Beschreibung:

Regensburg School St Bartholomew, historiated initial 'E' on a leaf from an Antiphonal on vellum, Regensburg, c.1310 An engaging miniature of Saint Bartholomew painted in the 'Sweet Style', once belonging to an important Franciscan Antiphonal of which twenty leaves are known today. 445 x 375mm. The initial 'E' with St Bartholomew forming the incipit, 'Ecce ego', from the Common of the Apostles, sung for all apostolic feasts during the liturgical year. Reverse with 8 lines of text and music on a red stave, large initial 'V': 'Venite adoremus Venite Eterna Christi'. Mounted and framed. Provenance: (1) The leaf comes from a much-studied Antiphonal created for a Franciscan house in Regensburg, probably the convent of St Clare (Kidd 2019, p.216). For decades this manuscript was believed to have originated in the Dominican convent of Heilig Kreuz and later sold to the antique book dealer Alfred Coppenrath after the monastery’s dissolution in 1876. However, a rubric from the first leaf of the volume (Stockholm, SNM, E.E. Med.2) specifically mentions St Francis ('Ab isto die usque ad octavam epiphanie […] de apostolis, nec de beato Francisco, nec de pace […]') (Nordenfalk 1979) making this assertion unlikely. A recently discovered catalogue from a Parke-Bernet auction in New York, reveals that the Antiphonal was purchased by the Brummer Gallery on March 5, 1945. The catalogue describes the manuscript as bound in light brown pig skin, with 314 leaves on heavy vellum and 18 large miniatures. Between 1945 and 1953, the manuscript was dismembered. Raphael Stora, a New York dealer, loaned four leaves from the Antiphonal to an exhibition at the Los Angeles County Museum in 1953 and began offering individual leaves for sale in 1954. The present leaf is f.247 of 314. The name 'Gerwirch' appears on a sister leaf in the Pierpont Morgan Library (MS M. 870.2), likely identifying the donor. (2) Private Swiss Collection. Sister leaves: Nineteen sister leaves from the parent manuscript have been identified. 1. Vespers before the first Sunday in Advent (Stockholm Nationalmuseum, E.E. Med.2). 2. A King or Prophet (Stockholm Nationalmuseum, E.E. Med.1). 3. The Nativity, Dec. 25 (The Morgan Library and Museum, MS M.870.1). 4. The Stoning of St Stephen, Dec. 26 (Private Collection, formerly Ferrini & Fogg, 1989, no 8). 5. Sts John and James, Dec. 27 (Private Collection, formerly Ferrini & Fogg, 1989, no 9). 6. Massacre of the Innocents, Dec. 28 (Private Collection, see Kidd 2019, no 55). 7. The Circumcision of Christ, Jan. 1 (The Walters Art Museum, MS W.754.A). 8. Baptism of Christ, Jan. 6 (Stockholm Nationalmuseum, E.E. Med.3). 9. Creation of Eve, Septuagesima Sunday (Private Collection). 10. Christ on the Mount of Olives, Maundy Thursday (Private Collection, formerly Sotheby’s July 8, 2014, lot 25). 11. Crucifixion, Good Friday (Private Collection, formerly Sotheby’s, July 8, 2014, lot 26). 12. St Andrew, Nov. 30 (The Morgan Library and Museum, MS M.870.2). 13. St Agnes, Jan. 21 (The Morgan Library & Museum, MS M.870.3). 14. Conversion of Paul, Jan. 25 (Stockholm Nationalmuseum, E.E. Med.4). 15. Presentation in the Temple, Feb. 2 (Harvard University, Houghton Library MS Typ 961). 16. Sts Agatha and Lucy, Feb. 5 (Private Collection, formerly Philippe Verdier). 17. Christ Giving the Keys to St Peter, Feb. 22 (Walters Art Museum, MS W.754B). 18. The Annunciation, Mar. 25 (Seattle Museum of Art, 55.30). 19. Beheading of St Katherine, Nov. 25 (Private Collection). Illumination: The miniature is typical of Regensburg illumination of the 14th century, sometimes referred to as the 'Sweet Style' in which figures are painted with chubby, restrained faces in a light colour palette (Suckale 2010). The miniature also reveals borrowings from French art: the figures are articulated with strong black contours and the faces are gently modelled with pale flesh tones. St Bartholomew stands inside the 'E', inserting his hands through the open crossbar in a playful intera