BOCCACCIO, Giovanni (1313-1375). Laurent de Premierfait's French translation of De Casibus illustrium virorum ; THE SUICIDE OF PHEDRA, an unfinished miniature on a part-leaf, ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT LEAF ON VELLUM [France, second half of the 15th century] 335 x 288mm. 48 lines (of 60, lacking the lower portion of the leaf), double column, each 108mm, written in brown ink in a regular bâtarde , headings in red, five-line illuminated initial, pink on gold ground, half border of acanthus, flowers and golden ivyleaves on hairline stems. The miniature is rectangular (150 x 105mm), in two compartments, the upper 100 x 105mm. the lower 50 x 105mm. The upper miniature, illustrating the suicide of Phedra, is set in a vaulted chamber with an ornate wall hanging. Theseus watches as Phedra stabs herself in the chest with a short sword, in a rear corner lies the corpse of Hyppolitus; Phedra had caused Hyppolitus to be executed by falsely accusing him of attempting to seduce her, and she killed herself in remorse. The lower compartment shows Theseus in exile in Cyprus standing alone in a rugged landscape, his crown and broken sceptre on the ground. These are line drawings in which only a few touches of colour have been applied: the crown and sceptre and some of the shading in a dark 'gold', and the blue of the sky. The details of the upper miniature are complete, but the landscape in the lower has only been roughly sketched in. They give a fascinating insight into the stages of production of an illuminated manuscript. These are an unusual choice of subject to illustrate this popular text; the chapter on Theseus is usually represented by other episodes from the legend, such as the killing of the Minotaur. The text is that of Laurent de Premierfait's second translation of 1409 and comprises chapter 10 'Le Xe chappitre contient le cas de theseus roy dathenes', sections 1 to 17, with the loss of about 12 lines. Bibliography: P.M. Gathercole, Des Cas, Book I of Laurent's translation , Chapel Hill, Romance Literature Series 74 (1968) & idem , 'Paintings on manuscripts of Laurent de Premierfait', Studi sul Boccaccio 4 (1967), pp.295-316
BOCCACCIO, Giovanni (1313-1375). Laurent de Premierfait's French translation of De Casibus illustrium virorum ; THE SUICIDE OF PHEDRA, an unfinished miniature on a part-leaf, ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT LEAF ON VELLUM [France, second half of the 15th century] 335 x 288mm. 48 lines (of 60, lacking the lower portion of the leaf), double column, each 108mm, written in brown ink in a regular bâtarde , headings in red, five-line illuminated initial, pink on gold ground, half border of acanthus, flowers and golden ivyleaves on hairline stems. The miniature is rectangular (150 x 105mm), in two compartments, the upper 100 x 105mm. the lower 50 x 105mm. The upper miniature, illustrating the suicide of Phedra, is set in a vaulted chamber with an ornate wall hanging. Theseus watches as Phedra stabs herself in the chest with a short sword, in a rear corner lies the corpse of Hyppolitus; Phedra had caused Hyppolitus to be executed by falsely accusing him of attempting to seduce her, and she killed herself in remorse. The lower compartment shows Theseus in exile in Cyprus standing alone in a rugged landscape, his crown and broken sceptre on the ground. These are line drawings in which only a few touches of colour have been applied: the crown and sceptre and some of the shading in a dark 'gold', and the blue of the sky. The details of the upper miniature are complete, but the landscape in the lower has only been roughly sketched in. They give a fascinating insight into the stages of production of an illuminated manuscript. These are an unusual choice of subject to illustrate this popular text; the chapter on Theseus is usually represented by other episodes from the legend, such as the killing of the Minotaur. The text is that of Laurent de Premierfait's second translation of 1409 and comprises chapter 10 'Le Xe chappitre contient le cas de theseus roy dathenes', sections 1 to 17, with the loss of about 12 lines. Bibliography: P.M. Gathercole, Des Cas, Book I of Laurent's translation , Chapel Hill, Romance Literature Series 74 (1968) & idem , 'Paintings on manuscripts of Laurent de Premierfait', Studi sul Boccaccio 4 (1967), pp.295-316
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.jpg "Source: Christie's")
.jpg "Source: Christie's")
