Beschreibung:

Master of the Paris Bartholomeus Anglicus (active 1430-1450) Book of Hours, use of Paris, in Latin and French, illuminated manuscript on vellum [Anjou or Le Mans, c.1440s] A superlative work of illumination by an enigmatic Master employed at the court of Anjou: complete and in pristine condition, the present manuscript – with its astonishing, sumptuous miniatures and brilliant borders lavishly decorated in gold and silver – is a testament to the wealth and discernment of its original owners. 208 x 150mm. iii + 189 + iv leaves, complete, collation: 1-26, 3-68, 74, 8-128, 136, 14-178, 186, 19-258, 261. 15 lines, ruled space: 111 x 72mm, rubrics in red, line-fillers in red, blue and liquid gold, illuminated initials throughout, each page with two-sided borders of acanthus sprays and foliage lavishly illuminated in silver and gold, 16 large miniatures and 4 historiated initials within full acanthus borders sometimes inhabited by angels, musicians, dancers, monkeys and peacocks, 12 calendar miniatures with the occupations of the month. 19th-century black shagreen, silver clasps. Burgundy cloth slipcase and quarter-morooco box, gilt title on spine. Content: Calendar ff.1-12v; Gospel extracts ff.13-20; Hours of the Virgin, use of Paris, ff.21-86v: matins f.21, lauds f.43, prime f.54v, terce f.60v, sext 65, none 69v, vespers f.74, compline f.81v; Obsecro te ff.87-90v; O intemerata ff.90v-94v; Penitential psalms and litany ff.95-114v; Hours of the Cross ff.115-118v; Hours of the Holy Spirit ff.119-122; Office of the Dead, use of Paris, ff.122v-168v; Suffrages ff.169-180v, Doulce Dame ff.181-185v; Five Wounds of Christ ff.186-189v. Illumination: The extent of decoration, the variety and ingenuity of border forms, the richness of colour and the delicacy of execution combine to make this an exceptionally opulent and beguiling manuscript. This masterpiece of illumination is the best and most richly illuminated work of the Master of the Paris Bartholomeus Anglicus, an enigmatic artist named after a Livre de la propriété des choses by Bartholomeus Anglicus in Paris (BnF, Fr. 135). His manuscript oeuvre was assembled by Eberhard König, who dubbed him the 'October Master', identifying him, erroneously, as the illuminator responsible for the October miniature begun by the Limbourg brothers in the Très Riches Heures (the artist responsible for the October miniature is now commonly thought to be Barthélemy d’Eyck), and later again as the embroiderer and painter to René, Duke of Anjou, Pierre Billant (see E. König, Das Liebentbrannte Herz: Der Wiener Codex und der Maler Barthélemy d’Eyck, 1996, pp.83-86). Academic consensus places the artist’s activity in western France, under the patronage of the Anjou court. Among the artist’s attributed works are two copies of the Livre de consolation by Boethius (one in St Petersburg, Hermitage Museum, ms. 14035, and one in Vienna, Österr. Nationalbibl. Cod. 2653, with one miniature from this latter manuscript now at the Louvre, département des Arts graphiques, Inv. 9838). Nicole Reynaud has further attributed to him the portraits of the patrons in the Falconry section of the Devonshire Hunting Tapestry (London, Victoria and Albert Museum, T.202-1957); the cartoons of the Anjou donors in the stained glass windows in the north transept of the cathedral at Le Mans (for these see also F. Gatouillat, ‘Les vitraux du bras nord du transept de la cathédrale du Mans et les relations franco-anglaises à la fin de la guerre de Cent Ans’, Bulletin monumental, 2003, 161-4, pp.307-324); and a dramatic fresco at the Palazzo Abatellis in Palermo, considered today to be one of the most representative works of late Gothic painting in Italy and likely painted under the commission of René d’Anjou in Naples (see N. Reynaud, ‘Le Triomphe de la Mort de Palerme: rencontre franco-italienne au milieu du XVe siècle ?’, Hommage à Michel Laclotte. Études sur la peinture du Moyen Âge et de la Renaissance, 1994, pp.132-151). As John Plummer