Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

Plan your visit. 225 Madison Avenue at 36th Street, New York, NY 10016.

308. MS M.917/945, pp. 230–231


St. Matthew

ca. 1440
The Netherlands, Utrecht
MS M.917/945, pp. 230–231

Purchased on the Belle da Costa Greene Fund with the assistance of the Fellows, 1963

Here Matthew holds a Gospel Book, referencing his role as evangelist, and a carpenter's square (which he also holds in the bottom border of p. 262). The connection of Matthew with woodworking is unusual but receives reinforcement here from the border that simulates an elaborately carved wood frame. Starting at the lower left, an inscription enclosing the frame at each corner describes why Matthew was assigned the symbol of a man:

Forma[m] viri da[n]t Matheo/ quia spripsit [sic: for scripsit] sic de Deo/ sicud [sic: for sicut] descendit ab eo/ quem formavit ho[m]i[n]em.