Beschreibung:

Follower of the Master of the Gingins Last Judgement Book of Hours, use of Paris, in Latin and French, illuminated manuscript on vellum [Paris, c.1420s] A notably fine Book of Hours with a suite of miniatures newly attributed to the illuminator responsible for the majority of miniatures in the Orgemont Breviary, a follower of the Master of the Gingins Last Judgment: apparently the only Hours in which this rare Paris hand appears as the principal artist. 185 x 135mm. iv + 197 + iv, lacking three leaves and with four leaves added later in the 15th century, collation: 112, 28+1, 36, 4-88, 98+1, 108, 117 (of 8, lacking ii), 127 (of 8, lacking vi), 134+1, 147 (of 8, lacking i), 15-168, 178+1, 18-248, 256, modern pencil foliation (repeating f.190) followed here, some prickings evident, 14 lines, ruled space: 100 x 59mm, each text page with a one-sided ivy-leaf borders, one- to two-line illuminated initials on blue and red grounds throughout, 11 large arch-topped miniatures set above three-line decorated initials on gold grounds within three-quarter bar frames and full ivy-leaf borders, four full-page miniatures added later (lacking four of the original miniature cycle). 19th-century blind-tooled green morocco, title gilt on spine, raised bands, edges gilt. Quarter-calf box. Provenance: (1) These Hours are for Paris use and were painted in that city; the fully-filled Calendar features the feast days of patron saints of Paris Sts Genevieve (3 January) and Louis (25 August) in red, though, oddly, St Denis is not accorded this honour. The Master of the Gingins Last Judgment and his follower, who worked on the Orgemont Breviary, were both active in Paris. (2) ‘Mme de Gautheron’. (3) ‘M. Julhiet’, Valence (d. 1856, lawyer). (4) Armand de St Ferriol, Grenoble (1817-1880): his bookplate inside the upper cover; his sale, 5 December 1881, lot 34 (printed catalogue description in French pasted on f.iv); perhaps his notes on the manuscript, including the provenance listed above, on a bifolium tipped into the manuscript. (5) European private collection. Content: Calendar, in French ff.1-12; Incipit for the Psalter of St Jerome f.13; Gospel extracts ff.14-19; Obsecro te, in the masculine ff.20-24; O intemerata ff.24-27; Hours of the Virgin, use of Paris ff.28-102: matins f.28, lauds f.55, prime f.69, terce f.76, sext f.81, none f.86, vespers f.90, compline f.97; Penitential Psalms and Litany ff.104-122; Hours of the Cross ff.122v-127; Hours of the Holy Spirit ff.127v-131; Fidelium deus f.132; Office of the Dead, use of Paris ff.133-187; Fifteen Joys of the Virgin, in French ff.188-192; Seven Requests of our Lord, in French ff.192v-196. Illumination: The eleven large, arch-topped miniatures painted in an attractive strong palette and showing a clear preference for patterned backgrounds over landscapes appear to be the work of a follower of the Master of the Gingins Last Judgment, an artist active in Paris from about 1410 to 1430 (see Clark, Art in a Time of War, 2016, p. 306): we are grateful to Professor Gregory Clark for this attribution. The Master is named for the miniature depicting the Last Judgment that introduces the Seven Requests of our Lord in the Hours of Jean de Gingins, a manuscript dated by a colophon to 1421 (Switzerland, Chavannes-près-Renens, Archives cantonales vaudoises, P Château de La Sarraz H 50; the miniature on f.374v); his figures are distinguished by the comma-like forms of their eyes, with large pupils effectively joined to the flat arc of the upper eyelid. Our own artist emulates the Gingins Master quite closely, although his delight in strong colours and carefully designed shapes and patterns results in a style that is reminiscent also of the Fastolf Master, whose influence endured in Paris after he left the city for Rouen in 1420. Our artist’s hand can be identified in certain of the miniatures painted in a Breviary made for the Orgemont in Paris around 1420 (Paris, Bibl. de l’Arsenal, Ms. 660; the miniatures on, e.g