The Cleveland Museum of Art

Collection Online as of April 20, 2024

The Nativity: Leaf from a Book of Hours (3 of 6 Excised Leaves)

The Nativity: Leaf from a Book of Hours (3 of 6 Excised Leaves)

c. 1420–30
(French)
France, Metz, 15th century
ink, tempera, and gold on vellum
Each leaf: 16.1 x 12.6 cm (6 5/16 x 4 15/16 in.)
The Jeanne Miles Blackburn Collection 2001.75
Location: not on view

Did You Know?

The popularity of books of hours lasted until around the 1550s, when the German priest Martin Luther, in his attempts to reform the Catholic Church, declared them full of “un-Christian tomfoolery,” and they fell out of favor.

Description

This leaf survives from what must have been an extraordinarily rich book of hours. Stylistically, the illuminations relate to the workshop of Henri d'Orquevaulx, a documented Metz manuscript painter. Little is known about d'Orquevaulx's life or career. Compositionally, structurally, and stylistically, the miniatures suggest strong links to Netherlandish illumination.
  • before 1539 - after 1541
    Jehan de Poncy (d. 1605) and his wife, Marguerite
    Bartlett Gurney (1756-1803), Norwich, England, bequeathed to his aunt Catherine Gurney
    -1808
    Catherine Gurney (1776–1850), Norwich, England, gifted to Rev. Edward Edwards
    1808-
    Rev. Edward Edwards (1766-1849), Lynn, Norfolk, bequeathed to his godson William Hay Gurney, nephew of Catherine Gurney
    William Hay Gurney (1827-1898), North Princeton
    April 7, 1978
    Sale: Christie's New York, April 7, 1978, Lot 226
    [Bruce Ferrini (1950-2010), Akron, OH, sold to Jeanne Miles Blackburn]
    -2001
    Ms. Jeanne Miles Blackburn, Maitland, Fl, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art
    2001-
    The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
  • Christie, Manson & Woods International Inc. Printed Books and Manuscripts Including an Important Manuscript Map of Southeastern North America, 1721. 1978. Lot 226
    Fliegel, Stephen N. The Jeanne Miles Blackburn Collection of Manuscript Illuminations. Cleveland, Ohio: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1999. Mentioned: p. 37; Reproduced: p. 38, cat. no. 30 archive.org
  • The Glory of the Painted Page: Manuscript Illuminations from the Permanent Collection. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 6, 2010-April 17, 2011).
    Cleveland Museum of Art, (11/06/2010 - 04/17/2011); "The Glory Of the Painted Page: Manuscript Illuminations from the Permanent Collections"
    The Jeanne Miles Blackburn Collection of Manuscript Illuminations. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (December 19, 1999-February 27, 2000).
    CMA, 19 December 1999 - 27 February 2000, The Jeanne Miles Blackburn Collection of Manuscript Illuminations, cat. 30, illus. p. 38.
  • {{cite web|title=The Nativity: Leaf from a Book of Hours (3 of 6 Excised Leaves)|url=false|author=Henri d'Orquevaulx, Workshop|year=c. 1420–30|access-date=20 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

Source URL:

https://www.clevelandart.org/art/2001.75