Artwork
Initial N (?) with David in Prayer
Initial N (?) with David in Prayer is a drawing by the Renaissance artist Master of the Cypresses. It dates from 1434 and is held in the collection of the National Gallery of Art.
About this work
Overview
Created circa 1434, this miniature on vellum presents a historiated initial that frames a devotional scene of the biblical king David kneeling in prayer. The work is attributed to the Master of the Cypresses, an anonymous Seville painter active in the early fifteenth century, known for decorating choirbooks of Seville Cathedral.
Subject & Meaning
The central figure, dressed in a red robe, holds an open book while bowing his head, embodying a moment of pious contemplation. A small dog at his feet adds a domestic touch, while the surrounding architectural elements—checkerboard floor and a window opening onto a garden—situate the scene within a cultivated interior, reinforcing the theme of learned devotion.
Technique & Style
Executed with bold outlines and flat, vivid coloration, the miniature reflects the influence of Italian Giotto alongside early Netherlandish attention to detail. The artist’s use of simple geometric shapes and decorative gold‑blue swirls along the borders typifies the manuscript illumination practices of the period.
History & Provenance
The piece was identified as the work of the Master of the Cypresses by art historian Diego Angulo Íñiguez in 1928. The artist earned this name from the recurring cypress‑like trees that appear in his historiated initials for the choirbooks of Seville Cathedral, linking the work to the cathedral’s liturgical manuscript tradition.
Context
During the 1420‑1440 span in which the Master of the Cypresses was active, Seville was a crossroads of artistic exchange, absorbing Italian and Northern European visual vocabularies. This miniature exemplifies how local manuscript illumination incorporated broader stylistic currents while serving the devotional needs of the cathedral’s choir.
Artist & collection
Artist
The Master of the Cypresses is a notname invented by the art historian Diego Angulo Íñiguez in 1928 for a painter and manuscript illuminator working in Seville around the years 1420–1440.
