The Facundus Beatus was illuminated by Facundus for the monarchs of Castile and León, Ferdinand I and Doña Sancha, and remained in their library until their death. Its striking colours, peculiar drawings and unreal atmosphere subject the imagination to a veritable tyranny. Once seen, never forgotten.

Taken as a whole, this is one of the most beautiful examples of the Spanish miniature and, of course, of the beatus manuscripts in terms of the rigor of its drawings, its syncretism between respecting the past whilst welcoming the present, its virtually classic regard for order and compositional structure and finally, its use of colour to create chromatic effects conjuring up different, very elegant and yet highly solemn atmospheres totally unlike anything else in the High Middle Ages.

Its lavish images mark the beginning of one of the most outstanding iconographic traditions of the entire history of western art.

Commentary volume