Artwork Page for Leaf from a Book of Hours: Annunciation to the Shepherds (recto) and Text (verso)

Details / Information for Leaf from a Book of Hours: Annunciation to the Shepherds (recto) and Text (verso)

Leaf from a Book of Hours: Annunciation to the Shepherds (recto) and Text (verso)

c. 1410–20

Boethius Illuminator

(Flemish, active c. 1414–20)
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Culture
France, Paris (?), 15th century
Medium
ink, tempera and gold on vellum
Measurements
Leaf: 17 x 12.1 cm (6 11/16 x 4 3/4 in.)
Credit Line
The Jeanne Miles Blackburn Collection 2014.22
Public Domain
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Location
113 French Tapestries & Illuminated Manuscripts(not visible)
Print

Description

This finely preserved leaf with its large miniature is stylistically consistent with the work of the Boethius Illuminator. An unusual and very original painter, he was named after a manuscript copy of the works of the Roman philosopher Boethius (AD 480-524), which he illuminated in 1414. The artist favored bright, sweeping colors and expressionistic compositions. He used tessellated (mosaic-patterned) grounds in his miniatures, as is the case here. The Boethius Illuminator and his assistants participated in the illustration of over a dozen manuscripts between 1414 and 1418/20. It was not unusual for artists working in different styles to collaborate on a single book of hours during the 1400s and 1500s.
A manuscript leaf features two sides. On the left, a painting in the upper half depicts four shepherds looking at a red-winged angel. Below, a large, decorated blue and gold letter "D" starts black Latin text. Ornate floral borders with blue flowers and gold accents surround the page. On the right, black script fills the center, featuring two blue and gold decorated initials amidst a faint floral border.

Leaf from a Book of Hours: Annunciation to the Shepherds (recto) and Text (verso)

c. 1410–20

Boethius Illuminator

(Flemish, active c. 1414–20)
France, Paris (?), 15th century

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