Anonymous Florentine artist
Anonymous Florentine artist
Book of Hours, use of Rome, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on vellum [Florence, mid-15th century]
A quintessentially Renaissance Florentine Book of Hours written in a humanist script and with an appealing programme of illumination completed by a number of artists: the two full-page miniatures, including the rare depiction of Ptolemy among the astronomers, are close to the work of Zanobi Strozzi, while a follower of Francesco di Antonio del Chierico seems to have painted the historiated initials.
122 x 87mm. i + 232 + iii, textually complete, collation: 112+1, 2-510, 68 (of 10, lacking leaves after ff.53 and 58), 7-910, 108 (of 10, ix a cancelled blank and lacking a leaf after f.95), 11-1510, 169 (of 10, lacking a leaf after f.150), 1710, 188 (of 10, lacking leaves after ff.166 and 169), 198 (of 10, lacking leaves after ff.175 and 178), 209 (of 10 lacking leaf after f.182), 219 (of 10, lacking leaf after f.192), 2210, 238, 2412, catchwords sporadically preserved, faint modern pencil foliation (apparently omitting leaves after ff.13, 24, 37 and 58) followed here, 13 lines, ruled space: 69 x 45mm, written in a humanist minuscule, capitals alternating blue and gold throughout, over 200 two-line illuminated white-vine initials painted in full colour with marginal extensions along one side of the text, three four-line white-vine initials, 15 large (four- to seven-line) white-vine initials with full white-vine borders featuring birds and putti, five historiated initials with full inhabited white-vine borders incorporating vignettes, birds, animals and putti, two full-page miniatures, the first with a frame of gilt and liquid gold, the second with a full border of acanthus and putti bearing an open book (likely lacking 10 inserted miniatures after ff. ff.13, 24, 37, 42, 48, 162, 172, 186, 217 and 219 and 10 further leaves with miniatures after ff.53, 58, 95, 150, 166, 169, 175, 178, 182 and 192). Contemporary red velvet over wooden boards, sewn into 3 double bands, edges gilt and gauffered, old vellum pastedowns (velvet worn). Red half-morocco case, gilt title on spine.
Content:
Calendar ff.2-13; Hours of the Virgin, use of Rome ff.13-95: matins f.13, lauds f.24, prime f.37, terce f.43, sext f.49, none f.54, vespers f.58, compline f.68; Office of the Dead, use of Rome ff.96-150v; Long Hours of the Cross ff.151-186; Short Hours of the Cross ff.187-192; Penitential Psalms and Litany ff.193-217; Mass of the Virgin and prayers to various saints including St Laurence and a prayer ascribed to Innocent III ff.218-228.
Illumination:
This is an unusual Book of Hours of very high quality. It is rare for liturgical manuscripts to be written in humanistic script, especially in the mid-century, and we know of no parallels anywhere for the remarkable full-page miniature depicting Ptolemy among the astronomers, which introduces the Calendar. At least five artists worked on the manuscript, which – along with the quality of their work – suggests it was specially commissioned, though no clues survive as to the first owner. The two full-page miniatures appear to be by the same hand, although their borders are very different; the second miniature, depicting the Coronation of the Virgin (f.67v), is particularly close in style to the work of the manuscript illuminator and panel painter Zanobi Strozzi (1412-1468). Comparison with a Book of Hours painted by Strozzi for the Adimari family of Florence around 1448 (Walters Art Museum, W.767) reveals the same stoop-shouldered Virgin from our Coronation reappearing in the Adimari Annunciation miniature (cf. also D’Ancona, Miniatura e Miniatori a Firenze, 1962, pl. 40); elsewhere, the faces of the male figures, with close-set eyes and hairlines that appear to recede towards the centre of the head, are closely comparable across the two manuscripts.
The illuminated borders appear to have been painted by four artists. The most accomplished is the painter of the five historiated initials and the borders inhabited by putti, birds, animals, insects, angels and little scenes; it represents the finest style of Florentine illumination of the period and seems to be very close to Bodleian MS. Auct. F.1.12, a Cicero made for the book merchant Vespasiano da Bisticci in 1459. This artist was identified as a close follower or perhaps a member of the workshop of Francesco di Antonio del Chierico (1433-1484) in 1982 (Sotheby’s, 7 December 1982, lot 90). The second border artist paints little dotted animals and putti like those of J.A.3227 in the former Abbey Collection, illuminated in Florence, c.1430-40 (Alexander and de la Mare, The Italian Manuscripts in the Library of Major J. R. Abbey, 1969, pl. XII); the borders here are those on ff.24, 43, 68, 173, 179 and 183. The third border artist uses broader vine stems and the designs include moon-like faces and gold birds; he painted ff.37, 49, 54, 58 and 170. The fourth artist draws fine, delicate lines and very straight edges to his backgrounds; he painted ff.167, 218 and 220.
The subjects of the two full-page miniatures are: King Ptolemy among the astronomers f.1v; Coronation of Virgin, above two putti holding a book in the border f.67v.
The subjects of the historiated initials are: Nativity, the borders with a vignette showing the Virgin and Child enthroned surrounded by angels and another of the Annunciation to the Shepherds f.13; Funeral Mass, the borders with a vignette showing a monk presenting a corpse to three kings f.96; Crucifixion f.151; Descent from the Cross, the borders with a vignette showing the Virgin and St John presenting the body of Christ f.187; David in the Wilderness, the borders with a vignette showing the boy David with his sling f.193.
Provenance
(1) The style of the illumination suggests the manuscript was produced in Florence, as does the Calendar, in which the Florentine patron saints Zenobius (25 May) and Reparata (8 October) appear in red; San Miniato of Florence also appears (25 October).
(2) The early addition of St Dorothy in the Calendar (6 February) and her inclusion in the prayers added at the end of the manuscript might suggest an early owner with this patron saint.
(3) A 16th-century hand copies the Athanasian Creed on ff.i-1.
(4) Erased inscription dated 11 February 1765 inside the front cover, above a list of contents in Latin an 18th-century hand. A note inside the lower cover incorrectly attributes the manuscript to Gherardo di Giovanni (‘Gerardo Miniatore Fiorentino. 1470’).
(5) Sotheby’s, 7 December 1982, lot 90.
(16) Rosenberg Ms 17.
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Anonymous Florentine artist
Book of Hours, use of Rome, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on vellum [Florence, mid-15th century]
A quintessentially Renaissance Florentine Book of Hours written in a humanist script and with an appealing programme of illumination completed by a number of artists: the two full-page miniatures, including the rare depiction of Ptolemy among the astronomers, are close to the work of Zanobi Strozzi, while a follower of Francesco di Antonio del Chierico seems to have painted the historiated initials.
122 x 87mm. i + 232 + iii, textually complete, collation: 112+1, 2-510, 68 (of 10, lacking leaves after ff.53 and 58), 7-910, 108 (of 10, ix a cancelled blank and lacking a leaf after f.95), 11-1510, 169 (of 10, lacking a leaf after f.150), 1710, 188 (of 10, lacking leaves after ff.166 and 169), 198 (of 10, lacking leaves after ff.175 and 178), 209 (of 10 lacking leaf after f.182), 219 (of 10, lacking leaf after f.192), 2210, 238, 2412, catchwords sporadically preserved, faint modern pencil foliation (apparently omitting leaves after ff.13, 24, 37 and 58) followed here, 13 lines, ruled space: 69 x 45mm, written in a humanist minuscule, capitals alternating blue and gold throughout, over 200 two-line illuminated white-vine initials painted in full colour with marginal extensions along one side of the text, three four-line white-vine initials, 15 large (four- to seven-line) white-vine initials with full white-vine borders featuring birds and putti, five historiated initials with full inhabited white-vine borders incorporating vignettes, birds, animals and putti, two full-page miniatures, the first with a frame of gilt and liquid gold, the second with a full border of acanthus and putti bearing an open book (likely lacking 10 inserted miniatures after ff. ff.13, 24, 37, 42, 48, 162, 172, 186, 217 and 219 and 10 further leaves with miniatures after ff.53, 58, 95, 150, 166, 169, 175, 178, 182 and 192). Contemporary red velvet over wooden boards, sewn into 3 double bands, edges gilt and gauffered, old vellum pastedowns (velvet worn). Red half-morocco case, gilt title on spine.
Content:
Calendar ff.2-13; Hours of the Virgin, use of Rome ff.13-95: matins f.13, lauds f.24, prime f.37, terce f.43, sext f.49, none f.54, vespers f.58, compline f.68; Office of the Dead, use of Rome ff.96-150v; Long Hours of the Cross ff.151-186; Short Hours of the Cross ff.187-192; Penitential Psalms and Litany ff.193-217; Mass of the Virgin and prayers to various saints including St Laurence and a prayer ascribed to Innocent III ff.218-228.
Illumination:
This is an unusual Book of Hours of very high quality. It is rare for liturgical manuscripts to be written in humanistic script, especially in the mid-century, and we know of no parallels anywhere for the remarkable full-page miniature depicting Ptolemy among the astronomers, which introduces the Calendar. At least five artists worked on the manuscript, which – along with the quality of their work – suggests it was specially commissioned, though no clues survive as to the first owner. The two full-page miniatures appear to be by the same hand, although their borders are very different; the second miniature, depicting the Coronation of the Virgin (f.67v), is particularly close in style to the work of the manuscript illuminator and panel painter Zanobi Strozzi (1412-1468). Comparison with a Book of Hours painted by Strozzi for the Adimari family of Florence around 1448 (Walters Art Museum, W.767) reveals the same stoop-shouldered Virgin from our Coronation reappearing in the Adimari Annunciation miniature (cf. also D’Ancona, Miniatura e Miniatori a Firenze, 1962, pl. 40); elsewhere, the faces of the male figures, with close-set eyes and hairlines that appear to recede towards the centre of the head, are closely comparable across the two manuscripts.
The illuminated borders appear to have been painted by four artists. The most accomplished is the painter of the five historiated initials and the borders inhabited by putti, birds, animals, insects, angels and little scenes; it represents the finest style of Florentine illumination of the period and seems to be very close to Bodleian MS. Auct. F.1.12, a Cicero made for the book merchant Vespasiano da Bisticci in 1459. This artist was identified as a close follower or perhaps a member of the workshop of Francesco di Antonio del Chierico (1433-1484) in 1982 (Sotheby’s, 7 December 1982, lot 90). The second border artist paints little dotted animals and putti like those of J.A.3227 in the former Abbey Collection, illuminated in Florence, c.1430-40 (Alexander and de la Mare, The Italian Manuscripts in the Library of Major J. R. Abbey, 1969, pl. XII); the borders here are those on ff.24, 43, 68, 173, 179 and 183. The third border artist uses broader vine stems and the designs include moon-like faces and gold birds; he painted ff.37, 49, 54, 58 and 170. The fourth artist draws fine, delicate lines and very straight edges to his backgrounds; he painted ff.167, 218 and 220.
The subjects of the two full-page miniatures are: King Ptolemy among the astronomers f.1v; Coronation of Virgin, above two putti holding a book in the border f.67v.
The subjects of the historiated initials are: Nativity, the borders with a vignette showing the Virgin and Child enthroned surrounded by angels and another of the Annunciation to the Shepherds f.13; Funeral Mass, the borders with a vignette showing a monk presenting a corpse to three kings f.96; Crucifixion f.151; Descent from the Cross, the borders with a vignette showing the Virgin and St John presenting the body of Christ f.187; David in the Wilderness, the borders with a vignette showing the boy David with his sling f.193.
Provenance
(1) The style of the illumination suggests the manuscript was produced in Florence, as does the Calendar, in which the Florentine patron saints Zenobius (25 May) and Reparata (8 October) appear in red; San Miniato of Florence also appears (25 October).
(2) The early addition of St Dorothy in the Calendar (6 February) and her inclusion in the prayers added at the end of the manuscript might suggest an early owner with this patron saint.
(3) A 16th-century hand copies the Athanasian Creed on ff.i-1.
(4) Erased inscription dated 11 February 1765 inside the front cover, above a list of contents in Latin an 18th-century hand. A note inside the lower cover incorrectly attributes the manuscript to Gherardo di Giovanni (‘Gerardo Miniatore Fiorentino. 1470’).
(5) Sotheby’s, 7 December 1982, lot 90.
(16) Rosenberg Ms 17.
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