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Initial B with King David (Leaf from a Psalter) by Florentine illuminator, c. 1450, Cleveland Museum of Art
Old Testament

Initial B with King David (Leaf from a Psalter)

Unknown illuminator (Italy, Florence, c. 1450)

c. 1450 · ink, tempera, and gold on parchment · Cleveland Museum of Art

Sizes

image 7.3×10 in on a 8×10 in sheet

What is dpi?

Dots per inch: how many pixels of the museum’s file go into each inch of paper. Our floor is 240 for sheets up to 20 inches, 180 up to 36 inches and 120 beyond, because a larger print is seen from further away. We never offer a sheet below the floor, and the number on each size is the one you receive.

Hahnemühle Photo Rag, 308 gsm cotton rag · pigment inks · printed to order

Printed to order · the whole painting, never cropped · if it arrives damaged, we replace it

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About this painting

King David kneels inside a letter, crowned, his instrument laid down on the ground, and the whole book of Psalms opens through him. The letter is B, for the Psalter's first words: "Blessed is the man." A Florentine illuminator worked it around 1450 in ink, tempera and gold on parchment. The Cleveland Museum of Art notes that the leaf's size, 45.7 by 34.3 centimetres, indicates it could be used by a group of readers, and adds a lineage: the book of hours grew out of psalters once laypeople in the 1200s asked for psalters without the cumbersome psalms. The instrument lies quiet. The singing is about to begin.

Sources: Cleveland Museum of Art, Leaf from a Psalter with Historiated Initial (B): King David, 1964.149, read 2026-09-24

Blessed is the man who hath not walked in the counsel of the ungodly, nor stood in the way of sinners, nor sat in the chair of pestilence:

Psalms 1:1 · Douay-Rheims (Challoner)

Pray with this every day  ›
The Record
Date c. 1450
Collection Cleveland Museum of Art
Subject Old Testament
Season Ordinary Time
Master 7,067 px
License CC0
Attribution Cleveland Museum of Art · 1964.149

The original, as its museum records it

Date c. 1450
Medium ink, tempera, and gold on parchment
Dimensions Sheet: 45.7 x 34.3 cm (18 x 13 1/2 in.)
Holding Cleveland Museum of Art · 1964.149

Every line above is reproduced from the holding institution’s own catalogue entry, which is linked. Where their title, date or attribution differs from ours, theirs is the one printed here.

The file this print is made from

Source Italy, Florence, 15th century - Leaf from a Psalter with Historiated Initial (B)- King David - 1964.149 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif
Master 7,067 px on the long edge
Rights CC0 — the photograph as well as the painting
At a glance
ArtistUnknown illuminator (Italy, Florence, c. 1450)
Datec. 1450
MuseumCleveland Museum of Art
Accession1964.149
Mediumink, tempera, and gold on parchment
DimensionsSheet: 45.7 x 34.3 cm (18 x 13 1/2 in.)
Sheet sizes8×10 in, 11×14 in, 16×20 in, 18×24 in, 24×36 in, 32×48 in, 40×60 in
Provenance of the file
Held byCleveland Museum of Art · 1964.149 the museum’s record
Source fileWikimedia Commons · Italy, Florence, 15th century - Leaf from a Psalter with Historiated Initial (B)- King David - 1964.149 - Cleveland Museum of Art.tif
LicenceCreative Commons Zero, Public Domain Dedication
Master5,177 × 7,067 px, the file our printer receives
ChainTaken from Wikimedia Commons; held as our print master.

The sheets

8×10 in sheet 8×10 in · image 7.3×10 in · archival margin · 707 dpi
11×14 in sheet 11×14 in · image 10.3×14 in · archival margin · 505 dpi
16×20 in sheet 16×20 in · image 14.7×20 in · archival margin · 353 dpi
18×24 in sheet 18×24 in · image 17.6×24 in · archival margin · 294 dpi
24×36 in sheet 24×36 in · image 24×32.8 in · archival margin · 216 dpi
32×48 in sheet 32×48 in · image 32×43.7 in · archival margin · 162 dpi
40×60 in sheet 40×60 in · image 40×54.6 in · archival margin · 129 dpi

Printed on demand. Public-domain masterwork, reproduced from a 7,067 px master of the original. The whole image is printed — never cropped to fit the sheet — so every sheet carries an archival margin, and the dimensions and resolution listed above are the ones you receive.