The Morgan Library & Museum in New York City is renowned for its world-class collection of medieval illuminated manuscripts. The funds for amassing these works came from the banking and industrial fortunes of J.P. Morgan and, after his death, his son. But the mastermind behind the acquisitions was Belle da Costa Greene—a pioneering librarian in taste, knowledge, and biography.
Morgan’s Mastermind
Belle da Costa Greene (1879–1950) was the inaugural director of the library. She was born in Washington and was originally known as Belle Marion Greener. Her father, Richard T. Greener, graduated from Harvard College and became a notable scholar and diplomat. After her parents separated, Belle’s mother changed their surname to Greene and the family began to pass as white. Belle would later add “da Costa” to strengthen her claim of Portuguese ancestry. Her African American heritage was largely unknown during her lifetime.
The Morgan Leaf
The last and finest single leaf from a medieval manuscript that Morgan Sr. acquired was in 1912, a year before his death. Now known as The Morgan Leaf, the recto and verso (front and back) have full-page illustrations know as miniatures. The leaf was originally part of the Winchester Bible, the largest and greatest English Romanesque Bible that is permanently housed at Winchester Cathedral. It was begun around 1160 but the illustrations were never completed. Only two drawings were finished for this project—the ones owned by the library. This double-sided leaf was probably removed from the Bible when it was rebound in 1820, and its artworks are considered a highlight of 12th-century English painting.Scenes from the life of Samuel are depicted on the recto leaf. The three-register miniatures are in a color scheme of greens and oranges. Their artists’ identities are unknown, so they are called by sobriquets: The underdrawings are by the Apocrypha Master and the illuminations are by the Master of The Morgan Leaf, who was especially skilled in rendering faces with sensitivity. The verso shows scenes from the life of David.
The Morgan Library & Museum
Soon after Morgan Sr.’s death came World War I. Both of these events led to uncertainty about the fate of the library. Eventually, Morgan Jr. decided to continue adding to the holdings and to retain Greene as librarian. However, he decreed that collecting would cease during the hostilities.
French Gothic Illumination
The “Crusader Bible” dates to Paris, circa 1244 to 1254, and is representative of the zenith of French Gothic illumination. Its provenance is illustrious and global. It has long been linked with the patronage of King Louis IX of France due to circumstantial evidence such as the work’s high artistry, expense, size, and pictorial depictions, including the setting of the scenes in 13th-century France instead of the Holy Land.
After Louis’s death, the Bible traveled to Italy, perhaps with the king’s younger brother. The first documented owner was the Polish Cardinal Bernard Maciejowski, Bishop of Cracow, who perhaps acquired it while visiting Italy. In turn, he presented it as a papal diplomatic gift to the Persian ruler Shah ‘Abbas in 1608 at his capital in Isfahan. The Bible was passed down to the shah’s grandson and great grandson before the city was sacked by Afghans in 1722. Scholars believe that the book ended up with a Persian-speaking Jew. Thereafter, the Bible made its way to Cairo, where it was purchased by a Greek collector from an Arab for a mere three shillings. The Greek sold it in turn at a London auction in 1833 for 255 guineas. The purchasers were local dealers who offered it to the voracious manuscript collector Sir Thomas Phillips. Thereafter, it descended within his family until its sale to Greene.
Book of Revelations
In 1919, The Morgan acquired a Latin 10th-century commentary, aptly called “Commentary on the Apocalypse,” written and illuminated by a Spanish monk. It wasn’t considered a fashionable work when Morgan Jr. purchased it, but Greene wanted it for the collection, having the foresight that an early medieval masterpiece like this would raise the status of the library. The text comes from the 12-book work of an 8th-century monk, Saint Beatus of Liébana, about the Apocalypse, or Book of Revelation, completed around A.D. 776. The Morgan cites its circa A.D. 945 manuscript as the earliest markedly complete copy of Beatus’s original. Its copy was created by the monk Maius, who likely worked at the scriptorium of San Salvador de Tábara; it is among the greatest medieval Spanish illuminations.
Holkham Hall Manuscript
The patroness of the 11th-century book is believed to have been the noblewoman Judith of Flanders. She was the daughter of the Count of Flanders and sister-in-law of the last crowned Anglo-Saxon king. After being widowed, she remarried to the Duke of Bavaria. The manuscript dates to her time in England, but the binding is believed to have been added in the 11th century and is possibly Germanic. The striking bejeweled front cover includes cast figures, enamel, and delicate filigree.
Belle da Costa Greene was an adviser, librarian, curator, director, scholar, mentor, and a collector in her own right. She was devoted to her work and her bosses. Greene ceaselessly researched and then acquired the best works for The Morgan, savvily negotiating the most favorable deals. Her dedication to medieval illuminated manuscripts shines as brightly in this exhibition as the gold leaf of the miniatures.
