Saint Luke is one of the Four Evangelists—the four authors of canonical Gospels of Jesus Christ. Saint Luke born in the Hellenistic city of Antioch in Syria and had died near Boeotia, Greece. This illumination of Saint Luke or otherwise known as Lukas der Evangelist, is part of an Ottonian manuscript called “The Gospel Book of Otto III”. This manuscript is now held in the Bavarian State Library in Munich Germany and it is 334 by 242 milometers (13 by 9 1/2). This image is illumination style using the method of gold leaf under paint to give off an illuminating effect. This manuscript was produced by the German Reichau School and it was produced in the Reichenau Abbey workshop headed by the monk Liuthar. It depicts St. Luke on a throne and in a state of religious ecstasy. In this depiction Saint Luke is supporting a host of Jewish prophets and heavenly messengers; the figures that appear to look like blocks in his lap are actually books from the Old Testament. “The Gospel Book of Otto III” manuscript was made between ca. 990-1000 CE and it would have been made as a gospel book for a monastery. Sources: http://www.oberlin.edu/images/artime8.html http://www.lacourart.com/ArtHistorySurvey/09-emed/08-ottonian/04-manuscripts-01.html http://faculty.etsu.edu/kortumr/15earlymedieval/htmdescriptionpages/09luke.htm https://www.khanacademy.org/humanities/medieval-world/latin-western-europe/ottonian1/a/gospel-book-of-otto-iii
