The Martainville Master, The Master of Robert Gaguin and others (active late 15th - first half 16th century)
The Martainville Master, The Master of Robert Gaguin and others (active late 15th - first half 16th century)
The 'A and L' Hours, use of Rome, in French and Latin, illuminated manuscript on vellum [Paris, c.1490]
A grand, deluxe production for a wealthy and influential patron whose initials appear throughout, illuminated by two of the dominant Parisian illuminators of the turn of the 15th century: the Martainville Master and the Master of Robert Gaguin.
164 x 105mm. ii + 91 + ii, collation: 16, 25 (of 10?, lacking at least 4 leaves), 3-46, 52, 68, 7-86, 912+2, 10-116, 128, 1312, modern foliation in pencil followed here, 30 lines, ruled space: 120 x 50mm, illuminated initials and line-fillers throughout, one small, 7 full-page and 16 large miniatures within architectural borders with side-panels and bas-de-page scenes, 24 miniatures of the signs of the zodiac and the occupations of the month in the Calendar, the suffrages with miniatures of the saints in the borders, each page with richly decorated full-borders incorporating architectural motifs, geometric patterns, foliate sprays, pictorial scenes and drolleries, most bearing the repeated initials ‘A’ and ‘L’ in liquid gold and the motto ‘A forsa, ex forso’, ff.78 and 79v with the banderoles ‘Qui bien mire, bien voit, qui bien ce voit, bien ce co[nnoit]’ and ‘Espouer en Dieu’ [sic] (Gospel extracts misbound, with Luke coming before Matthew, lacking likely 4 leaves of which probably 3 with miniatures including the Gospel of Mark, the beginning of Obsecro te and end of O intemerata, and the opening of the Hours of the Virgin). 19th-century French red straight-grain morocco gilt, blue silk linings (spine a little rubbed). Blue slip-case and green quarter-morocco box, gilt title on spine.
Content:
Calendar ff.1-6v; Gospel extracts, Obsecro te and O intemerata ff.7-11v; Hours of the Virgin, use of Rome, ff.12-43v: matins f.12, lauds f.20, prime f.26, terce f.28, sext f.30; none f.32, vespers f.34, compline f.37v; Hours of the Cross ff.44-46v; Hours of the Holy Spirit ff.47-49; Seven Penitential Psalms and Litany ff.50v-59; Office of the Dead, use of Rome ff.60-80v; suffrages ff.82-86v; Prayer of St Augustine ff.87-90; Prayer to the Virgin f.90; Seven prayers of St Gregory ff.90v-91.
Illumination:
This lavishly decorated manuscript shows how illuminators were inspired by the dense embellishments of printed Hours to extend the format and content of their manuscript pages. This cross-fertilisation between manuscript and printed hours was facilitated at the turn of the 16th century by a select group of artists who both illuminated manuscripts and designed cuts for printed books. The miniatures in this extravagant and highly individual Book of Hours are by at least three – if not four – distinct illuminators. The principal programme of illumination fits into the extensively decorated Hours associated with the Master of Martainville 183, an artist named from a Book of Hours in the Bibliothèque municipale in Rouen, greatly indebted to Jean Pichore and Jean Bourdichon, who played a major role in the production of a small group of Parisian manuscripts that are decorated with richly historiated borders at the turn of 16th century. The miniatures by this ‘Pichoresque’ hand related to the Martainville Master are executed with a greater refinement and sensitivity than other works attributed to the Master, like the Martainville Hours themselves, the ‘Libro de Horas de Carlo V’ (Madrid, Biblioteca Nacional, Vitr. 24.3), a Books of Hours in San Marino (Huntington Library HM 1250) and one in London (British Library, Harley 2936), which are peopled by clumsier, more crudely modelled figures (see C. Zöhl, Jean Pichore, Buchmaler, Graphiker und Verlegerin Paris um 1500, 2004, especially pp.46-7). There are close similarities, in terms of the intricate ornament of the borders and rich colours and skilful detailing of the miniatures, to a Book of Hours in Vienna, ÖNB cod.1927, where the same physical types are depicted with something of the same technical expertise (see O. Pächt and D. Thoss, Die illuminierten Handschriften und Inkunabeln der Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek, Französische Schule II, 1977, pp.73-81). Particularly unusual is the miniature on f.59v, with Death holding a spear looming over the owners, a subject surely inspired by Matthew 24:36, with God himself sounding the hour on a remarkably accurate and detailed clock (a notably early representation). This artist is also responsible for the final miniature depicting the rare scene taken from the apocryphal Book of Tobit, that of Tobias and the Angel.
A second distinct artist is responsible for the miniatures of David playing his harp and the Mass of St Gregory: the Master of Robert Gaguin, an artist named by Nicole Reynaud from a presentation copy of Robert Gaguin’s French translation of Caesar’s Commentaries given to Charles VIII in 1488. This Master was a younger collaborator and follower of the Master of Jacques de Besançon (see F. Avril and N. Reynaud, Les manuscrits à peintures en France 1440-1520, 1993, pp.262-4). The Master of Robert Gaguin often collaborated with the printer Antoine Vérard and seems to have most often been commissioned to illuminate secular manuscripts, although a few Books of Hours have been attributed to him. The David miniature in the present lot (f.50) has the carefully modelled male face with prominent cheekbones associable with the artist’s style also found in the large miniatures in an Hours in the Beinecke Library, Yale University, ms 411 (see B. Shailor, Catalogue of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts, Beinecke Library, Yale University, II, 1987, Ms 411, p.312) and in those in a Book of Hours in Philadelphia (Free Library of Philadelphia, ms Lewis 113, see for example the figure of God in the Coronation of the Virgin miniature on f.26v). The Mass of St Gregory on f.90v is compositionally identical to that in a Book of Hours at the Bodleian Library (MS. Rawl. liturg. e. 36), which also contains banderoles in the borders with the motto ‘Espouer en Dieu’.
The miniature with Job on the dungheap on f.60 is in the style of another collaborator of Antoine Vérard: the Master of the Chronique scandaleuse (fl. 1493-1510) named from BnF ms Clair. 481.
The subjects of the full-page miniatures are as follows: David and Goliath f.49v; David enthroned with harp f.50; the owners with Death and Time f.59v; Job on the dungheap f.60; St George slaying the dragon f.81; Trinity f.81v; Tobias and the Archangel Raphael f.91v.
The subjects of the large miniatures are as follows: St John on Patmos f.7; St Matthew f.8; St Luke f.11; Visitation f.20, the Triburtine Sibyl and Emperor Augustus f.25v; Nativity f.26; Annunciation to the shepherds f.28; Adoration of the Magi f.30; Presentation in the Temple f.32; Flight into Egypt f.34; Coronation of the Virgin f.27v; Agony in the Garden f.43v; Crucifixion f.44; Pentecost f.47; St Augustine writing f.87; Mass of St Gregory f.90v.
The small miniature is on f.10.
Provenance
(1) The initials A and L, doubtless of the original owners, appear throughout; their arms are gules a swan contourné argent, in chief or three lozenges gules. Their motto ‘A forsa, ex forso’ also appears on banderoles throughout, while ‘Qui bien mire, bien voit, qui bien ce voit, bien ce connoit’, and ‘Espouer en Dieu’ appear on a few leaves. Despite the many clues it has proven impossible to identify the original owners. It is possible that the manuscript was made for an Italian patron: the final miniature depicting Tobias and the angel Raphael (venerated as a protector of travellers), is often found in Books of Hours made for Italian merchants.
(2) Oderisio di Sangro, 6o Principe di Fondi (1876-1910): his sale, Galleria Sangiorgi, Palazzo Borghese, Rome, 1 May 1895, lot 745.
(3) Templeton Crocker, of San Francisco (1884-1948), explorer, president of the California Historical Society and librettist of the first American opera produced in Europe: no 2 in his collection in de Ricci, Census, I, p.30.
(4) Allan Bluestein, likely purchased from Goodspeed’s, Boston (see The Month at Goodspeed’s Book Shop, vols. 33-34, 1961, p.151, there described as Flemish). Sold in the Allan Bluestein Collection, Sotheby’s Parke Bernet, 7 April 1976, lot 39.
(5) H.P. Kraus, New York, 17 April 1979, sold to Alexandre Rosenberg for $50,000.
(6) Rosenberg Ms 21.
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The Martainville Master, The Master of Robert Gaguin and others (active late 15th - first half 16th century)
The 'A and L' Hours, use of Rome, in French and Latin, illuminated manuscript on vellum [Paris, c.1490]
A grand, deluxe production for a wealthy and influential patron whose initials appear throughout, illuminated by two of the dominant Parisian illuminators of the turn of the 15th century: the Martainville Master and the Master of Robert Gaguin.
164 x 105mm. ii + 91 + ii, collation: 16, 25 (of 10?, lacking at least 4 leaves), 3-46, 52, 68, 7-86, 912+2, 10-116, 128, 1312, modern foliation in pencil followed here, 30 lines, ruled space: 120 x 50mm, illuminated initials and line-fillers throughout, one small, 7 full-page and 16 large miniatures within architectural borders with side-panels and bas-de-page scenes, 24 miniatures of the signs of the zodiac and the occupations of the month in the Calendar, the suffrages with miniatures of the saints in the borders, each page with richly decorated full-borders incorporating architectural motifs, geometric patterns, foliate sprays, pictorial scenes and drolleries, most bearing the repeated initials ‘A’ and ‘L’ in liquid gold and the motto ‘A forsa, ex forso’, ff.78 and 79v with the banderoles ‘Qui bien mire, bien voit, qui bien ce voit, bien ce co[nnoit]’ and ‘Espouer en Dieu’ [sic] (Gospel extracts misbound, with Luke coming before Matthew, lacking likely 4 leaves of which probably 3 with miniatures including the Gospel of Mark, the beginning of Obsecro te and end of O intemerata, and the opening of the Hours of the Virgin). 19th-century French red straight-grain morocco gilt, blue silk linings (spine a little rubbed). Blue slip-case and green quarter-morocco box, gilt title on spine.
Content:
Calendar ff.1-6v; Gospel extracts, Obsecro te and O intemerata ff.7-11v; Hours of the Virgin, use of Rome, ff.12-43v: matins f.12, lauds f.20, prime f.26, terce f.28, sext f.30; none f.32, vespers f.34, compline f.37v; Hours of the Cross ff.44-46v; Hours of the Holy Spirit ff.47-49; Seven Penitential Psalms and Litany ff.50v-59; Office of the Dead, use of Rome ff.60-80v; suffrages ff.82-86v; Prayer of St Augustine ff.87-90; Prayer to the Virgin f.90; Seven prayers of St Gregory ff.90v-91.
Illumination:
This lavishly decorated manuscript shows how illuminators were inspired by the dense embellishments of printed Hours to extend the format and content of their manuscript pages. This cross-fertilisation between manuscript and printed hours was facilitated at the turn of the 16th century by a select group of artists who both illuminated manuscripts and designed cuts for printed books. The miniatures in this extravagant and highly individual Book of Hours are by at least three – if not four – distinct illuminators. The principal programme of illumination fits into the extensively decorated Hours associated with the Master of Martainville 183, an artist named from a Book of Hours in the Bibliothèque municipale in Rouen, greatly indebted to Jean Pichore and Jean Bourdichon, who played a major role in the production of a small group of Parisian manuscripts that are decorated with richly historiated borders at the turn of 16th century. The miniatures by this ‘Pichoresque’ hand related to the Martainville Master are executed with a greater refinement and sensitivity than other works attributed to the Master, like the Martainville Hours themselves, the ‘Libro de Horas de Carlo V’ (Madrid, Biblioteca Nacional, Vitr. 24.3), a Books of Hours in San Marino (Huntington Library HM 1250) and one in London (British Library, Harley 2936), which are peopled by clumsier, more crudely modelled figures (see C. Zöhl, Jean Pichore, Buchmaler, Graphiker und Verlegerin Paris um 1500, 2004, especially pp.46-7). There are close similarities, in terms of the intricate ornament of the borders and rich colours and skilful detailing of the miniatures, to a Book of Hours in Vienna, ÖNB cod.1927, where the same physical types are depicted with something of the same technical expertise (see O. Pächt and D. Thoss, Die illuminierten Handschriften und Inkunabeln der Österreichischen Nationalbibliothek, Französische Schule II, 1977, pp.73-81). Particularly unusual is the miniature on f.59v, with Death holding a spear looming over the owners, a subject surely inspired by Matthew 24:36, with God himself sounding the hour on a remarkably accurate and detailed clock (a notably early representation). This artist is also responsible for the final miniature depicting the rare scene taken from the apocryphal Book of Tobit, that of Tobias and the Angel.
A second distinct artist is responsible for the miniatures of David playing his harp and the Mass of St Gregory: the Master of Robert Gaguin, an artist named by Nicole Reynaud from a presentation copy of Robert Gaguin’s French translation of Caesar’s Commentaries given to Charles VIII in 1488. This Master was a younger collaborator and follower of the Master of Jacques de Besançon (see F. Avril and N. Reynaud, Les manuscrits à peintures en France 1440-1520, 1993, pp.262-4). The Master of Robert Gaguin often collaborated with the printer Antoine Vérard and seems to have most often been commissioned to illuminate secular manuscripts, although a few Books of Hours have been attributed to him. The David miniature in the present lot (f.50) has the carefully modelled male face with prominent cheekbones associable with the artist’s style also found in the large miniatures in an Hours in the Beinecke Library, Yale University, ms 411 (see B. Shailor, Catalogue of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts, Beinecke Library, Yale University, II, 1987, Ms 411, p.312) and in those in a Book of Hours in Philadelphia (Free Library of Philadelphia, ms Lewis 113, see for example the figure of God in the Coronation of the Virgin miniature on f.26v). The Mass of St Gregory on f.90v is compositionally identical to that in a Book of Hours at the Bodleian Library (MS. Rawl. liturg. e. 36), which also contains banderoles in the borders with the motto ‘Espouer en Dieu’.
The miniature with Job on the dungheap on f.60 is in the style of another collaborator of Antoine Vérard: the Master of the Chronique scandaleuse (fl. 1493-1510) named from BnF ms Clair. 481.
The subjects of the full-page miniatures are as follows: David and Goliath f.49v; David enthroned with harp f.50; the owners with Death and Time f.59v; Job on the dungheap f.60; St George slaying the dragon f.81; Trinity f.81v; Tobias and the Archangel Raphael f.91v.
The subjects of the large miniatures are as follows: St John on Patmos f.7; St Matthew f.8; St Luke f.11; Visitation f.20, the Triburtine Sibyl and Emperor Augustus f.25v; Nativity f.26; Annunciation to the shepherds f.28; Adoration of the Magi f.30; Presentation in the Temple f.32; Flight into Egypt f.34; Coronation of the Virgin f.27v; Agony in the Garden f.43v; Crucifixion f.44; Pentecost f.47; St Augustine writing f.87; Mass of St Gregory f.90v.
The small miniature is on f.10.
Provenance
(1) The initials A and L, doubtless of the original owners, appear throughout; their arms are gules a swan contourné argent, in chief or three lozenges gules. Their motto ‘A forsa, ex forso’ also appears on banderoles throughout, while ‘Qui bien mire, bien voit, qui bien ce voit, bien ce connoit’, and ‘Espouer en Dieu’ appear on a few leaves. Despite the many clues it has proven impossible to identify the original owners. It is possible that the manuscript was made for an Italian patron: the final miniature depicting Tobias and the angel Raphael (venerated as a protector of travellers), is often found in Books of Hours made for Italian merchants.
(2) Oderisio di Sangro, 6o Principe di Fondi (1876-1910): his sale, Galleria Sangiorgi, Palazzo Borghese, Rome, 1 May 1895, lot 745.
(3) Templeton Crocker, of San Francisco (1884-1948), explorer, president of the California Historical Society and librettist of the first American opera produced in Europe: no 2 in his collection in de Ricci, Census, I, p.30.
(4) Allan Bluestein, likely purchased from Goodspeed’s, Boston (see The Month at Goodspeed’s Book Shop, vols. 33-34, 1961, p.151, there described as Flemish). Sold in the Allan Bluestein Collection, Sotheby’s Parke Bernet, 7 April 1976, lot 39.
(5) H.P. Kraus, New York, 17 April 1979, sold to Alexandre Rosenberg for $50,000.
(6) Rosenberg Ms 21.
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