The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of July 17, 2026

A vertically oriented tempera and liquid gold painting on vellum depicts two shepherds with light skin tones in a field. On our left, a man raises his arms while another on our right shields his eyes, both looking toward a winged angel with a scroll. Below them are white sheep and a dog. A decorative floral border featuring a brown boar frames the arched scene of rocky hills and a distant castle.

Leaf from a Book of Hours: Annunciation to the Shepherds

c. 1470–1480

Guillaume Vrelant

(Flemish, c. 1454–1481)
Flanders, Bruges
tempera, liquid gold, and grisaille on vellum
Sheet: 10.2 x 7.5 cm (4 x 2 15/16 in.)
Purchase from the J. H. Wade Fund 1954.140.1
Location: Not on view

Description

Guillaume Vrelant, born in Utrecht, was known to be in Bruges from 1454 onward where he died around 1481. He probably went there to sidestep a 1427 law which banned the sale of Utrecht images. A painter very much in vogue, he founded the Illuminators’ Guild in Bruges under the patronage of Saint John the Evangelist. He is known to have provided manuscripts to the Burgundian court.
  • The Netherlandish Miniature, 1260–1550. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 16, 2013-December 8, 2014).
    Main Gallery Rotation (gallery 115): December 16, 2013 - December 8, 2014.
    Illuminated Manuscripts. The Cleveland Museum of Art (organizer) (October 10, 2004-October 2, 2005).
    The Cleveland Museum of Art (10/10/2004 - 10/02/2005); "Illuminated Manuscripts"
  • {{cite web|title=Leaf from a Book of Hours: Annunciation to the Shepherds|url=false|author=Guillaume Vrelant|year=c. 1470–1480|access-date=17 July 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1954.140.1