# Utrecht Psalter [View the canonical artwork record]() ## Artwork - Artist: [MINIATURIST, French]() - Date: 0801-0850 - Technique: Manuscript \(Ms. Bibl. Rhenotraiectinae I Nr 32\), 330 x 256 mm ## Commentary Utrecht Psalter 820s Manuscript \(Ms. Bibl. Rhenotraiectinae I Nr 32\), 330 x 256 mm Universiteitsbibliotheek, Utrecht The Utrecht Psalter was made in 820-830, in Reims or in the nearby abbey of Hautvilliers, and was perhaps commissioned by archbishop Ebbo. It may have been a gift for Charlemagne's son Louis the Pious, his wife Judith, or else their newborn son, the later emperor Charles the Bald. Specialists point to the late Roman iconography and the use of the late Roman capitalis rustica as script to show that the illustrations are \(partly\) based on one or more models from the 5th century. The codex contains the psalter \(150 psalms\), 16 canticles \(hymns from the Old and New Testaments, and the Apostles' Creed. Its unique appearance is due to its total absence of colour. 166 pen and ink drawings illustrates the texts; they are in dark brown ink and follow the texts in highly literal fashion. It is assumed that the psalter served as an aid to young monks in learning the psalms by heart together. The Utrecht Psalter is one of the most classical looking of all Carolingian manuscripts, written in rustic capitals and illustrated throughout with frenzied sketches, full of motion and life, like ancient Roman wall paintings. The picture shows folio 1v with scenes relating to Psalm 1. The principal master of the Utrecht codex ranks among the most important graphic artists of all occidental art. ## Related artworks - [A History of Western Saints]() - [Antiphoner]() - [Aristotle: De Interpretazione]() - [Aristotle: Works]() - [Augustinus Hipponensis: Quaestiones et locutiones in Heptateuchum]() - [Augustinus Hipponensis: Quaestiones et locutiones in Heptateuchum]() - [Augustinus Hipponensis: Quaestiones et locutiones in Heptateuchum]() - [Beatus of Liébana: Commentary on the Apocalypse]() - [Belleville Breviary]() - [Bible Historiale]() - [Bible moralisée, part I.]() - [Bible moralisée, part I.]() ## Attribution [Web Gallery of Art]()