Pentecost as Depicted in the Art of Liturgical Books ~ Liturgical Arts Journal

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The liturgical books of old were frequently characterized by their beauty, not only in the ornamentality of their binding, but also within in their art. What is well enough known to many is, of course, the full page crucifixion plate that sits opposite the Canon Missae / Canon of the Mass page within the missal, but many of these missals also included full page plates for the most important feast days as well. What's more, since these missals were usually facing toward the nave and sitting up on a missal stand or missal cushion, their particular art would frequently be visible to the congregation thereby adding to the overall beauty of the sacred liturgy. The same may be said of the pontifical Canon Missae, which replaced the altar cards in a pontifical Mass and which was set upright like the same upon the altar. Of course, even breviaries frequently included similar art as a point of meditation for the owner, especially those of the 18th century. The most spectacular of these designs included not only full page plates but also "bordura" or border art on the facing page (as seen in the example immediately above). Sometimes this border art was purely ornamental, whereas in other instance it continued the theme in question.

Continuing on with our Pentecost theme, today I thought it would be of interest to share some examples of such plates taken from various centuries, all pertaining to the feast of Pentecost. I would note that the dates provided here pertain to the date of the publication, not necessarily the date of the artwork itself, but if you look closely you will certainly notice some stylistic trends particular to each century -- some of which was most certainly driven by technological considerations as the art of printing advanced, and some of which was related to the stylistic preferences of a particular time, as for example the palpable influence of the gothic revival in many of the examples that we can find in the later 19th and early 20th century.