page_title: Master of the Antiphonal Q of San Giorgio Maggiore
hierarchical_section_title: Master of the Antiphonal Q of San Giorgio Maggiore
caption_attribution_description: Title: Initial S: The Conversion of Saint Paul Artist/Maker: Attributed to Pisanello (Italian, by 1395 - about 1455) Attributed to the Master of the Antiphonal Q of San Giorgio Maggiore (Italian, about 1440 - about 1470) Culture: Italian Place: Veneto (probably) Italy Verona (possibly) Italy (Place created) Date: about 1440 - 1450 Medium: Tempera colors, gold leaf, gold paint, silver leaf, and ink on parchment Dimensions: Leaf: 14.1 x 8.9 cm (5 9/16 x 3 1/2 in.) See more In this closely trimmed historiated initial S from a gradual, the illuminator represented Saul's dramatic conversion to Christianity. Dressed in a soldier's helmet and armor, Saul tumbles to earth, his horse collapsing beneath him. Though the artist omitted the rest of the biblical account, in which Saul changes his name to Paul and takes up an evangelical Christian mission, the initial's viewers would have been familiar with the story. In the top half of the initial, another soldier, seated erect on a more elaborately liveried steed, wears a fancy hat and tunic trimmed in green, white, and red, the colors of both the Gonzaga and Este families. Given his visual precedence in the image, this man may have been the book's patron, commissioning the gradual for use in his family's private chapel or for an ecclesiastical foundation under his protection. Interplay between the naturalistic and decorative elements in the initial adds visual tension to the miniature. The artist represented the imposing physical presence of the horses, including details such as the horseshoes and armor and subtly modeling the surfaces, such as the animals' coats. He then harmoniously integrated these carefully observed figures and their details within the artificial constraints of the shape of the letter S.
context_page_description: The Master of the Antiphonal Q of San Giorgio Maggiore was an Italian painter of illuminated manuscripts active in the northern region, especially around Venice and possibly around Verona, between 1440 and 1470. His name is derived from a choir book decorated for the Benedictine monks of San Giorgio Maggiore in that city. Stylistically, he appears to have been aware of the work of Pisanello. His miniatures are highly naturalistic, although bound by formal and decorative restraints.
context_section_description: The Master of the Antiphonal Q of San Giorgio Maggiore was an Italian painter of illuminated manuscripts active in the northern region, especially around Venice and possibly around Verona, between 1440 and 1470.  His name is derived from a choir book decorated for the Benedictine monks of San Giorgio Maggiore in that city.  Stylistically, he appears to have been aware of the work of Pisanello.  His miniatures are highly naturalistic, although bound by formal and decorative restraints.
caption: Detail of a miniature depiction of The Conversion of Saint Paul in the Getty Museum
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