BOOK OF HOURS, in Latin and French, use of Orléans, illuminated manuscript on vellum [Paris, last quarter 15th century] A French Book of Hours illuminated by an innovative master working to imbue traditional Parisian designs from Maître François with a monumentality developed under the influence of Jean Bourdichon of Tours. 205 x 130mm. i + 122 + i leaves, complete, 19 lines, ruled space: 130 x 70mm. Twelve large arch-topped miniatures with full borders, five small miniatures with three-sided borders, three-sided borders at Lauds of the Virgin (f.34). 18th-century olive green gilt morocco over pasteboard, silver clasps (scuffed). Provenance : The presence of Sts Genevieve, Denis and Marcel in the calendar indicate a Parisian origin, while the Office of the Virgin for the use of Orléans may suggest a commission from a resident of that city – 19th-century annotation in red ink on f.i: ‘HEURES DE NOSTRE DAME. A L’usage de Paris’ – Christie’s New York, 7 October 1994, lot 9. Content: Calendar, in French, use of Paris ff.1-12; blanks ff.13-14; Gospel sequences ff.15-19v; Passion according to St John ff.20-21; Obsecro te ff.21-23v; O intemerata ff.24-25v; Hours of the Virgin, use of Orléans ff.26-68; Penitential Psalms and Litany ff.69-82; Hours of the Cross ff.83-85; Hours of the Holy Spirit ff.86-88; short Office of the Dead ff.89-122v. The subjects of the large miniatures are: St John on Patmos f.15; Annunciation f.26; Nativity f.42v; Annunciation to the Shepherds f.47v; Adoration of the Magi f.51; Presentation in the Temple f.54v; Flight into Egypt f.58; Coronation of the Virgin f.64v; David in Prayer f.69; Crucifixion f.83; Pentecost f.86; Raising of Lazarus f.89. The small miniatures are: St Luke f.16v; St Matthew f.18; St Mark f.19; Crowning with Thorns f.20; Virgin and Child f.21. The style of the miniatures is rooted in the Parisian tradition of Maître François (fl. 1462-1480) – most obviously in the architectural tracery that crowns a number of the miniatures – infused with the monumental character indicative of illumination from Tours, specifically the oeuvre of Jean Bourdichon (c.1457-1521). The influence of Bourdichon – the most famous and accomplished illuminator of late 15th-century France, court painter to four successive French kings – is perhaps most clearly seen in the Annunciation miniature (f.26): the lead-white flesh of the kneeling Virgin and Angel Gabriel, the use of long gold strokes to highlight their hair and robes, and their depiction in an architectural niche steeped in darkness illuminated by the Holy Spirit is close to an early Bourdichon miniature sold at Christie’s (28 January 2015, lot 150).
BOOK OF HOURS, in Latin and French, use of Orléans, illuminated manuscript on vellum [Paris, last quarter 15th century] A French Book of Hours illuminated by an innovative master working to imbue traditional Parisian designs from Maître François with a monumentality developed under the influence of Jean Bourdichon of Tours. 205 x 130mm. i + 122 + i leaves, complete, 19 lines, ruled space: 130 x 70mm. Twelve large arch-topped miniatures with full borders, five small miniatures with three-sided borders, three-sided borders at Lauds of the Virgin (f.34). 18th-century olive green gilt morocco over pasteboard, silver clasps (scuffed). Provenance : The presence of Sts Genevieve, Denis and Marcel in the calendar indicate a Parisian origin, while the Office of the Virgin for the use of Orléans may suggest a commission from a resident of that city – 19th-century annotation in red ink on f.i: ‘HEURES DE NOSTRE DAME. A L’usage de Paris’ – Christie’s New York, 7 October 1994, lot 9. Content: Calendar, in French, use of Paris ff.1-12; blanks ff.13-14; Gospel sequences ff.15-19v; Passion according to St John ff.20-21; Obsecro te ff.21-23v; O intemerata ff.24-25v; Hours of the Virgin, use of Orléans ff.26-68; Penitential Psalms and Litany ff.69-82; Hours of the Cross ff.83-85; Hours of the Holy Spirit ff.86-88; short Office of the Dead ff.89-122v. The subjects of the large miniatures are: St John on Patmos f.15; Annunciation f.26; Nativity f.42v; Annunciation to the Shepherds f.47v; Adoration of the Magi f.51; Presentation in the Temple f.54v; Flight into Egypt f.58; Coronation of the Virgin f.64v; David in Prayer f.69; Crucifixion f.83; Pentecost f.86; Raising of Lazarus f.89. The small miniatures are: St Luke f.16v; St Matthew f.18; St Mark f.19; Crowning with Thorns f.20; Virgin and Child f.21. The style of the miniatures is rooted in the Parisian tradition of Maître François (fl. 1462-1480) – most obviously in the architectural tracery that crowns a number of the miniatures – infused with the monumental character indicative of illumination from Tours, specifically the oeuvre of Jean Bourdichon (c.1457-1521). The influence of Bourdichon – the most famous and accomplished illuminator of late 15th-century France, court painter to four successive French kings – is perhaps most clearly seen in the Annunciation miniature (f.26): the lead-white flesh of the kneeling Virgin and Angel Gabriel, the use of long gold strokes to highlight their hair and robes, and their depiction in an architectural niche steeped in darkness illuminated by the Holy Spirit is close to an early Bourdichon miniature sold at Christie’s (28 January 2015, lot 150).
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