Anonymous Breton artists
Anonymous Breton artists
Book of Hours, use of Paris, in Latin and French, illuminated manuscript on vellum [Brittany, c.1440]
A beautiful Hours with rich and unusual borders, closely related to Morgan Library MS M.157, and painted by two or more hands whose stylistic sources lie in the work of the Master of Marguerite d'Orléans, the Master of the Rohan Hours, and the Master of the Munich Golden Legend.
200 x 148mm. ii + 152 + ii leaves, collation: 112, 2-36, 46 (of 8, lacking iv and v), 56 (of 8, lacking i and viii), 67 (of 8, lacking i), 78, 89, (vii an inserted singleton), 97 (of 8, lacking viii), 10-128, 135 (i an inserted singleton), 14-158, 164, 176 (of 8, lacking i and viii), 186, 1910, 206, 218 (of 10, ix and x cancelled blanks), modern foliation in pencil 1-152 followed here, 15 lines, ruled space: 114 x 76mm, illuminated initials and line-fillers throughout, each page with an illuminated border of acanthus and foliate sprays, 12 calendar miniatures with the occupations of the month, 21 large miniatures within full, often inhabited, borders (lacking at least 8 leaves, of which probably 6 with miniatures: a bifolium after f.27, with suffrages and likely one miniature, a leaf with a suffrage and miniature after f.30, a text leaf with the end of the Obsecro te after f.36, a leaf with miniature and the opening of the Hours of the Virgin before f.37, a leaf with miniature opening prime after f.67, a leaf with miniature opening the Hours of the Cross after f.116, and a leaf with miniature opening the Office of the Dead after f.122; face of Virgin repainted in a pre-Raphaelite style in the 19th century on ff.81 and 91v). Brown blind-stamped morocco gilt by Rivière. Brown slip-case and quarter-morocco box, gilt lettering.
Content:
Calendar ff.1-12v; Gospel extracts ff.13-20v; prayer to the Virgin f.21-21v; Suffrages ff.21v-33; Obsecro te ff.34-36v; Hours of the Virgin, use of Paris, ff.37-96v: matins f.37, lauds f.58, prime f.68, terce f.73, sext f.77v, none f.81, vespers f.85, compline f.91v; Seven Penitential Psalms and Litany ff.97-116v; Hours of the Cross ff.117-119; Hours of the Holy Spirit ff.119v-122v; Office of the Dead, use of Paris, ff.123-152.
Illumination:
The programme of illumination has its roots in the work of the Rohan Master, the Master of the Munich Golden Legend, and the Master of Marguerite d’Orléans. As with lot 4, the exuberant border decoration ties this manuscript to a small group of Hours likely produced in northwestern France. One of the most splendid and extravagant of these borders can be found surrounding the Annunciation to the Shepherds on f.73: we see a rainy scene with large silver raindrops falling from dark clouds in the upper margin into a pool with swans and cygnets in the lower margin. Compositionally, this is inspired by a similar border by the Master of the Munich Golden Legend in the Coronation miniature in a Book of Hours in Milan (Biblioteca Trivulziana, Cod. Triv. 2164, f.94) and is replicated almost identically in Morgan Library MS M.157. Indeed, although painted by different artists, the compositional similarities between the present manuscript and the Morgan Hours are striking (compare, for example, the miniatures with St John on Patmos and the Visitation). As Plummer points out, the artists of these two Hours are very close, often sharing the same figure types, postures, and gestures.
The influence of the Master of Marguerite d’Orléans is found throughout: we are grateful to François Avril for pointing out that the miniature of St Christopher (f.27) clearly depends on the same subject treated in another Book of Hours in Valence, illuminated in part by the Master (Médiathèque Publique et Universitaire de Valence, manuscrit MS 32). The giant saint is pictured in profile, and can be seen resting on his stick with both hands, painfully making his way through a swollen and agitated sea. On his shoulders, the Christ Child, equally in profile, blesses the hermit on the coast. The coastal pattern that encircles the group, jaw-like, is very peculiar: this impressive composition was obviously shared and recycled among the miniaturists of western France as we find another simplified version of it in the Morgan Hours (f.182v). Parallels can also be drawn between the miniature of Peter and Paul in the Valence hours and that in the present manuscript (f.23v).
The subjects of the large miniatures are as follows: St John on Patmos f.13; St Luke f.15; St Matthew f.17; St Mark f.19; St Michael Archangel f.21v; St John the Baptist f.22v; Sts Peter and Paul f.23v; the Martyrdom of St Stephen f.25v; St Christopher f.27; St Martin and the beggar f.28; St Nicholas f.29v; St Margaret f.31; Virgin and Child, with blank shield in border f.34; Visitation with blank shield in border f.58; Annunciation to the Shepherds, rectangular miniature with full border with raindrops and a lake with swans and cygnets and three angels, each with an inscribed scroll f.73; Adoration of the Magi f.77v; Presentation in the Temple, with blank coat of arms in border f.81, Flight into Egypt with small panel miniature in border depicting the Massacre of the Innocents f.85; Coronation of the Virgin f.91v; David in prayer, with blank shield in the margin, with two sleeping/dead soldiers f.97; Pentecost f.119v.
Provenance
(1) The liturgical use of the manuscript, its calendar, litany and suffrages generally point to a Parisian localisation, but a few peculiarities (the list of Confessors beginning with St Martin of Tours and ending with Ivo of Brittany and the text of the Obsecro te) and the style of illumination link it to a small group of manuscripts produced in Brittany. Blank shields appear in the margins of ff.34, 58, and 97.
(2) Sotheby’s, Catalogue of a Collection of Illuminated Manuscripts on Vellum, the Property of an English Gentleman recently deceased, who lived abroad, 6 May 1909, lot 2, bought by Robson for £100.
(3) Robson and Co., London, Illuminated manuscripts of the XVth Century, catalogue 94.
(4) Cortlandt Field Bishop (1870-1935), American pioneer aviator, balloonist, and book collector: his bookplate on inside board. His sale, The Cortlandt F. Bishop Library, part II, New York, American Art Association, Anderson Galleries, 25 April 1938, lot 1418.
(5) H.P. Kraus, New York, 11 May 1981, sold to Alexandre Rosenberg for $75,600.
(6) Rosenberg Ms 3.
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Anonymous Breton artists
Book of Hours, use of Paris, in Latin and French, illuminated manuscript on vellum [Brittany, c.1440]
A beautiful Hours with rich and unusual borders, closely related to Morgan Library MS M.157, and painted by two or more hands whose stylistic sources lie in the work of the Master of Marguerite d'Orléans, the Master of the Rohan Hours, and the Master of the Munich Golden Legend.
200 x 148mm. ii + 152 + ii leaves, collation: 112, 2-36, 46 (of 8, lacking iv and v), 56 (of 8, lacking i and viii), 67 (of 8, lacking i), 78, 89, (vii an inserted singleton), 97 (of 8, lacking viii), 10-128, 135 (i an inserted singleton), 14-158, 164, 176 (of 8, lacking i and viii), 186, 1910, 206, 218 (of 10, ix and x cancelled blanks), modern foliation in pencil 1-152 followed here, 15 lines, ruled space: 114 x 76mm, illuminated initials and line-fillers throughout, each page with an illuminated border of acanthus and foliate sprays, 12 calendar miniatures with the occupations of the month, 21 large miniatures within full, often inhabited, borders (lacking at least 8 leaves, of which probably 6 with miniatures: a bifolium after f.27, with suffrages and likely one miniature, a leaf with a suffrage and miniature after f.30, a text leaf with the end of the Obsecro te after f.36, a leaf with miniature and the opening of the Hours of the Virgin before f.37, a leaf with miniature opening prime after f.67, a leaf with miniature opening the Hours of the Cross after f.116, and a leaf with miniature opening the Office of the Dead after f.122; face of Virgin repainted in a pre-Raphaelite style in the 19th century on ff.81 and 91v). Brown blind-stamped morocco gilt by Rivière. Brown slip-case and quarter-morocco box, gilt lettering.
Content:
Calendar ff.1-12v; Gospel extracts ff.13-20v; prayer to the Virgin f.21-21v; Suffrages ff.21v-33; Obsecro te ff.34-36v; Hours of the Virgin, use of Paris, ff.37-96v: matins f.37, lauds f.58, prime f.68, terce f.73, sext f.77v, none f.81, vespers f.85, compline f.91v; Seven Penitential Psalms and Litany ff.97-116v; Hours of the Cross ff.117-119; Hours of the Holy Spirit ff.119v-122v; Office of the Dead, use of Paris, ff.123-152.
Illumination:
The programme of illumination has its roots in the work of the Rohan Master, the Master of the Munich Golden Legend, and the Master of Marguerite d’Orléans. As with lot 4, the exuberant border decoration ties this manuscript to a small group of Hours likely produced in northwestern France. One of the most splendid and extravagant of these borders can be found surrounding the Annunciation to the Shepherds on f.73: we see a rainy scene with large silver raindrops falling from dark clouds in the upper margin into a pool with swans and cygnets in the lower margin. Compositionally, this is inspired by a similar border by the Master of the Munich Golden Legend in the Coronation miniature in a Book of Hours in Milan (Biblioteca Trivulziana, Cod. Triv. 2164, f.94) and is replicated almost identically in Morgan Library MS M.157. Indeed, although painted by different artists, the compositional similarities between the present manuscript and the Morgan Hours are striking (compare, for example, the miniatures with St John on Patmos and the Visitation). As Plummer points out, the artists of these two Hours are very close, often sharing the same figure types, postures, and gestures.
The influence of the Master of Marguerite d’Orléans is found throughout: we are grateful to François Avril for pointing out that the miniature of St Christopher (f.27) clearly depends on the same subject treated in another Book of Hours in Valence, illuminated in part by the Master (Médiathèque Publique et Universitaire de Valence, manuscrit MS 32). The giant saint is pictured in profile, and can be seen resting on his stick with both hands, painfully making his way through a swollen and agitated sea. On his shoulders, the Christ Child, equally in profile, blesses the hermit on the coast. The coastal pattern that encircles the group, jaw-like, is very peculiar: this impressive composition was obviously shared and recycled among the miniaturists of western France as we find another simplified version of it in the Morgan Hours (f.182v). Parallels can also be drawn between the miniature of Peter and Paul in the Valence hours and that in the present manuscript (f.23v).
The subjects of the large miniatures are as follows: St John on Patmos f.13; St Luke f.15; St Matthew f.17; St Mark f.19; St Michael Archangel f.21v; St John the Baptist f.22v; Sts Peter and Paul f.23v; the Martyrdom of St Stephen f.25v; St Christopher f.27; St Martin and the beggar f.28; St Nicholas f.29v; St Margaret f.31; Virgin and Child, with blank shield in border f.34; Visitation with blank shield in border f.58; Annunciation to the Shepherds, rectangular miniature with full border with raindrops and a lake with swans and cygnets and three angels, each with an inscribed scroll f.73; Adoration of the Magi f.77v; Presentation in the Temple, with blank coat of arms in border f.81, Flight into Egypt with small panel miniature in border depicting the Massacre of the Innocents f.85; Coronation of the Virgin f.91v; David in prayer, with blank shield in the margin, with two sleeping/dead soldiers f.97; Pentecost f.119v.
Provenance
(1) The liturgical use of the manuscript, its calendar, litany and suffrages generally point to a Parisian localisation, but a few peculiarities (the list of Confessors beginning with St Martin of Tours and ending with Ivo of Brittany and the text of the Obsecro te) and the style of illumination link it to a small group of manuscripts produced in Brittany. Blank shields appear in the margins of ff.34, 58, and 97.
(2) Sotheby’s, Catalogue of a Collection of Illuminated Manuscripts on Vellum, the Property of an English Gentleman recently deceased, who lived abroad, 6 May 1909, lot 2, bought by Robson for £100.
(3) Robson and Co., London, Illuminated manuscripts of the XVth Century, catalogue 94.
(4) Cortlandt Field Bishop (1870-1935), American pioneer aviator, balloonist, and book collector: his bookplate on inside board. His sale, The Cortlandt F. Bishop Library, part II, New York, American Art Association, Anderson Galleries, 25 April 1938, lot 1418.
(5) H.P. Kraus, New York, 11 May 1981, sold to Alexandre Rosenberg for $75,600.
(6) Rosenberg Ms 3.
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