initial H: The Nativity, made by prolific illuminator of the period around 1400 Don Simione Camaldolese. The work, over a foot in height, features the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph kneeling before the Christ Child while angels hover in the sky above. Camaldolese created this composition on a monumental scale, approaching it like a panel painting, featuring brilliant colors and the lavish use of both gold and silver leaf.

In summer 2027, Getty will showcase a dedicated exhibition of the leaves to celebrate the new acquisition.

“The age, beauty, and historical importance of these works are what prompted us to begin collecting Italian illumination in 1998, with an intent to build a collection of some continuity and importance,” said T. Robert Burke. When asked about their mission to leave their collection to a public institution Katherine States Burke said: “Now in their new home at Getty, we look forward to seeing these pieces bring joy and knowledge to visitors at the Getty Center and worldwide, just as they did for us.”