Il Tetravangelo X.IV.21 della Real Biblioteca de San Lorenzo de El Escorial e la cultura figurativa italo-greca verso l’anno 1140

This article is focused on the Gospel Book, Esc. X-IV-21, a codex of Italo-Greek origin which was signed in 1140 by the notary Basilio Argiropulo. The study aims to shed light on the possible context of the making of the manuscript and its patronage, by analysing paleographic aspects, iconographic and stylistic features of the decoration (pylai, ornamental bands and figured initials including the portrait of saint Mark) and the original formula of its colophon. This allows us to place the manuscript within the context of contemporary Sicilo-Calabrian figurative production, its illuminated models and its related socio-cultural context.