Differences in palette
Artists' Materials
Despite the overall homogeneity of the palette, a few differences are apparent between the pigments favoured by different artists. Notably, Hand A did not use vermilion, which other artists mixed in some of the ‘rusty’ red draperies and which Hand B also used to paint red highlights on the cheeks of his figures. Hand B used ultramarine for shading white areas, while Hand C shaded them with indigo. Hand D used a mixture of ultramarine, organic red and lead white, shaded with indigo, to obtain a purple-grey colour which sets him apart from his colleagues.
David praying with Franciscans and Dominicans (Psalm 38)
David prays to God in the upper part of the initial D. Below, two groups of friars – Franciscans on the left and Dominicans on the right – look up. They point to their mouths in reference to the opening verse of Psalm 38, written in gold on the right and continuing overleaf, Dixit custodiam vias meas ut non delinquam in lingua mea (‘I said, I will take heed to my ways, that I sin not with my tongue’). The initial was painted by Hand B.