ornament gatto

thanks discardingimages.tumblr.com

I could look at this all day. It's a decorative element from Nicolaus de Lyra super Bibliam, Italy ca. 1402.  (Manchester, John Rylands University Library, Latin MS 29, fol. 252v)  Don't you wonder how the book artists achieved such saturated and fresh color?  I think I found out a little on Wikipedia.