The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of June 9, 2026

A vertical vellum illumination features central black Gothic script with colorful initials. An ornate blue and gold bar borders the text on the left, extending into scrolling vines with tiny red and blue leaves. Hybrid drolleries inhabit the margins: one wearing a blue hood on the left, another along the bottom reaching toward a bird. Fine strokes and gold leaf highlights define the figures and birds nestled within the intricate foliage.

Hours of Charles the Noble, King of Navarre (1361-1425): fol. 233v, Text

c. 1405

Master of the Brussels Initials and Associates

(French)
France, Paris
ink, tempera, and gold on vellum
Codex: 20.3 x 15.7 x 7 cm (8 x 6 3/16 x 2 3/4 in.)
Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund 1964.40.233.b
Location: 109 Gothic Painting and Sculpture(not visible)

Description

This precious volume was obviously highly prized by its owner, the French-born King of Navarre, who had his coat of arms painted on no less than twenty folios. Rather than directly commissioning this manuscript from a specific workshop, it seems that Charles the Noble acquired his book of hours -- perhaps ready-made for the luxury market -- while on a trip to Paris in 1404-05. A collaborative effort, six painting styles are evidenced within the pages of this codex, those of two Italians, two Frenchmen, and two Netherlanders. The painter who was responsible for the planning and decoration of the book, and who produced seventeen of the large miniatures, was a Bolognese artist known as the Master of the Brussels Initials. His principal assistant, responsible for most of the borders, was a Florentine who signed his name "Zecho" da Firenze on folio 208 verso.
  • Edmond de Rothschild
    Maurice de Rothschild
    Edmond de Rothschild, Paris
    Edmond de Rothschild; Maurice de Rothschild; Edmond de Rothschild, Paris
  • {{cite web|title=Hours of Charles the Noble, King of Navarre (1361-1425): fol. 233v, Text|url=false|author=Master of the Brussels Initials and Associates|year=c. 1405|access-date=09 June 2026|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/1964.40.233.b