The Entry into Jerusalem (Ms. Ludwig VII 1, fol. 36, from the Benedictional)

Unknown painter, Regensburg · about 1030–1040
Getty Center, Los Angeles

From the benedictional made in Regensburg about 1030–1040, five hundred years before Bening’s page. Instead of a landscape the painter laid a whole sheet of gold leaf behind the figures.

Jesus rides a pink donkey, his hand raised. The apostles follow at the left. At the right a man in a tree breaks off branches, and two men spread their cloaks over the ground.

From the text

A crowd spreads cloaks on the road (Matthew 21:8)

Branches cut from the trees (Matthew 21:8)

The artist’s own

A gold ground in place of the sky

A pink donkey

Details

Jesus

He rides with his hand raised.

The apostles

A group of men follow behind.

In the tree

A man breaks branches.

The cloaks

Men lay their cloaks on the ground.

Unknown illuminator, Regensburg (Ottonian). The J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles (Ms. Ludwig VII 1 (83.MI.90), fol. 36) · Tempera colors, gold leaf, and ink, on parchment · Images provided here are believed to be in the public domain and are available under CC0 through Getty’s Open Content Program. (Getty record: "No Copyright", http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)

The verses

Matt 21:6–9So the disciples went and did as Jesus had directed them. They brought the donkey and the colt and laid their cloaks on them, and Jesus sat on them. A massive crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and spread them on the road. The crowds that went ahead of Him and those that followed were shouting: “Hosanna to the Son of David!” “Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!” “Hosanna in the highest!”