TWO GEESE, historiated initial 'E' on a leaf from an illuminated Gradual on vellum [Florence, c.1390]

TWO GEESE, historiated initial 'E' on a leaf from an illuminated Gradual on vellum [Florence, c.1390]

A whimsical historiated initial from a choirbook painted by Don Simone Camaldolese, one of the leading illuminators in Florence at the end of the 14th century.

460 x 340mm, the initial 130 x 120mm, 6 lines of text and music, the initial 'E' opening the introit for the feast of St Stephen ('Etenim sederunt principes'). Framed (680 x 510mm).

Although the Camaldolese brother Don Simone (active 1378 – 1405) was originally from Siena, an unusual number of signed, documented or dated works attributable to him have survived and chart his career between 1379 and 1398 illuminating manuscripts for various Florentine monasteries and churches: along with Don Silvestro dei Gherarducci he became one of the foremost manuscript painters in the city at that time, when many of the important Florentine houses were commissioning grand series of choirbooks. His work is also known in the libraries of religious houses further afield, including the Olivetan church and convent of San Michele in Bosco, Bologna; Don Simone supplied a number of initials for a series of choirbooks owned by the Olivetans that were begun by Niccolò da Bologna (c.1325 – c.1403). This is particularly interesting to note in light of the delicate white filigree infilling on the body of the present initial, a stylistic trope characteristic of Bolognese illumination from the first half of the 14th century in general, and associable with the oeuvre of Niccolò da Bologna in particular.

Christie's is grateful for the assistance of Gaudenz Freuler in the attribution of this lot.

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