Four Scenes from the First Book of Samuel

Italian 11th Century

National Gallery of Art

This is a painted manuscript page featuring people in robes and cloaks engaged in various actions. The top section shows two kneeling people, a man and a woman, facing the right, towards a bearded man crouching near a tall tower or building. The middle portion is similar, although the two people are standing instead of kneeling, and man seems to hold a child. The bearded man on the right is also standing, but his face and body are obscured by damage to the page. The bottom part shows three smaller people on the left, one of them with a halo, next to a large man lying on the right, wearing armor and a helmet. The paintings are in shades of bright red, blue, pale yellow, and brown. Red text seems to identify the different people and scenes. The pigment has worn away in some places, and text from the other side of the page appears to bleed through into this side.