A Century of Dutch Manuscript Illumination [Reprint 2020 ed.] 9780520321359

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C A L I F O R N I A

S T U D I E S

IN

T H E

H I S T O R Y

O F

A R T

Walter Horn, General Editor Advisory Board: H. W.Janson, Bates Lowry, Wolfgang Stechow

I. T H E B I R T H

OF L A N D S C A P E P A I N T I N G IN

CHINA

By Michael Sullivan II. PORTRAITS

BY

DEGAS

By Jean Sutherland Boggs HI. LEONARDO

DA V I N C I

A LOST BOOK

ON

PAINTING

(LIBRO

A)

By Carlo Pedretti i v . I M A G E S IN THE M A R G I N S

OF G O T H I C

MANUSCRIPTS

By Lilian M. C. Randall v. THE DYNASTIC

ARTS

OF THE

KUSHANS

By John M. Rosenfield vi. A

CENTURY

OF D U T C H

MANUSCRIPT

ILLUMINATION

By L. M.J. Délaissé vu.

GEORGE

CALEB

and A

BINGHAM:

CATALOGUE

THE

EVOLUTION

RAISONNÉ

OP A N

ARTIST

(two volumes)

By Maurice Bloch vin.

CLAUDE

CATALOG

ix.

VENETIAN

LORRAIN:

THE

DRAWINGS—

and I L L U S T R A T I O N S (two volumes) By Marcel Roethlisberger

PAINTED

CEILINGS

OF THE

RENAISSANCE

By Juergen Schulz x.

THE

DRAWINGS

OF E D O U A R D

By Alain de Leiris

MANET

A C E N T U R Y OF DUTCH MANUSCRIPT

ILLUMINATION

The Emperor Charles IV and the Seven Electors.

A C E N T U R Y OF DUTCH MANUSCRIPT ILLUMINATION

B Y L.M.J. D É L A I S S É

U N I V E R S I T Y OF C A L I F O R N I A BERKELEY A N D LOS A N G E L E S

PRESS 1968

A

CENTURY

OF D U T C H

MANUSCRIPT

ILLUMINATION

is a volume in the California Studies in the History of Art sponsored in part by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation University of California Press Berkeley and Los Angeles, California Cambridge University Press London, England © 1968 by L. M . J . Délaissé Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 65-10577 Printed in The Netherlands

CONTENTS L I S T OF I L L U S T R A T I O N S

vii

INTRODUCTION

i

I. T H E P O L I T I C A L A N D S P I R I T U A L M I L I E U

4

D I V I S I O N A N D I N S T A B I L I T Y OF T H E D U T C H P R O V I N C E S

4

THE DEVOTIO MODERNA

8

II. T H E I L L U M I N A T E D M A N U S C R I P T S THE BEGINNINGS THE FIRST W O R K S H O P S DRAWINGS

13 AROUND

1430

AND OTHER T E C H N I Q U E S

THE BIBLES PRODUCTION AFTER

13 l8 26 33

T O W A R D T H E M I D D L E OF T H E C E N T U R Y

1455

41

THE LAST MANUSCRIPTS

49

III. D U T C H S T Y L E STYLISTIC AND TECHNICAL

37

54 CHARACTERISTICS

55

CONTINUITY

6l

ORIGINALITY

63

IV. D U T C H P R E S E N C E A B R O A D

68

IN FRANCE

68

IN FLANDERS

JO

IN E N G L A N D

78

V. P O S T S C R I P T The Complementary Fragment of the Hours of Catherine of Cleves Recently Acquired by the Pierpont Morgan Library

81

VI. C O N C L U S I O N S

87

SELECTED BIBLIOGRAPHY

97

INDEX

99

ILLUSTRATIONS

105 v

L I S T OF

ILLUSTRATIONS

1.

Brussels, Bibliothèque royale, M S r5652-56, Gehe Wapenboek, fol. 26v: Emperor Charles I V and the

2.

Brussels, Bibliothèque royale, M S 15652-56, Gelre Wapenboek, fol. 15V: C o a t o f arms o f R u d o l f o f

3.

Brussels, Bibliothèque royale, M S 205, Bible o f Hendrik van A r n h e m , fol. i v : T h e Death o f Emperor

4.

Baltimore, Walters A r t Gallery, M S 171, Dire van Delft's Treatise on the Christian Faith, fol. 19V:

5.

Baltimore, Walters A r t Gallery, M S 171, Dire van Delft's Treatise on the Christian Faith, fol. 25:

6.

London, British Museum, M S A d d . 22288, Dire van Delft's Treatise on the Christian Faith, fol. 172V:

7.

London, British Museum, M S A d d . 22288, Dire van Delft's Treatise on the Christian Faith, fol. 191 v:

8.

Baltimore, Walters A r t Gallery, M S 171, Dire van Delft's Treatise on the Christian Faith, fol. i v :

9.

London, British Museum, M S King's 5, Biblia pauperum, fol. 13b: Christ before Pilate.

Seven Electors. N y d o u , w i t h head o f a girl as crest. Alexander. The Fountain o f Life. The Creation o f the Soul. The Crucifixion. Pietà. Head o f Christ (enlarged detail). 10.

London, British Museum, M S King's 5, Biblia pauperum, fol. 13a: Prophets Slain b y Order o f Jezebel.

11.

Berlin, Staatsbibliothek (temporarily at Tübingen, Universitätsbibliothek), M S Germ. 4 0 42, A Prayer

12.

Berlin, Staatsbibliothek (temporarily at Tübingen, Universitätsbibliothek), M S Germ. 4 0 42, A Prayer

13.

Berlin, Staatsbibliothek (temporarily at Tübingen, Universitätsbibliothek), M S Germ. 4 0 42, A Prayer

14.

Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Museum, M S 141, B o o k o f Hours, fol. 117: Judas Paid b y the Priests.

15.

Baltimore, Walters A r t Gallery, M S 185, B o o k o f Hours, fol. 14V: Betrayal o f Christ.

B o o k o f M a r y o f Guelders, fol. 36: T h e Descent f r o m the Cross. B o o k o f M a r y o f Guelders, fol. 20: Betrayal o f Christ. B o o k o f M a r y o f Guelders, fol. 19V: M a r y o f Guelders.

16.

Baltimore, Walters A r t Gallery, M S 185, B o o k o f Hours, fol. 65V: T h e Carrying o f the Cross.

17.

Rijsenburg, Groot-Seminarie, B o o k o f Hours, fol. 16V-17: Betrayal o f Christ.

18.

Rijsenburg, Groot-Seminarie, B o o k o f Hours, fol. 64V: Pietà.

19.

Paris, Musée du Louvre, Cabinet des Dessins, 20674: Fishing Party (probably) at the C o u r t o f W i l l i a m V I

20.

N e w Y o r k , T h e Pierpont M o r g a n Library, M S 87, breviary o f Reinald IV o f Guelders, fol. 294: T h e

21.

N e w Y o r k , T h e Pierpont M o r g a n Library, M S 87, breviary o f Reinald I V o f Guelders, fol. 422:

22.

N e w Y o r k , T h e Pierpont M o r g a n Library, M S 87, breviary o f Reinald IV o f Guelders, fol. 200v: T h e

o f Holland. Prophet Malachi Preaching. St. D o r o t h y . Entombment.

vii

DUTCH MANUSCRIPT

ILLUMINATION

23.

N e w Y o r k , The Pierpont Morgan Library, M S 87, breviary of Reinald IV of Guelders, fol. 99V: Joseph Leaving Mary.

24.

N e w Y o r k , The Pierpont Morgan Library, M S 8 7 , breviary of Reinald IV of Guelders, fol. 2 0 7 V : The Calling of Peter.

25.

N e w Y o r k , The Pierpont Morgan Library, M S 87, breviary of Reinald IV of Guelders, fol. 410V: St. Martin Dividing His Robe with a Beggar; St. Hugh. N e w Y o r k , The Pierpont Morgan Library, M S 87, breviary of Reinald IV of Guelders, fol. 199V: The Carrying of the Cross. Detail of figure 26. Detail of figure 29. Baltimore, Walters Art Gallery, M S 174, missal for Carthusian Use in Arnhem, fol. 152V: The Crucifixion. Baltimore, Walters Art Gallery, M S 174, missal for Carthusian Use in Arnhem, fol. IOIV: The Calling

26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41.

42. 43. 44.

45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50.

51. 52. 53.

54. 55. 56.

of Peter. Baltimore, Walters Art Gallery, M S 174, missal for Carthusian Use in Arnhem, fol. 65V: Jesus About T o B e Stoned. Baltimore, Walters Art Gallery, M S 174, missal for Carthusian Use in Arnhem, fol. 79V: The Discovery of the Cross. Baltimore, Walters Art Gallery, M S 174, missal for Carthusian Use in Arnhem, fol. I2v: The Trinity. Baltimore, Walters Art Gallery, M S 174, missal for Carthusian Use in Arnhem, fol. 1 1 6 : Pentecost. Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, M S Latin 432, Peter of Herenthals' commentaries on the Psalms, fol. 2v: The Cardinal Hugh of Lusignan Receives a Book. Baltimore, Walters Art Gallery, M S 168, Book of Hours, fol. 76V: Christ Before Pilate. Baltimore, Walters Art Gallery, M S 168, B o o k of Hours, fol. 52V: The Betrayal of Christ. Wiesbaden, Staatsarchiv, M S B . 10, Miscellanea, fol. 132: Jews on Their W a y to Stone Jesus. London, British Museum, M S Add. 38122, the Lockhorst Bible, fol. 248: Ruth and Boaz. London, British Museum, M S Add. 3 8 1 2 2 , the Lockhorst Bible, fol. 1 7 5 : Young Moses Breaks Pharaoh's C r o w n and Burns His O w n Tongue with a Live Coal. London, British Museum, M S Add. 3 8 1 2 2 , the Lockhorst Bible, fol. 1 1 7 V : Bezaleel in His Workshop. London, British Museum, M S Add. 38122, the Lockhorst Bible, fol. 78V: The Construction of the Temple. London, British Museum, M S Add. 3 8 1 2 2 , the Lockhorst Bible, fol. 7 3 V : The Birth of Moses. London, British Museum, M S Add. 3 8 1 2 2 , the Lockhorst Bible, fol. 6 5 : Joseph's Cup Found in Benjamin's Sack. Munich, Staatsbibliothek, M S Germ. 1102, Bible, fol. i i v : The Vengeance of Lamech. Detail of figure 45. Munich, Staatsbibliothek, M S Germ. 1 1 0 2 , Bible, fol. 9v: The Expulsion from Paradise. Munich, Staatsbibliothek, M S Germ. 1102, Bible, fol. i j v : The Shame of Noah. Brussels, Bibliothèque royale, M S 21696, B o o k of Hours, fol. 32V: Christ Before Pilate. Brussels, Bibliothèque royale, M S 2 1 6 9 6 , B o o k of Hours, fol. 3 9 V : The Carrying of the Cross. Oxford, Bodleian Library, M S Douce 248, B o o k of Hours, fol. 104V: The Circumcision. Oxford, Bodleian Library, M S Douce 248, Book of Hours, fol. 74V: The Annunciation. Brussels, Bibliothèque royale, M S 2 1 6 9 6 , B o o k of Hours, fol. 5 0 V : The Entombment. Leiden, Bibliotheek der Rijksuniversiteit, MS Letterkunde 289, Book of Hours, fol. 71 v: Jesus and Pilate. Leiden, Bibliotheek der Rijksuniversiteit, M S Letterkunde 289, Book of Hours, fol. 74V: The Flagellation. The Hague, Museum Meermanno-Westreenianum, M S 10 E . i , B o o k of Hours, fol. 69V: The Archangel Michael.

viii

L I S T OF 57. 58. 59.

60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65.

66. 67. 68. 69.

70. 71.

72.

73.

ILLUSTRATIONS

The Hague, Museum Meermanno-Westreenianum, M S 10 E . i , B o o k of Hours, fol. 7 i v : St. Christopher. The Hague, Museum Meermanno-Westreenianum, M S 10 E . i , Book of Hours, fol. 77V: The Adoration of the Magi. Cleveland, Museum of Art (Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund), 5 9 2 5 4 : The Crucifixion. The Hague, Koninklijke Bibliotheek, M S 78 D.38, Bible, fol. 25: The Separation of Lot and Abraham. The Hague, Koninklijke Bibliotheek, M S 78 D.38, Bible, fol. 105: Balaam and the Ass. The Hague, Koninklijke Bibliotheek, M S 78 D.38, Bible, fol. 103: Moses Striking the Rock. Nuremberg, Stadtbibliothek, M S Solger 8, Bible, fol. 83: Elijah Finds Elisha Plowing in the Fields and Casts his Mantle upon Him. Nuremberg, Stadtbibliothek, M S Solger 8, Bible, fol. 160: Entry of a King into a T o w n . Brussels, Bibliothèque royale, M S 9 0 2 0 - 2 3 , Bible, fol. 1 3 7 : The Adoration of the Lamb. Brussels, Brussels, London, London,

Bibliothèque royale M S 9020-23, Bible, fol. 65: The Crowning with Thorns. Bibliothèque royale, M S 9020-23, Bible, fol. 65: The Flagellation. British Museum, M S Add. 1 0 0 4 3 , Bible, fol. 35: The Feast of Joseph. British Museum, M S Add. 1 5 4 1 0 , Bible, fol. 1 6 0 : A Tribunal.

London, British Museum, M S Add. 15410, Bible, fol. 207: The Young Maid Abisag Brought to King David. Brussels, Bibliothèque royale, M S 9 0 2 0 - 2 3 , Bible, fol. 1 3 7 V : The Seven Angels Sound Their Trumpets Before the Lord. Brussels, Bibliothèque royale, M S 9 0 2 0 - 2 3 , Bible, fol. 138: The Four and Twenty Elders Adoring the Lord. N e w York, Guennol Collection, The Book of Hours of Catherine of Cleves, fol. 115V: All Saints Before God the Father.

74. 75.

N e w Y o r k , Guennol Collection, The Book of Hours of Catherine of Cleves, fol. 35V: The Nativity. N e w Y o r k , Guennol Collection, The Book of Hours of Catherine of Cleves, fol. 69V: The Descent from the Cross.

76.

N e w York, Guennol Collection, The B o o k of Hours of Catherine of Cleves, fol. 67: Joseph of Arimathaea Before Pilate. N e w York, Guennol Collection, The Book of Hours of Catherine of Cleves, fol. 104: Requiem Mass.

77. 78. 79.

N e w York, Guennol Collection, The B o o k of Hours of Catherine of Cleves, fol. i68v: Mouth of Hell. N e w Y o r k , Guennol Collection, The Book of Hours of Catherine of Cleves, fol. 99V: Preparation of the Corpse of the Deceased.

80. 81.

Leiden, Universiteitsbibliotheek, M S B.P.L. 224, Book of Hours, fol. I28v: The Flagellation. Leiden, Universiteitsbibliotheek, M S B.P.L. 224, B o o k of Hours, fol. 134V: The Preparation of the Cross. Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Museum, M S James 137, Book of Hours, fol. 138V: The Trinity with the Virgin. Berlin, Staatsbibliothek (temporarily at Tübingen, Universitätsbibliothek), M S Germ. 8° 648, Book of Hours, fol. io8v: The Last Judgment. Oxford, Bodleian Library, M S Douce 93, The Book of Hours of Yolande of Lalaing, fol. ioov: The

82. 83. 84. 85. 86. 87. 88.

Crucifixion. The Hague, Koninklijke Bibliotheek, Cross. Utrecht, Universiteitsbibliotheek, M S Utrecht, Universiteitsbibliotheek, M S Utrecht, Universiteitsbibliotheek, M S

M S 1 3 1 G.4, Book of Hours, fol. 69V: The Descent from the 400, Pontifical, fol. 1 : Preparation for the Mass. 400, Pontifical, fol. 63V: Benediction of the Tombs. 400, Pontifical, fol. 63V: Carvers. IX

DUTCH MANUSCRIPT

ILLUMINATION

89. 90.

Utrecht, Universiteitsbibliotheek, M S 400, Pontifical, fol. 99: Weavers. Utrecht, Universiteitsbibliotheek, M S 400, Pontifical, fol. 1 1 3 : Grotesques.

91.

Vienna, Nationalbibliothek, M S 2771, The Bible of Evert van Soudenbalch, fol. 140V: The Judges. Vienna, Nationalbibliothek, M S 2 7 7 2 , The Bible of Evert van Soudenbalch, fol. 2 i v : The Wedding at

92.

93.

94.

Cana. Vienna, Nationalbibliothek, M S 2 7 7 1 , The Bible of Evert van Soudenbalch, fol. 2 9 8 V : Solomon and the Queen of Sheba. Vienna, Nationalbibliothek, M S 2771, The Bible of Evert van Soudenbalch, fol. 10: Scenes of the

95.

Creation and the Donor. Vienna, Nationalbibliothek, M S 2771, The Bible of Evert van Soudenbalch, fol. 129V: Moses on the Mountain; The Death of Moses.

96.

Vienna, Nationalbibliothek, M S 2771, The Bible of Evert van Soudenbalch, fol. 49V: Jacob Blessing the

97. 98.

Sons of Joseph; Joseph's Funeral; The Israelites Making Bricks in Egypt. Vienna, Nationalbibliothek, M S 2771, The Bible of Evert van Soudenbalch, fol. 165V: David and Goliath. Vienna, Nationalbibliothek, M S 2771, The Bible of Evert van Soudenbalch, fol. 165: The Massacre

101.

of a King. N e w York, H. P. Kraus, Book of Hours, fol. 15 V: The Coronation of the Virgin. Liège, Bibliothèque de l'Université, M S Wittert 13, The Book of Hours of Gijsbrecht van Brederode, fol. 6ov: Jesus Being Nailed to the Cross. Liège, Bibliothèque de l'Université, M S Wittert 13, The Book of Hours of Gijsbrecht van Brederode,

102.

fol. 39v: The Last Judgment. Brussels, Bibliothèque royale, M S II 7619, The Book of Hours of Mary van Vronensteyn, fol. 67V: The

99. 100.

103.

104. 105. 106. 107. 108. 109. 110. in. 112. 113. 114. 115. 116.

Entombment. Brussels, Bibliothèque royale, M S I I 7 6 1 9 , The Book of Hours of Mary van Vronensteyn, fol. I 6 I V : The Office of the Dead. Brussels, Bibliothèque royale, M S II 7619, The Book of Hours of Mary van Vronensteyn, fol. 17V: The Betrayal of Christ. Brussels, Bibliothèque royale, M S II 7619, The B o o k of Hours of Mary van Vronensteyn, fol. 38V: The Judgment of Pilate. Brussels, Bibliothèque royale, M S II 7619, The Book of Hours of Mary van Vronensteyn, fol. 18: Tree of Jesse. Brussels, Bibliothèque royale, M S II 7619, The Book of Hours of Mary van Vronensteyn, fol. 28: The Annunciation. Brussels, Bibliothèque royale, M S II 7619, The Book of Hours of Mary van Vronensteyn, fol. 139: David. Oxford, Bodleian Library, M S Douce 381, Book of Hours (fragment), fol. 85: St. Barbara. Baltimore, Walters Art Gallery, M S 182, Book of Hours, fol 54V: The Adoration of the Magi, Baltimore, Walters Art Gallery, M S 182, B o o k of Hours, fol. 8ov: David in Prayer. Oxford, Bodleian Library, M S Douce 30, B o o k of Hours, fol. 47V: The Crucifixion. London, Collection P. R. Robinson, Prayers for Holy Week, fol. 26v: Ecce Homo. London, Collection P. R. Robinson, Prayers for Holy Week, fol. i8v: Denial of Peter. Cologne, Wallraf-Richartz Museum, The B o o k of Hours of Reynalt von Homoet, page 224: The Nativity. Cologne, Wallraf-Richartz Museum, The Book of Hours of Reynalt von Homoet, page 90: The Flagellation.

x

LIST

OF

ILLUSTRATIONS

117. . C o l o g n e , Wallraf-Richartz Museum, The B o o k o f Hours o f Reynalt v o n Homoet, page 124: The Carrying o f the Cross. 118.

C o l o g n e , Wallraf-Richartz Museum, T h e B o o k o f Hours o f Reynalt v o n Homoet, page 102: T h e

119.

FLEMISH ILLUMINATION.

C r o w n i n g with Thorns. Brussels, Bibliothèque royale, M S

10772,

B o o k o f Hours, fol.

13 V :

T h e Cruci-

Brussels, Bibliothèque royale, M S

9798,

B o o k o f Hours, fol.

26v:

T h e Virgin

fixion. 120.

FLEMISH ILLUMINATION.

and Child with Angels. 121.

GERMAN ILLUMINATION.

Heidelberg, Universitatsbibliothek, M S Pal. Germ.

471,

H u g o v o n Trimberg's

471,

H u g o v o n Trimberg's

Der Rentier, fol. 4: O n the Tree, a Bird o f Prey, E n e m y o f the Lord. 122.

GERMAN ILLUMINATION.

Heidelberg, Universitatsbibliothek, M S Pal. Germ.

Der Renner, fol. 34V: T h e Deadly Sin o f Anger: T w o Scenes o f Beating. 123.

Chantilly, Musée C o n d é , M S 1284, Très Riches Heures de Jean de Berry, fol. 8v: A Cart Loaded with

124.

Durham, U s h a w College, M S 10, B o o k o f Hours, fol. 57: Pietà.

Crops. 125.

O x f o r d , Bodleian Library, M S Canon. Liturg. 17, B o o k o f Hours, fol. 67: T h e Entombment.

126.

Durham, U s h a w College, M S 10, B o o k o f Hours, fol. 45: Christ Before Pilate.

127.

Copenhagen, Kongelige Bibliotek, M S Thott 533 40, psalter, fol. 70V: T h e Carrying o f the Cross.

128.

Brussels, Bibliothèque royale, M S I V 194, B o o k o f Hours, fol. 59: The Deposition.

129.

Vienna, Nationalbibliothek, M S 1988, B o o k o f Hours, fols. 3OV-31: The Virgin and Child; The A n n u n -

130.

London, British Museum, M S A d d . 18851, Breviary o f Isabella o f Spain, fol. 41: T h e Adoration o f the

131.

London, British Museum, M S A d d . 18851, Breviary o f Isabella o f Spain, fol. 8 i v : Jesus Healing

132.

Vienna, Nationalbibliothek, M S S.N. 12878, B o o k o f Hours, fol. 76V: D a v i d in Prayer.

ciation. Magi. a Man. 133.

Turin, Museo Civico, Milan Hours, fol. 1 1 1 : T h e Mass o f St. Hilary.

134.

Turin, Museo Civico, Milan Hours, fol. 38V: Payment o f j u d a s .

135.

Turin, Museo Civico, Milan Hours, fol. 113V: T h e Feast o f Ahasuerus.

136.

Turin, Museo Civico, Milan Hours, fol. 30V: T h e Carrying o f the Cross.

137.

Turin, Museo Civico, Milan Hours, fol. 113: Celestial Court.

138.

Germany, Private collection, T h e Llangattock B o o k o f Hours, fol. 96V: T h e Massacre o f the Innocents.

139.

Germany, Private collection, T h e Llangattock B o o k o f Hours, fol. 68v: T h e Visitation.

140.

Germany, Private collection, The Llangattock B o o k o f Hours, fol. 53 V: T h e Annunciation.

141.

London, British Museum, M S A d d . 29704-29705, Carmelite Missal, fol. 138V: Birth o f the Virgin.

142.

O x f o r d , Bodleian Library, M S Auct. D . inf. 2.13, Queen Mary's B o o k o f Hours, fol. 4iv: T h e Virgin

143.

O x f o r d , Bodleian Library, M S Auct. D . inf. 2.13, Queen Mary's B o o k o f Hours, fol. I02v: The

144.

O x f o r d , Bodleian Library, M S B o d l e y 253, 'Mirroure o f the W o r l d e , ' fol. 87V: The Last Judgment.

145.

N e w Y o r k , The Pierpont M o r g a n Library, M S 917, T h e B o o k o f Hours o f Catherine o f Cleves, page

146.

N e w Y o r k , T h e Pierpont M o r g a n Library, M S 917, T h e B o o k o f Hours o f Catherine o f Cleves, page

147.

N e w Y o r k , T h e Pierpont M o r g a n Library, M S 917, T h e B o o k o f Hours o f Catherine o f Cleves, page

and Child and St. Anne. Entombment.

253: Archery border. 233: Fishing equipment border. 247: Birdcages border. XI

DUTCH

148. 149. 150. 151. 152. 153. 154. 155. 156. 157. 158. 159. 160. 161.

MANUSCRIPT

ILLUMINATION

New York, The Pierpont Morgan Library, MS 917, The Book of Hours of Catherine of Cleves, page 237: Jewel border. New York, The Pierpont Morgan Library, MS 917, The Book of Hours of Catherine of Cleves, page 240: Coins border. New York, The Pierpont Morgan Library, MS 917, The Book of Hours of Catherine of Cleves, page 231: Carved wooden frame border. New York, The Pierpont Morgan Library, MS 917, The Book of Hours of Catherine of Cleves, page 244: Mussels and crab border. New York, The Pierpont Morgan Library, MS 917, The Book of Hours of Catherine of Cleves, page 266: Fishes border. New York, The Pierpont Morgan Library, MS 917, The Book of Hours of Catherine of Cleves, page 114: Miracles of the Pool of Bethesda. New York, The Pierpont Morgan Library, MS 917, The Book of Hours of Catherine of Cleves, page 180: Deathbed Scene. New York, The Pierpont Morgan Library, MS 917, The Book of Hours of Catherine of Cleves, page 91: Seth Plants the Branch in the Mouth of the Dead Adam. New York, The Pierpont Morgan Library, MS 917, The Book of Hours of Catherine of Cleves, page 97: Tree Growing from Adam's Grave. New York, The Pierpont Morgan Library, MS 917, The Book of Hours of Catherine of Cleves, page i j i : The Holy Family at Supper. New York, The Pierpont Morgan Library, MS 917, The Book of Hours of Catherine of Cleves, page 149: The Holy Family at Work. Münster, Landesmuseum, The Book of Hours of Catherine of Lockhorst, fol. 91V: The Betrayal of Christ. Providence, Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design: The Crucifixion (painting). Brussels, Bibliothèque royale, MS II 7619, The Book of Hours of Mary van Vronensteyn, fol 55V: The Crucifixion.

xii

INTRODUCTION

The period between the two world wars saw a growing interest in manuscript illumination of the Middle Ages. During those twenty years an impressive number of often expensive publications came out, each emphasizing the characteristics and particular merits of the best productions in its own country. The books on Dutch illumination appeared slightly later than the corresponding works in other countries, but they were particularly generous in illustration. No other nation produced anything equivalent, in the number of plates, to the three volumes of A. W . Byvanck and G . J . Hoogewerff published in 1925. The books on Dutch illumination have another advantage over the works of neighboring countries: there is hardly any debate among scholars about the content of those publications. In the domain of manuscript illumination, what was done in Holland is generally considered Dutch in style. Foreign influences, particularly from Cologne and France, are evident, but they were thoroughly assimilated. This is an unusual characteristic in the history of medieval illumination, and the same cannot be said about contemporary panel painting. Unfortunately, the best Dutch manuscripts are poor cousins compared with the luxurious copies made for centuries for the kings of France or, at a later date, for the dukes of Burgundy. Moreover, most of them appeared late in the Middle Ages, in the fifteenth century, in contrast to the long tradition of artistic production in the southern Low Countries. But this appreciation of the southern provinces, which seems to have influenced the Dutch scholars, is overdone. In the east, the Meuse valley, linked with the creative centers of the German empire, had produced little since the twelfth century; in the west, Flanders, which was attached to the kingdom of France, showed little originality in illumination before the middle of the fifteenth century. Only then did a new style of livres de luxe appear in the south under the patronage of the dukes of Burgundy. Its exceptional merits were presented to the scholarly world by the two great works of Paul Durrieu in 1921 and Friedrich "Winkler in 1925, as well as by numerous facsimile editions of the choicest of these books. In such circumstances it is understandable that Dutch illumination was presented rather humbly by its supporters. Yet, before 1450, Dutch illumination had already found its aesthetic formula and produced some of its best works. The absence of brilliance in Dutch miniatures was striking at a time when the study of

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book illumination was still limited to luxury manuscripts. Since then scholars have gradually discovered that these external merits are not the only aesthetic values. In the present book I should like to stress the incomparable originality of Dutch manuscript illumination, which makes it very different from any other illumination done in Europe at the time. Its originality, as we shall see, is linked with a spiritual movement in which we find the same fundamental tendency. Moreover, this new start in both art and thought is the precursor of a splendid tradition in panel painting. For these reasons it appeared necessary to describe a selection of miniatures whose aesthetic merits seem to have been overlooked. As my survey was not exhaustive, I am sure that many more can be added to this list. The words 'Holland' and 'Dutch' did not have exactly the same meaning in the past as they have today. Geographically the region would be more accurately described as the Lower Rhine, from the duchy of Guelders, spreading slightly east of the actual Dutch border, to the county of Holland, with The Hague as capital, and the bishopric of Utrecht in between. These northern provinces were not politically united. On the other hand, unaffected by the boundaries and wars, the religious communities of laymen and clerics, which produced a good many of these books, were bound by a strong spiritual link. Therefore it is not surprising that there is a similarity of style in the techniques of the manuscripts as well as in their illustrations. Utrecht and Arnhem certainly produced different types of books, but their manuscripts have in common characteristics that differentiate them from those coming from Bruges and Cologne. Dutch book illumination undoubtedly deserves a new general study; the problems of localization and date should be approached in the light of the manuscripts discovered since the publication of the great works mentioned above. The whole subject of the miniatures ought also to be studied in a more archaeological way: in relation to all the other aspects of the manuscripts, such as format, handwriting, and decoration. In other words, the pictures must now be examined and appreciated within their context, and the scholar who would undertake such a work must bear in mind that the history of illumination, in Holland as everywhere, presupposes the history of the book. It will take a long time to achieve such an arduous undertaking; in the meantime the material remains available and, in my opinion, worthy of more attention than it has received. The rather unconventional way of presenting this unassuming but very creative period of book illumination comes after long contact with Flemish miniatures. A consciousness of the contrast between the two schools grew on me, as well as my admiration for each of them. This double experience explains, perhaps, the novelty of the views expressed hereafter. I owe many thanks to many people and for different reasons. A conversation is sometimes more enriching than the reading of a brilliant work. The anonymous reaction of an audience can also be very helpful. But is anything more stimulating than sharing one's problems with 2

INTRODUCTION

the alert minds of good students ? Still, there are a few people to whom I feel more personally indebted. Professor Frédéric Lyna introduced me to this splendid field, which incessantly forces one to rethink the problems. Professor Erwin Panofsky, who has written a brilliant synthesis on Netherlandish art, has always shown himself ready to listen to any hypothesis concerning details ofthat period. Miss Dorothy Miner shares with everyone her enthusiastic love for manuscript illumination and her broad knowledge of all the problems concerned with it. I know of no one so conscious of the Dutch presence in Occidental art about 1400 as Professor Margaret Rickert. Even if they regret the contents of this work, I hope they will nevertheless see in. it the proof of my gratitude. But this book would never have been printed without the help of Mr. R. G. Calkins, Mr. W . Gibson, Mrs. K. Scott and the staff of the University of California Press, although they naturally could not transform entirely a text still deeply influenced by my mother tongue. Scholarly publications would never be possible without the private and public collections that preserve the precious material on which we work. I am particularly grateful for the kind collaboration of the private owners and the directors of institutions who not only sent and even sometimes gave me photographs of their Dutch manuscripts, but also consented to have them reproduced in this book: Rijksmuseum, Amsterdam; Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore; Deutsche Staatsbibliothek, Berlin (temporarily at Tübingen, Universitätsbibliothek) ; Bibliothèque Royale, Archives Centrales Iconographique d'Art National, Brussels; Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge; Musée Condé, Chantilly; The Cleveland Museum of Art and the Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund; Wallraf-Richartz Museum, Cologne; Kongelige Bibliotek, Copenhagen; Bibliotheek der Rijksuniversiteit, Leiden; Bibliothèque de l'Université, Liège; The British Museum, Courtauld Institute of Art, P. R. Robinson, Esq., London; Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Munich; Landesmuseum, Münster; The Pierpont Morgan Library, Mr. H. P. Kraus, Guennol Collection, New York; Stadtbibliothek, Nuremberg; Bodleian Library, Oxford; Bibliothèque Nationale, Musée du Louvre, Photographie Giraudon, Paris; Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design,Providence; Groot-Seminarie, Rijsenburg (Holland); Koninklijke Bibliotheek, The Hague; Museum Meermanno-Westreenianum, The Hague; Museo Civico, Turin; The Library of Ushaw College, Durham (England); Universiteitsbibliotheek, Utrecht; Osterreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna; and Hauptstaatsarchiv, Wiesbaden. Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1964.

3

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I

THE POLITICAL AND SPIRITUAL MILIEU DIVISION

AND INSTABILITY

OF THE D U T C H

PROVINCES

Dutch history during the Gothic period is no easier to relate than that of other parts of Europe. The geographic boundaries were not those to which we are accustomed. The political nature of the diverse components of that part of the world is very difficult to establish, or even to understand. It is harder still constantly to adapt one's modern sensibility to the human problems of the past. I am conscious that this summary is inadequate, and that it would certainly be presented differently by a specialized historian. However, I hope that it will at least give the reader a sense of the importance of that history, and provide a general background for the production of manuscripts with miniatures in Holland. Today, when we use the expressions 'Low-Countries,' 'Pays-Bas,' or 'Nederland,' we actually mean only Holland, but for a long time the word denoted a part of Europe that corresponded approximately to present-day Holland, Belgium, and northwest France. To avoid confusion between the two meanings, the terms 'southern Low Countries,' denoting Belgium, and 'northern Low Countries,' denoting Holland, will often be used in the foil owing chapters. In the southern Low Countries, the county of Flanders, with Bruges and Ghent as main towns, corresponded closely to the land between the North Sea and the river Schelde. It included, therefore, some territories of the northwestern part of France. But the term 'Flanders' was, and still is, sometimes improperly applied to all the Belgian provinces, including even the Meuse valley and Liège. The large duchy of Brabant, with its capital Brussels, stretched between Flanders and the bishopric of Liège as far as the Meuse in the north. South of Brabant, and also between the county of Flanders and Liège, the county of Hainaut and the county of Namur lay side by side. All these provinces were under three religious jurisdictions: the bishopric of Tournai for Flanders, the bishopric of Cambrai for Hainaut and Brabant, with the bishopric of Liège for Namur and the Meuse valley. But the main political distinction to be remembered is that Flanders was part of the kingdom of France, while the other provinces were attached to the Germanic empire. 1 1

This very elementary survey is based on standard works on the history of Holland such as Algemene Geschiedetiis der Nederlanden, III, De late Middeleeuwen (Utrecht and Antwerp, 1 9 5 1 ) , with contributions by Dutch and Belgian scholars. From the

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In the north, the land was divided into three main regions. The county of Holland, of which the capital was The Hague, reached as far north as the Zuider Zee after the conquest of West Frisia.2 East of that county and south of the Zuider Zee, the bishopric of Utrecht, which originally owned vast quantities of land, was reduced to very little, since the German emperor had ceased to protect it efficiently against its avid neighbors. East of Utrecht and spreading beyond the present German border was the duchy of Guelders, with Arnhem, Nijmegen, Guelders, and Roermond the main towns.3 From the ecclesiastical point of view, these three political units were dependent on the bishopric of Utrecht. The history of the northern provinces at the end of the fourteenth century and during the fifteenth century was rather complex. Originally, the historical bibliography of Holland used revealingly to divide its survey of publications concerning that epoch into four subperiods: Hainaut (1299-1345), Bavaria (1345-1432), Burgundy (1432-1483), and Hapsburg (1483-1515), a chronological scheme based on the succession of influences of foreign reigning families on the history of the northern counties. It would be a mistake to think that all three provinces were subjected at the same time to these foreign powers. Furthermore, the degree of dependence on them varied greatly for each province from one period to another. The relationship, for instance, between the counties of Hainaut and Holland changed greatly from the moment Holland fell under the Duke of Burgundy. It would take too long to analyze those nuances in detail; they are the domain of the specialist. At present it seems that the production of illuminated manuscripts was affected not by the subtleties of political modifications, but rather by the major changes that occurred between the end of the fourteenth century and the end of the fifteenth, although further studies might modify this statement. Floris V, the Count of Holland, had annexed West Frisia, and so extended his territories to the Zuider Zee in the north. He was killed in 1296, and his son died in 1299 without a direct descendant. The county of Holland passed into the hands of his nephew, Jean d'Avesnes, Count of Hainaut, thus beginning a sort of political unity between the two provinces, which later made easier the expansionist program of the Duke of Burgundy, Philip the Good. William III, son of Jean d'Avesnes, had two daughters: Philippa was married to Edward III, king of England; Margaret, wife of Louis of Bavaria, became the empress of Germany. Bepolitical point of v i e w R . van Luttervelt has written an interesting condensed summary in the catalogue of the exhibition, Middeleeume Kunst der noordeltjke Nederlanden, held at the Rijksmuseum in Amsterdam in 1958 (an English translation of the introductory texts, with the same pagination, is bound in at the back of the catalogue). 2 The county of Zeeland, which included the islands at the mouth of the Scheide, the Meuse, and the Rhine, was an object of constant conflict between the county of Holland and that of Flanders, but was normally attached to the former. 3 The boundaries of all these provinces were constantly changing. Conflicts and disputes over successions always resulted in a loss or a gain of land.

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cause William Ill's son, William IV, died without a male descendant, Margaret became Countess of Hainaut, Holland, and Zeeland, but in 1349 she had to delegate her power to her son William, who was third Duke of Bavaria and fifth Count of Holland. In 1356 he came into full possession of the three counties, but in 1358 he was forced, because of his insanity, to pass his titles to his younger brother, Albrecht of Bavaria, who reigned until 1404. His son, William VI, succeeded him after having married Margaret of Burgundy, the sister of John the Fearless, who the same day took as his wife William's sister, Margaret.4 Unfortunately, William and Margaret had only one daughter, Jacqueline, who had to defend her rights at the death of her father in 1417. At that time she was already the widow ofJohn of Touraine, dauphin of France. John of Bavaria, bishop-elect of Liège, Jacqueline's uncle, robbed her of the county of Holland. She recovered it on his death in 1425, only to encounter a much more powerful opponent, her first cousin on her mother's side, the Duke of Burgundy, Philip the Good. In spite of her desperate resistance and successive marriages that should have helped her defend her political rights, she had to cede them in 1433. When she died in 1436, Philip the Good had succeeded in becoming her legal successor. The house of Bavaria held an important position among the reigning families of Europe. Though its territories were not especially rich or covetable, in nearly every generation it made an alliance with the empire or with a major kingdom. Unfortunately, a social conflict which began in the middle of the fourteenth century greatly affected the problem of succession. The burghers, called Kabeljauws (codfish), were supporters of William, whereas the nobility, the Hoeks (hooks to catch the fish), resented the intruder. The opposition of the two factions is partially responsible for the failure of Jacqueline of Bavaria in her pathetic struggle against Philip the Good. The county of Holland under the powerful dukes of Burgundy, Philip the Good (1433— 1467) and his son Charles the Bold (1467-1477), lost its importance. The province was on the outskirts of the new States of Burgundy, whose masters were preoccupied with their eastern neighbor, the emperor of Germany, and with the king of France in the south. As Pirenne has clearly shown, the Duke of Burgundy was the only link between the different parts of this new Lotharingian puzzle, since he was by right at the same time Count of Nevers, Artois, Flanders, Holland, Zeeland, Hainaut, and Namur, Duke of Brabant and of Luxemburg, and held many other possessions such as Limburg and Malines. B y the marriage of Mary of Burgundy, the daughter of Charles the Bold, to Maximilian, 4 B y marrying his daughter to William VI, Philip the Bold simply wanted to detach the county of Holland from the German empire and also from England. Many matrimonial links had been established, usually for political reasons, between the princely families of England and the county of Holland. Philip the Bold's policy aimed at the expansion of French influence; but he did not have a program of personal independence as did the later policy of his grandson Philip the Good. See H. Pirenne, Histoire de Belgique (Brussels, 1958), I, 362.

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the county of Holland fell into the hands of the Hapsburgs. When she died in 1482, her son Philip the Fair received the States of Burgundy under the regency of Maximilian. But we have reached the chronological limit of the subject of this book. During this period arose the conflicts that led eventually to the political and religious independence of Holland and the northern provinces. The history of the bishopric of Utrecht goes as far back as St. Willibrord, who founded it in 722. During most of that time it was part of the archbishopric of Cologne. Its spiritual jurisdiction extended from the river Schelde far into Germany, but it had little land and still less political power. At the death of every bishop, if not already during his lifetime, the see was coveted by the county of Holland in the west, the duchy of Brabant in the south, and the duchy of Guelders in the east. The counts of Holland often imposed their choice of bishop, but after the Duke of Burgundy had acquired Holland, Zeeland, and Frisia he could not be indifferent to this key position of religious authority in the north. During the Middle Ages an episcopal see was usually a center of culture, nearly always wealthy; one can therefore expect to find there an interest in works of art. Utrecht was no exception, and a great many of the most important Dutch manuscripts were produced within its walls, throughout the fifteenth century. Nevertheless, the disturbed conditions and the opposition of political parties around the person of the bishop had a great influence on the number and luxuriousness of contemporary manuscripts. The events of the period should be studied in detail by anyone who undertakes a thorough study of the book trade in Holland. The year 1457 seems to have been a most important date in the history of the diocese. In that year David of Burgundy, one of the many natural sons of Philip the Good, received from his father the episcopal see of Utrecht. Previously he had been bishop of Therouanne and had already shown an interest in illuminated manuscripts.5 I do not know whether David had any book made for himself in Holland, but his presence at Utrecht probably accounts for the better quality of manuscript production from the beginning of his episcopate. The county of Guelders, which became a duchy in 1339, was a more integral part of the German empire than Holland. Its history was therefore less affected by the political struggles between France and England for their respective spheres of influence. Except for some conquest of territories, especially those taken from the bishopric of Utrecht, problems of succession or disagreements arose more with the provinces of Cleves, Jiilich, and Berg. Reading the history of those provinces, one wonders at the complete inability of the German emperor to deal with these conflicts, which normally turned into war. However, since ' The luxurious pontifical that was made for David when he was still bishop of Therouanne is now preserved in the Teyler Museum in Haarlem. The manuscript is illustrated in the style of Simon Marmion, of about 1450, and therefore not yet in the best manner of that miniaturist.

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Wenceslas had been unable to prevent Philip the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, from taking the rich duchy of Brabant from the Luxemburg family,6 he would scarcely have attempted to interfere in less vital matters, such as the succession of Guelders. After the death in 1343 of the first Duke of Guelders, Reinald II, his sons succeeded him: Reinald III until 1361, then Edward for ten years, and again Reinald for three more years. The death of Reinald III without issue in 1374 started a long conflict of succession. William of Jülich was recognized as Duke of Guelders by the Emperor Wenceslas, inherited the county of Jülich, in 1391, and died in 1402. His brother Reinald IV succeeded and died, also childless, in 1423. The duchy then passed to his grandnephew, Arnold of Egmont. Arnold's wife, Catherine of Cleves, and his son Adolf conspired against him and managed to take him prisoner. Charles the Bold, the fourth Duke of Burgundy, seizing the opportunity to interfere in the duchy, bought the right of succession from Arnold, whom he had freed, and so became Duke of Guelders when Arnold died in 1473. After him the duchy remained in the hands of the Hapsburgs until after the middle of the sixteenth century. Certain economic factors undoubtedly played a large part in the history of the Dutch provinces at that time. The participation in the Hanseatic League of towns such as Utrecht, Arnhem, and Nijmegen not only helped these regions to expand their industry and trade and, in consequence, their wealth; it also established cultural contacts with the main ports of western Europe. This explains, in part at least, the links between Utrecht and Bruges. Moreover, at this time, during the peace imposed by Philip the Good, the Dutch started building larger boats for their fishing fleet. Then probably began their mercantile expansion on the sea. THE

DEVOTIO

MODERNA

The acquisition or the conquest of the northern Low Countries by the dukes of Burgundy and afterward by the Hapsburgs provoked the opposition of the individual provinces to the foreign power. This reaction was probably the first manifestation of unification among the provinces of the north.7 Some sense of community, anticipating separation from the southern counties and duchies, must have begun to appear then, since their common language and later their common religion would probably not have been sufficient causes for their break from the others and their coalescence into a republic. Nevertheless, it is in the spiritual domain that we first observe a more positive factor of unity. Since the beginning of the Middle Ages, Christianity had constantly given birth to groups of the faithful demanding more sincerity in religious life. The starting point was gen6 He managed to impose his second son Anthony as Duke of Brabant with the complete agreement of the old Duchess Jeanne of Luxemburg. 7 They first grouped themselves as the United Provinces.

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erally the sclerosis of spirituality within the clerical milieus that should have set an example. The reaction usually manifested itself in two ways: first, a return to the basic teaching, in other words, a more direct contact with the holy texts; and second, dissociation from the hierarchy that seemed to be responsible for this hypocritical attitude. These movements are not to be confused with the monastic reforms within the clerical orders, or with the creation of new orders, where the personality of the founder or reformer seems to have been preeminent. In contrast to these profound changes, which were often the work of one man and were initiated from the top, the religious movements seemed to emerge from the people. It is not surprising, therefore, that they were nearly always condemned by the Church. Naïve good faith was no guarantee of orthodoxy for the expert theologians, who by their very function in the Inquisition had to safeguard true doctrine. The Devotio moderna, or Modern Devotion, was more than a popular movement; it appealed to an intellectual and spiritual elite, and its members were nearly as important as the founder; that Geert Groote is known only to specialists in ecclesiastical history proves it. Moreover, the reform was never presented as a strict program to be accepted as a whole, nor did it have a proper rule. It seems to have enriched itself progressively by the participation of the disciples, among them some laymen, in expressing and realizing spiritual ideals; but it appealed only to an elite that grew slowly in number and spread through small communities. Yet the need of something new in spiritual life was in the air; in spite of the absence of leadership and of a strictly established teaching, this movement was extremely successful. From the point of view of religious history, or simply of the history of ideas, the Modern Devotion can be considered one of the most vital changes in the spiritual life of western Europe. The originality of the movement deserves more comment because, as we shall see, it is based on exactly the same characteristics that made Dutch manuscript illumination different from that of neighboring countries. The basic feature of the Devotio moderna was its sincerity, both in attitude and in expression. Father Debongnie, who has written the best historical study of the movement, perceptively defines this sincerity in attitude as a 'psychological realism, a reasoned distrust of anything that would go beyond the common measure.'8 In a milieu so deeply penetrated with Christianity, the thoughtful man saw the obvious contradiction between the spiritual program and the actual life of both clerics and laymen. The founder and the leaders of the group were conscious that excessive idealism had been the cause of many spiritual and moral failures. Therefore their way of life as well as their doctrines took human nature into consideration instead of denying it, as did St. Bernard. For the same reason the new devotion 8

Pierre Debongnie, 'Dévotion moderne,' in Dictionnaire de spiritualité, III, cols. 727-747.

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was introduced into the lay groups known as the 'Brethren of the C o m m o n Life' and also into the moderately austere communities of the Augustinian Canons, rather than into the better known and more ascetic orders.9 Therefore, 'mysticism is not introduced into their synthesis and is kept respectfully away,' 10 but the 'true virtues are preferred.' Sincerity in expression was even more striking. The new devotion did not make exceptional and rigorous demands on the life of its members, neither did it impose new prayers and devotions. Their 'constant preoccupation is the interior life'; 11 for that purpose they developed the technique of meditation and collected texts, the spiritual wealth of which could help them. In the process of humanization in the slow evolution o f Christianity during the Middle Ages, the Modern Devotion was a turning point. Never before had the importance of the individual been stressed so much. Each member was n o w responsible for thinking out his o w n w a y of salvation; no longer did he accept an asceticism that imposed a complete denial o f human nature. One practice o f the communities, above all of the Brethren, is particularly indicative of the individual character of this devotion. In the collatio the members would exchange their reflections and discuss their difficulties in the religious life. Furthermore, they often wrote their o w n rapiarium, each selecting the spiritual texts that appealed to him . The sincerity in the expression o f religious feelings is proved not only by this more spontaneously individual manifestation but also by a change just as impressive in the language itself. The scholastic vocabulary, the terminology of the erudite from the universities, from Paris above all, was given up for the words used in everyday life. Here, for the first time, a group o f spiritual writers used non-technical, lay vocabulary to express their love of God. It is not surprising, therefore, that they adopted the vernacular more and more instead of Latin for religious texts. Because of the sincerity of this spiritual attitude, the Imitation of Christ, the most representative work of this movement, has been accepted universally. The religious sentiments o f Thomas a Kempis have a human quality that cannot be found in any other spiritual writer. T w o other characteristics o f the communities of the Devotio moderna had a great influence on the history of the illustrated manuscript in the northern L o w Countries. These lay and clerical houses copied manuscripts to earn their living and were also very much interested in the Bible. During the fifteenth century, the Brethren of the C o m m o n Life and the Regular Canons copied an impressive number of prayer books, religious texts, and Books of Hours, but above all Bibles, many in the vernacular. Some of these Bibles are adaptations of

9 This change o f spiritual life, the adoption o f the Modern Devotion by many convents of Regular Canons in Holland, West Germany, and Brabant, is known as the Reform o f Windesheim. 10 Debongnie, op. tit., col. 743. 11

Ibid.

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the Historia scholastica of Petrus Comestor. Nevertheless, they are symptomatic of the milieu in which they were transcribed. Their very existence proves a desire to return to the original texts, and some distrust of later interpretations. T o judge f r o m the manuscripts of that period which have been preserved, very few Bibles were written in the southern Low Countries, and those are monastic copies in Latin, so far as I know. T h e fact that these copies in the north are often in Dutch is therefore highly significant; in Flanders there was no spiritual movement that could arouse an interest in the Bible similar to that of the north. O f greater interest still is the nature of the illustrations in these Bibles, which often transpose Biblical themes into scenes of everyday life. This characteristic is, in my view, the best evidence of humanization of the spiritual values I have mentioned. The scribes w h o wrote these Bibles, or the communities in which they were copied, could not be indifferent to the illustrations. The spontaneous approach of the miniaturists, many of w h o m were laymen, 12 was just as sincere, just as true to life, as the spiritual attitude of the Brethren of the C o m m o n Life toward religion. Movements of opposition, or of innovation in religious matters, have normally been little concerned with a governing body. O n the contrary, they seem to have avoided a strong organization because they were conscious of the evils of a well-established and overtraditionalist hierarchy. The Devotio moderna shared this attitude. Unlike the reforms of Cluny, St. Bernard, St. Francis, and St. Dominic, it had no ambition to play an active role in the politics of the papacy and the Church. This attitude of independence, but certainly not of revolt, toward the established authority was in line with the personal or individual character of the Modern Devotion. An interior life, developed individually by each man choosing his o w n reading matter, expressing his thoughts in unsophisticated language and even in his o w n dialect if he wished, and fed directly f r o m the source, the Bible itself, was naturally opposed to the constant supervision of a power which, in general, had not lived according to its teaching. For these reasons it becomes very difficult not to admit that Protestantism in its Erasmian expression is the direct descendant of the Devotio modernaIt is certainly not a question of doctrines asserted by the Brethren, condemned by the Church, and adopted later by the diverse Protestant groups, but of a spiritual climate out of which grew the basic values of Protestantism. In fact, the Church did not foresee the dangers of this humane attitude toward religion any more than it was prepared for the menace of Humanism. 12 Some communities decorated the manuscripts they had copied, but the illustrations, the miniatures proper, were probably painted by lay craftsmen. This distinction between decoration and illustration, so vital for understanding the history of Dutch manuscript illumination, is explained more thoroughly later. 13 I am grateful to Dr. Henry Chadwick for suggesting this qualification of Protestantism; it is particularly suitable, for Erasmus spent some years of his life in the milieu of the Modern Devotion. The judgment on those matters must naturally be established not f r o m a theological but f r o m a historical point of view.

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However right or wrong this interpretation o f the relation between the Devotio moderna and Protestantism may be, we must not lose sight o f the characteristics o f the movement. It started in the northern Low Countries at the end o f the fourteenth century. I f it spread successfully in western Germany and even in the southern Low Countries and in France, it was in Holland that it established itself most deeply. Nearly all the spiritual leaders were Dutch, including their greatest personalities, such as Erasmus. Father Debongnie described the Dutch character o f the Modern Devotion in the following terms: 'seriousness, wisdom, prudent moderation, distrust o f anything flashy, love for things that are firm, that last.'14 One can best understand the modernity o f the Devotio moderna by contrasting it with other religious reforms, which always wanted to return to greater rigorism. It was indeed introducing new values and was oriented toward the future. The serene enthusiasm o f the founder and o f the members was based on facts and remained respectful o f reality, of human nature. The world was not to be ignored or transcended; it was to be improved. The simplicity and sincerity o f these views as well as o f this program are the dominating characteristics of the milieu in which many manuscripts were written and illuminated. T o sum up: the unstable political situation in the north was certainly not favorable to the luxurious artistic production found in France, the duchy o f Burgundy, and the kingdom o f Bohemia. The humble, almost earthy fervor o f the religious and cultural milieu could only encourage simplicity and sincerity in artistic expression. Moreover, the patronage would not be demanding and would leave great freedom to the craftsmen. 14

Debongnie, op. cit., col. 744.

12

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II

THE ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTS THE

BEGINNINGS

The Royal Library in Brussels counts among its treasures one of the most complete of the medieval armorials, the Gelre Wapenboek1 named after Gelre, the herald of the duchy of Guelders. His name is encountered in a series of poems copied at the beginning of the manuscript; these are among the finest of early Netherlandish literature. Gelre himself is probably represented at the end of the armorial, in a coarse but interesting miniature. It is nevertheless not for that painting that the manuscript is important, but for a picture placed after the poems, at the beginning of the armorial proper (fig. i). O n e of the main functions of the herald of any medieval lord, f r o m the humblest knight to the emperor, was to be informed about, and keep up his knowledge of, the coats of arms and heraldic emblems of the important personalities of his time. In his armorial he would have classified, according to a very well-established hierarchy and in relation to the part of Europe in which he was living, all the escutcheons, each with its charges, crest, and emblem, sometimes even with the motto. As the duchy of Guelders was a part of the Germanic empire, the armorial begins with a big shield ornamented with the arms of the emperor. The coats of arms of the seven electors, the dignitaries of the empire, come immediately afterward and are followed by those of a great number of dukes and counts, each with the numerous knights of his court. The shields for all the kingdoms of Europe with their political subdivisions fill the end of the manuscript. The picture placed in front of the armorial proper represents an emperor of Germany with the emblems of his power, the globe and the scepter, and seven other dignitaries. O n his right are three princes of the Church, the archbishops of Mainz, Cologne, and Trier, in the order of precedence. The lay dignitaries are on his left, first a crowned figure, the king of Bohemia, then the count palatine of the Rhine and the duke of Saxony, in a r o w of three to counterbalance the three ecclesiastical figures on the other side. The fourth figure on the 1 For a good description and bibliography of MS 15652-56, see C. Gaspar and F. Lyna, Les principaux manuscrits à peintures de la Bibliothèque royale de Belgique (Paris, 1937), I, 372Î.

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right, placed in front of the others, must be the margrave of Brandenburg. 2 The fact that we have a representation of the emperor with three archbishops and four princes—among them a king placed next to the emperor—proves that these are the seven electors. The three religious personalities are nearly identical;3 we observe a much greater variety in the features, stature, and costumes of the four princes. In spite of the casualness of the drawing, the miniature shows a definite intention of representing, as authentically as possible, a group of well-known personages. The herald was probably, by necessity of his profession, a man who could draw; for the same reason, he had the opportunity in the execution of his duties at official ceremonies, such as the coronation of the emperor or of the king, or the consecration of archbishops, of seeing the masters of the empire together. Therefore, we should not be surprised that he represented them at the beginning of his armorial, and even that he painted them with a rare realism. Yet the Gehe Wapenboek is not a pretentious book; it is a functional collection of arms for the herald himself; it continually received additions, as he acquired knowledge of distant countries. The thickness of the parchment and the presence of poems at the beginning show also that the manuscript was intended for a very personal and rather humble use. The miniature frontispiece of the armorial proper was not a showpiece either. It appears not at the first page of the book but well inside; the artist has not used precious pigments but a pen and a brush to add a few touches of color. The realistic quality in the representation ofthat group of men must not prevent us from seeing some real weakness in the miniature, particularly the awkward position of the emperor's knee. So, undoubtedly, the picture was not done with particular care, but reflects the natural gift of the man who made it; its date will enable us to appreciate at its real value the portrait quality of the group. Professor Lyna has accurately underlined its exceptional merit in his comment, 'As for the faces, neither Jean Bondol nor Jacquemart de Hesdin has rendered them with such a powerful realism.'4 As the year 1378 can be considered a safe terminus ante quem/ the miniature acquires great importance. There is no equivalent gallery of portraits from that time in western Europe, at

1 The seventh elector is represented on a slightly smaller scale than his colleagues, perhaps in order not to upset the balance of the composition or simply because he was of small stature. It has been considered that he might be the herald himself, but what would he be doing there, among the highest personalities of the empire, when even his master, the Duke of Guelders, is not in the picture? Lyna (see note i) gives the different interpretations of this iconography; according to recent studies like those of Margaret Rickert (The Reconstructed Carmelite Missal [London, 1950]), and particularly of F. Gorissen, w h o worked on the archives of Guelders ('Jan Maelwael und die Brüder Limburg,' in Gehe, Vereeniging tot Beoefening van Geldersche Geschiedenis..., Bijdragen en Mededelingen LIV [1954], pp. 1 5 3 - 2 2 1 ) , the miniature can only represent the emperor and the seven electors. 3

Miss Rickert (op. cit., p. 98) has established a stylistic similarity between these ecclesiastical types and a bishop in a picture that was originally part of the Turin-Milan Hours, n o w preserved in the Louvre, Cabinet des Dessins, R.F. 2023V. 4 Gaspar and Lyna, op. cit., p. 376. 5 Emperor Charles IV died in 1378.

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least to m y knowledge. A small miniature in the Petites Heures of Jean de Berry 6 presents another rare iconography: a group of people around a man on his deathbed. The text under the picture identifies him as Louis I X , king of France, but it has been suggested, not without reason, that it might be Charles V , who died in 1380, surrounded by his children and members of the court. Unfortunately, the identification is not certain, and the portrait quality of the figures is not so deeply marked as in those of the Gehe Wapenboek.7 Since the manuscript was made for one of France's great princes, in what can be called the royal atelier, the miniature certainly represents the highest achievement of Parisian book illumination, with all its refinement and mannerism. In contrast, the spontaneity and sincerity of the Dutch miniature are all the more striking, in spite of the poverty of the technique used. W e do not feel that the artist was making an effort to represent the personages faithfully, nor does he seem to have worked conscientiously as the painter did in the French picture; here we have, rather, the pen naturally transcribing an experience. With this exceptional miniature we turn a new and important page in the history of medieval illumination, even of medieval art.8 Another detail of the Gelre Wapenboek deserves mention. Margaret Rickert 9 was the first to observe, among the many crests that decorate the helms, one that was particularly charming as an emblem and remarkable for its quality. On folio 15V the arms of Rudolf of Nydou are topped by the bust of a girl (fig. 2). This figure is not painted with more care than the nei ghboring emblems, but it is done with a rare sense of volume. The firm contour of the face and the sharpness of the features allied with a soft rendering of the flesh make of this unimportant detail of the armorial one of the first medieval representations outside Italy with a feeling for the texture of features and expressiveness of a human being. The modeling of the face is not subtle, but its appearance at this time is remarkable. If we compare it with the still very linear human representations in the manuscripts made for Charles V of France,10 we cannot 6 Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, M S Lat. 1 8 0 1 4 , fol. 1 7 , certainly before the death of Charles V in 1380 and perhaps some portions after 1390, at least partially, as the manuscript seems to have been extensively altered. T h e miniature is reproduced in C . Couderc, Album de portraits d'après les collections du département des manuscrits (Paris, 1910), pl. x x x m ; see L. M . J . Délaissé, 'Remaniements dans quelques manuscrits de Jean de Berry' in Gazette des Beaux-Arts (1963), pp. 1 2 3 - 1 4 6 (special issue of essays presented to Jean Porcher). 7 Couderc, op. cit., pl. x x i x , reproduces another fascinating portrait gallery of the same period, unfortunately not from an original but f r o m a later drawing in the Gaignières collection; it is therefore difficult to ascertain whether the portrait quality of the picture is original. 8 This powerful rendering of individual features has, in m y opinion, only one equivalent: the recumbent figures on tombs in many churches in Germany, from before the fourteenth century. See, for instance, Bishop Friedrich von Hohenlohe in Bamberg Cathedral: A . von Reitzenstein, Deutsche Plastik der Früh- und Hochgotik (Königstein-im-Taunus, 1962), pl. 85. 9 Op. cit., p. 83f.; Miss Rickert gives some interesting arguments in favor of the migration of this style, even of this artist, into England. 10

There is an important exception to this style, a portrait of K i n g Charles himself, added to a Bible presented to him by Jean de Vaudetar, n o w in T h e Hague, Museum Meermanno-Westreenianum, M S 10. B . 23, fol. lv; but this page is really a painting on parchment, as indicated b y the words pictum and pictor used by the artist. See L. M . J . Délaissé, 'Enluminure et peinture dans les Pays-Bas, à propos du livre d'E. Panofsky . . . ' in Scriptorium 11 (1957), pp. 1 1 0 - 1 1 1 .

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but be surprised to find in the original part of the armorial, made before 1378, a feminine face rendered with such realism. A Bible in four volumes was finished in 1403 for the Carthusians established in Utrecht. 11 As the monastery had been founded very recently, in 1392, it is probable that the new community itself was not yet able to undertake such a work, and that the Bible was written by the Regular Canons of the same town. As in many Dutch Bibles, the Old Testament is preceded by a life of Alexander the Great. At the beginning of the text is a large historiated initial in two sections: at the top, Alexander lying on his deathbed; and at the bottom, the five lords of his court among whom the whole empire had been divided (fig. 3). The initial, like the rest of the book, is very unpretentious and is, in fact, the only illustration. There is nevertheless something notable in this humble picture: the face of Alexander. The head is turned to the side and rests with the cheek against the pillow; the eyes are closed; the hero could be either asleep or dead. The features are not flattered: even the beard, which could have been imposing, is long and stringy; the skin of the cheeks is grayish and even that of the neck and the top of the shoulder, which is slightly visible above the sheet, is pallid. The arm that rests on the counterpane is lifeless and emaciated. This representation of death is simply but truly rendered. The subject as such is not unique around 1400, but where else can we find at that time a face that is so human and yet is that of a man who has just died? Some fifteen years later the Master of Rohan represented in a pathetic manner a human corpse at the moment of judgment: the dead body lies tragically on the ground in the presence of the majesty of God.12 In the Utrecht Bible the miniaturist portrayed, in a very natural way, a man lying dead on his bed. A Treatise on the Christian Faith, composed in 1404 by Dire van Delft, is preserved in a copy 13 that still bears the coat of arms of Duke Albrecht of Bavaria (Baltimore, "Walters Art Gallery, MS 171). As this patron died in December, 1404, the manuscript was certainly anterior to that date. A second copy (London, British Museum, MS Add. 22288), very similar to the first, was probably executed soon after it. These two nearly identical copies prove the existence of an established publishing house, from the point of view of text, and of the first workshop, from the point of view of manuscript illumination. Neither copy can be considered a luxury manuscript; both are illustrated with many miniatures, but these are no more than historiated initals. The technique of the historiated initial was in high favor in the Germanic countries, even in the heyday of Bohemian pro11

Brussels, Bibliothèque royale, MSS 106, 107, 204, 205; description in Gaspar and Lyna, op. cit., pp. 418-419. Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, MS Lat. 9471, fol. 135; see Jean Porcher, The Rohan Book of Hours (London, 1959). " Margaret Rickert, 'The Illuminated Manuscripts of Meester Dire van Delft's "Tafel van den Kersten Ghelove",' Journal oj the Walters Art Gallery 12 (1949), pp. 79-108. The Baltimore copy contains only the first part of the text; the second part can be found in New York, Morgan Library, MS M. 691, which, although apparently illustrated by another hand, can be only slightly later, as both manuscripts are very similar in their layout: for instance, both have the same number of lines per page. I!

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duction. The small dimensions of the pictures, and the fact that their illustrative value is secondary to the essential function of the initial proper, may explain why they have not received the attention they deserve. On folio 191V of the London copy (fig. 7) the miniaturist has represented a Pietà in the initial D. This tragic moment of the Passion is not one of the preferred iconographic themes; the human aspects of the Christological drama appeared rather late in the cycles of illustration of manuscripts, and this enrichment is a logical consequence of the progressive humanization in the religious development of the Middle Ages.14 The technique used by the miniaturist in this picture is very crude. The legs and head of the corpse of Christ are seen in profile, whereas the trunk is nearly frontal. The faces of the three women are coarse, the features heavily marked with angular strokes of the pen; yet this little miniature is one of the most moving Pietàs of the Middle Ages. The rigidity of the body with the head thrown backward expresses vividly that it is a corpse. The loving gesture of the mother and the tragic expression on the faces portray with profound simplicity the feelings of the three women. Their dark clothes, undoubtedly those worn by the people of the time when they were in mourning, accentuate even further the impression of sorrow. Few painters have dared to use so dismal a color scheme, though it is the only appropriate one. Other illustrations in the same text are worth mentioning, such as the Crucifixion (fol. 172V, fig. 6). Christ covered with blood bends forward and gives way under his sufferings, while his mother faints at the foot of the Cross. This iconographic theme is more frequently encountered in the fifteenth century, but seldom with such powerful emotion. Another historiated initial (Walters Art Gallery, MS 171, fol. 19V, fig. 4) represents the Fountain of Life, source of all virtues. Manuscript illustrations that limit themselves to inanimate details are rare. The miniaturists, particularly in the late Middle Ages, must have disliked the representation of objects by themselves without people. Here we have a fountain such as could be found in towns, with water running from four spouts. The planes of light and shadow are rendered with great accuracy and a rare sense of perspective. It is surprising to find a miniature that is technically so refined in a manuscript that is more striking for its emotion than for the precision of its drawing. Many other initials in these two manuscripts, such as the Creation of the Soul (MS 171, fol. 25, fig. 5), follow the text rigorously, yet they are not mere illustrations; their simplicity and straightforwardness manifest the conviction of the painter. An enlarged detail of the first initial (fol. iv, fig. 8), representing the veil of Veronica with the imprint of Christ's features, 14 A few interesting variations on the theme of the Pietà have been preserved in statues in spite of the fact that so little Dutch sculpture has escaped destruction; see Kurt Gerstenberg, 'Zur niederländischen Skulptur des 15. Jahrhunderts,' Oudheidkundig Jaatboek (July, 1934), pp. 12-15. Many Italian Trecento representations of the same theme are also known for their emotional intensity; but in comparison with the quiet and sincere grief prevalent in the early Dutch miniatures, the Italian paintings appear exaggerated and ostentatious.

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shows the skillful brushwork o f the artist who made these small and unostentatious pictures. An exceptionally luxurious copy of the Biblia pauperum must take its place among the first examples of Dutch illumination. The manuscript (British Museum, MS King's 5) is datable to the beginning of the fifteenth century.15 An inscription in Dutch allows us to localize the execution of the book either in Holland or in Flanders; but as the text originated in Germany and was very popular in Dutch milieus of the Devotio moderna16 and not in the southern Low Countries, it is more probable that the manuscript was made in Holland. As for the style o f its illustrations, Margaret Rickert has connected it quite rightly with the armorial mentioned above (Brussels, Bibliothèque royale MS 15652-6), which could be considered as the humble beginnings of this recherché style o f miniature.17 The refinement o f the palette, the beauty of the facial expressions, the human quality of the scenes, exemplified in the meeting of Jesus and Pilate discussed below, were unknown at the beginning of the fifteenth century elsewhere in western Europe. On folio 13 of this Biblia pauperum (fig. 9) Jesus appears as a culprit who is brought by soldiers into the presence of Pilate. The mauve cloak Jesus is wearing accentuates the impression of sadness on his face. Opposite him Pilate, in a brilliant vermilion coat, with a hat of the same color ornamented with a jewel, gives an impression of condescending superiority. He is still half turned toward the victim of the mob, but his hands have already moved in the other direction to make clear his detachment. The towel and the jug of water that hangs by its handle on the wall are details that easily escape attention, but they deserve to be underlined because their presence in pictures is still rare at this period. The dialogue between the two main figures is clear enough and rendered in a masterly way, but these unimportant objects give to the religious drama a genre character. Some other miniatures in the same manuscript are probably not so new from the point of view o f iconography, but they are equally beautiful in composition and coloring. These pictures (e.g., fig. 10) have a reflection of French mannerism allied with the soft coloring o f Cologne, and yet the Dutch craftsman has infused a new spirit into these foreign elements. THE FIRST WORKSHOPS

AROUND

1430

The manuscripts that have been mentioned so far are rather isolated copies that cannot be connected with any other group of books containing the same decorative techniques, yet 11 G. F. Warner and J . P. Gilson, British Museum. Catalogue of Western Manuscripts in the Old Royal and King's Collections (London, 1921), III, 2. 16 The Biblia pauperum, the educational value of which was much enhanced by its illustrations, must have been used by the Brethren of the Common Life. Handmade illustrated copies such as this served as models for the block books made soon afterward; see G. Schmidt, Die Armenbibeln des XIV. Jahrhunderts (Graz, 1959). 17 M . Rickert, review of F. Gorissen's article (op. cit.), in The Art Bulletin 39 (1957), pp. 73-77.

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they already had something in common. They show, with equal objectivity and sincerity, aspects of life that had not yet appeared in the miniatures of manuscripts made elsewhere in western Europe. Toward 1420 the specifically Dutch tradition in book production was already well established; unlike French Books of Hours, in which text and miniature are on the same leaf, in Dutch Books of Hours a miniature may be painted on a separate leaf, with one side remaining blank, which is then bound in at the appropriate place in the text. 18 The Prayer Book of Mary of Guelders is the basic manuscript for establishing and dating the first group of these manuscripts.19 The original part of the manuscript was written by Helmich de Lewe in Marienborn near Arnhem , ° and was finished in 1 4 1 5 , but the page on which the duchess is represented so gracefully (fol. 19V, fig. 13) is an addition to the primary book. This miniature is much larger than the surface reserved for the text (known as the justification, or written space) visible on the opposite page. N o miniaturist participating in a new work would fail to observe the basic rule that miniature and justification should have the same dimensions, because the difference of format would break the homogeneity of the book. But there is another reason to believe that the miniature is not original: it seems to have been partially repainted. At the top of the picture w e see God sending the Holy Ghost down to earth. This iconography is strictly reserved for the Annunciation and was not used for representing the donor of a book, however wise or pretty she may have been. Therefore, the page seems to have been made originally for a book of a larger format and decorated with the Annunciation, the first miniature of the Hours of the Virgin; later the picture must have been altered into a portrait of the duchess of Guelders. 21 The elegance of this feminine figure has nothing to do with the Dutch tradition and was probably inspired by French models. It is possible that the duchess herself ordered this page in the refined French style to be added to her humbler breviary. Without being a manuscript de luxe, the original part of Mary of Guelders' breviary is nevertheless of high quality. It does not have the beautiful proportions of the text and the blank borders which characterize French, or more precisely Parisian, manuscripts. Furthermore, the script is too heavy for the small dimensions of the page. The marginal decorations are inelegant, with stiff rinceaux and trident-shaped ivy leaves. 18 The distinction between these two ways of making Books of Hours is fundamental for the history of illumination in western Europe during the fifteenth century. It helps to localize the execution, at least broadly, and to explain some transfers of style. W e shall come to this question again, concerning the export of pictures made in Utrecht. 19 Berlin, Staatsbibliothek (temporarily in Tübingen), MS Germ. 40 42, described recently by G. J. Hoogewerff in a very interesting article, 'Gelderse Miniatuurschilders in de eerste Helft van de X V d e Eeuw,' Oud-Holland, 1961, pp. 3-49.1 am most thankful to Dr. K. G. Boon for informing me of this important publication. !0 G. I. Lieftinck, 'Windesheim, Agnietenberg en Marienborn en hun Aandeel in de Noordnederlandse Boekverluchting,' Dancwerc... aan Prof. Dr. D. Th. Enklaar (Groningen, 1959), p. 199. 21 See also, about this manuscript, Erwin Panofsky, Early Netherlandish Painting (Cambridge, Mass., 1953), pp. ioof., and his article'Guelders and Utrecht...,' Konsthistorisk Tidskriftxxu (1953), pp. 96-97,100.

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But in spite of these faults, the manuscript was made with great care and technical skill. The book is illustrated with small but charming miniatures. Their daring coloring, a very warm yellow and occasionally a brilliant red, demands attention. The unusual color scheme of this manuscript and others originating in the same workshop brought something new into the history of book illumination in Holland. Hereafter we shall often observe the inventive fantasies of Dutch miniaturists in this domain. Their subjects are equally lively. Sometimes the artist introduces many figures who play a very active part (fol. 36, fig. 11); on other occasions he limits his action to a few people, but seems nevertheless able to obtain the same effect (fol. 20, fig. 12). The human type he has adopted is the source of the lively expression prevailing in these miniatures. His personages are solidly built, of small stature, and extraordinarily individualized for the time. The faces are far from being those of inexpressive puppets, as they generally are even in the best workshops of the time in western Europe; they are varied and at the same time naively human. All these characteristics make this breviary very different from other contemporary productions. Byvanck has given the name of Master of Mary of Guelders to the painter of the small miniatures in the Berlin Prayer Book. There is no reason for not keeping this appellation, if we remember that it is applied to the primary illustrations in the manuscript and not to the picture of the duchess. Other manuscripts of about the same period bear the same features or show a similar artistic orientation: for example, a small and delightful Book of Hours that belonged to Sir Sydney Cockerell and is now the property of Major J. R. Abbey, and other Books of Hours in the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge (MS 141, fig. 14), in the Royal Library in The Hague (MS 74 G. 3 4), and in the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore (MS 185). The subjects of the miniatures in these manuscripts are generally very conventional, but they are often represented with a rare liveliness that can be appreciated only if we examine the attitudes and gestures in detail. In the Betrayal, for instance (Baltimore MS 185, fol. 15V, fig. 15), Peter is already sheathing his sword while another disciple still struggles with the soldiers; Jesus is bending to accept the kiss of Judas, but his hand, holding the ear of Malchus, stretches toward the poor victim whom he wants to cure. In the Carrying of the Cross (fol. 65 V, fig. 16) there is an expression of deeper feeling; all the figures take part in the action and are marked by their suffering. Sometimes, even in poor manuscripts, one comes across the most moving miniatures. A small Book of Hours recently discovered by Professor Hoogewerff in the Seminary of Rijsenburg contains a Betrayal of Christ (fol. i6v, fig. 17) and particularly a Pietà (fol. 64V, fig. 18) that can be counted among the most poignant representations of these themes.22 21 The first four manuscripts are described in A . W . B y vanck and G. J . Hoogewerff, Noord-Nederlandsche miniaturen in (The Hague, 1925), the last one by G. J . H o o g e w e r f f , 'Enkele verluchte Getijdenboeken tussen 1 3 7 5 en 1425 in de Nederlanden ontstaan,' Mededelingen der Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen-Letterkunde, N i e u w e Reeks 26 (1963), pp. 75-98.

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These manuscripts, neatly written, in a small format, were not all illustrated b y the same hand, but they all come f r o m the diocese o f Utrecht. T h e present study is not concerned w i t h the problem o f individualizing the artists, nor does it try to survey all the manuscripts illuminated in Holland; its aim is rather to underline their varied merits and deep originality. T o mention the v e r y number o f these manuscripts indicates the importance o f the group. O t t o K u r z recently published a fascinating picture, discovered in the Drawings Collection o f the L o u v r e under the label 'Burgundian, sixteenth century,' w h i c h represents a fishing party at a princely court 23 (fig. 19). A l t h o u g h the identification o f the different personages in the scene is subject to controversy, it is n o w generally accepted that the picture is Dutch, and dates f r o m the beginning o f the fifteenth century. For g o o d historical reasons, D r . K u r z believes that the main figure o f the group is W i l l i a m o f Bavaria, w h o died in 1417; therefore the drawing is v e r y probably, though not necessarily, anterior to that date. Subjects o f this kind are extremely rare so early in the century, and fit perfectly into the scene de genre tradition that is one o f the most distinctive and pleasing characteristics o f fifteenth- and seventeenth-century D u t c h art. A l l the figures, particularly the men, have enough individuality to make us think o f them as portraits. This, o f course, reminds us o f another group, the court o f Emperor Charles I V (fig. 1), the first example o f this type o f illustration in Holland. In another artistic center, perhaps Utrecht, w e find a more prolific production w h i c h has been attributed to the Master o f Z w e d e r v a n C u l e m b o r g and his m a n y assistants or contemporary miniaturists: the masters o f O t t o v a n Moerdrecht, o f Alexander, o f Nicholas B r o u w e r , o f the Brussels Passion, and o f Delft. 24 T h e manuscripts in w h i c h the hand o f these miniaturists can be found date f r o m 1415 until approximately 1435 or 1440. Probably in the early years o f this period the main center o f production was transferred f r o m Guelders to Utrecht. W e k n o w f r o m the Bible o f 1403 (fig. 3) that manuscripts in the D u t c h style were already made in Utrecht at the beginning o f the century, but the most important early e x a m ples came f r o m Guelders. 25 W e must keep in mind, h o w e v e r , that A r n h e m and N i j m e g e n were then the main towns in the duchy, and therefore the transfer to nearby Utrecht, the seat o f the bishopric, was quite normal. Furthermore, other towns like T h e Hague, the capital o f the county o f Holland, Delft, Haarlem, Deventer, and Z w o l l e m a y have played a role in 23 14

O t t o K u r z , ' A Fishing P a r t y at the C o u r t o f W i l l i a m VI c o u n t o f H o l l a n d , Z e e l a n d and H a i n a u l t , ' Oud-Holland

De Noord-Nederlandsche Js

52 (1956).

A b o u t these masters see A . W . B y v a n c k , La miniature dans les Pays-Bas septentrionaux (Paris, 1937), and G . J . H o o g e w e r f f , Schilderkunst, I ( T h e H a g u e , 1936).

Professor P a n o f s k y has m a d e scholars m o r e conscious o f this distinction b e t w e e n the p r o d u c t i o n o f Guelders and U t r e c h t

b y his article m e n t i o n e d in n o t e 2 1 . Nevertheless, the p r o b l e m o f localizing D u t c h p r o d u c t i o n is n o t entirely solved. A m o r e t h o r o u g h use o f the archaeological m e t h o d , w h i c h P a n o f s k y started t o a p p l y b y a n a l y z i n g the marginal decoration, w i l l be necessary t o m a k e progress in this regard. O n the manuscripts m a d e in Guelders see H o o g e w e r f f ' s article cited in n o t e 19 and a b o v e all U . Finke, ' U t r e c h t - Z e n t r u m nordniederlandischer B u c h m a l e r e i , ' in Oud Holland l x x v i i i (1963), pp. 2 7 - 6 6 . 1 a m m o s t grateful t o M r . R . G . C a l k i n s f o r calling m y attention t o this i m p o r t a n t publication.

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this great moment of Dutch manuscript illumination.26 Only a thorough study of all the books could enable us to establish the necessary landmarks in time and space. What matters for the moment is that these manuscripts were made in the geographic circle that has been described and that the group dates from 1425, with a margin o f t e n years before and after. Manuscript 87 in the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York is the best example of this series of religious books. It has been dated before 1417,27 or before 1423, because it bears the arms of Reinald IV of Guelders, who died in that year, or even some years later, for the arms might refer to Reinald's successor.28 Whenever the breviary was made, it is and will remain one of the important books of the late Gothic period. Many pictures of this profusely illustrated breviary deserve to be reproduced. Those selected here are representative of both the specific vision and the exceptional pictorial gift of this master. On folio 294, a group of people are attentively listening to the prophet Malachi (fig. 20). The scene is not one of the great iconographic themes; it is simply a gathering of men and women among whom one can distinguish a preeminent figure addressing an audience. The subject is very humble and does not lend itself to development. It does not need to. The individuality of the faces and the naturalness of gesture and attitude transform this dull iconography into a lively scene. The ground on which the figures stand, which looks like a dirt road, the gentle hills in the background with trees that are real trees and are beautifully silhouetted against the sky, as well as the spires of churches hardly visible on the far horizon, help to give a feeling of reality. The beautiful and even daring color scheme makes the picture still more pleasing. This landscape reveals a sensitivity to nature that appears to be unequaled by other schools of illumination. For the Office of the Common of a Virgin (fol. 422) the miniaturist has represented St. Dorothy in a room (fig. 21). This sober subject has not deterred the painter. He did not use the hortus

conclusus,

the enclosed garden, which would be the conventional

setting. Instead, a beautifully dressed young girl stands in the middle of an unadorned room, holding a red flower in her hand. If she were represented without a halo, she could be any well-to-do young lady. It is possible that the miniaturist did not originally intend to paint a halo; with it the saint looks rather too tall for the room in which she stands. The shadow of her body is clearly marked on the wall, and through a small window a bit of the

16

See also the article b y Lieftinck m e n t i o n e d in note 20. T h e author quite rightly distinguishes different artists w h o s e w o r k

is similar to that o f the M o e r d r e c h t Master. 27

M e t a Harrsen has observed the absence o f the office for the feast o f C o r p u s Christi, w h i c h w a s adopted b y the Carthusians

in 1 4 1 7 ; see Panofsky, Early Netherlandish Painting, p. 397, n o t e 2 under p. 100. O n M o r g a n M S 87 and the Master o f Z w e d e r v a n C u l e m b o r g s e e Finke's article m e n t i o n e d in n o t e 25. 28

Lieftinck, op. cit., p. 200; the manuscript w o u l d then h a v e been m a d e f o r R u p r e c h t o f j i i l i c h , M a r y ' s second husband, w h o

died in 1431.

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THE ILLUMINATED

MANUSCRIPTS

landscape is visible in the far distance. The perspective of the window is inaccurate, but that of the floor appears correct. The barren walls, with their gradations of light and shade, are the most striking element of the picture, after the girl herself. This is not the only example of sensitive treatment of the texture of an unadorned surface; it is a part of the real world and, like any other, is painted with the same respect. That is why it gives the impression of authenticity. The painter did not gloss over the unimportant parts of his picture; the wall is as true as the girl. The Entombment (fol.

200V,

fig.

22),

a theme often represented in religious books,

offered little opportunity for originality. The miniaturist has conformed to the iconographical tradition, though he has chosen the tomb as a setting rather than the grotto. Nevertheless, at the beginning of the fifteenth century, does any other painting express the human failure of Christ with such simplicity and grandeur ? The composition is very natural and graceful: all the people are taking part in the last act of the drama, and their gestures or attitudes, even their faces, reflect their feelings. Nothing could better have completed this scene than the landscape in the background, for both are without affectation. All that was said about the landscape behind the prophet preaching to his people (fig. 20) applies to this landscape, too, and its portrayal is even better. The miniature illustrating the feast of St. Martin (fol. 41OV, fig. 25) could also have been selected for its landscape, though it is very different from the two previous ones. Here we have a succession of hills covered with trees that progressively recede into the far horizon, with a few spires subtly merging into a beautifully cloudy sky; but before the glance can reach so deep, it is arrested by the superb white horse that is the main feature of the miniature. St. Martin is cutting his coat in half to share it with a poor man standing by. Again the personages are well rendered, and the coloring is very pleasant, but to find a painting of around 1425 with so remarkable a representation of a horse is exceptional. Here we can test the sense of anatomy of our miniaturist, and also his ability in depicting the texture of hair and the nuances of light and shadow.29 Another miniature (fol. 99V, fig. 23) in which landscape deserves a similar appreciation presents an intensely human incident in a family conflict. Since the manuscript is a breviary, the religious iconography is related to the Nativity cycle; but here, as elsewhere, the Dutch miniaturist shows his tendency to transpose a religious subject into a scene of domestic experience. Joseph has been informed by Mary that she is with child; deeply hurt, 19 From this point of view the rendering of the white horse in the Morgan manuscript is very different from that of the Ghent altarpiece by Van Eyck. Because of the loss of the Turin fragment (the reproduction is unreliable), we are unable to tell whether William of Bavaria's horse resembles that of the Morgan miniature or of the panel painting. For a reproduction of fol. 59v of the Turin fragment of the Turin-Milan Hours (Turin, Biblioteca Nazionale, MS K.4.29, burned in 1904), see Paul Durrieu, Les Heures de Turin (Paris, 1902), pi. xxxvn; the Milan fragment is now preserved in Turin, Museo Civico, and was published in facsimile by Hulin de Loo under the title, Les Heures de Milan (Brussels, 1911).

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he has turned away to leave her when the angel calls him back. The gesture ofJoseph's right forearm expresses his annoyance, irritation even, at this intervention, and the angel grips his coat in order to have the opportunity to explain the special circumstances of the event. The whole story unfolds before our eyes with utmost simplicity. The narration of an event with emphasis on a psychological crisis of this nature is uncommon in the work of miniaturists of the late Gothic period. The panel painters appear to have been even less concerned with the complexity of human reactions; they represent suffering with pathos, rarely with subtlety. Immobility, physical and moral, characterizes nearly the whole pictorial production of the fifteenth century; even the greatest masters do not seem to have been able to go beyond it. In another miniature selected from this manuscript (fol. 199V, fig. 26), the Carrying of the Cross, it is not the subject that we shall consider, but the landscape. Except for some has de pages in the Turin-Milan Hours,30 no other miniature from the early part of the century is, to my knowledge, comparable to this. In a space hardly larger than a square inch, the horizon stretches indefinitely in front of our eyes. Beyond a small knoll in the foreground, we see a large valley, with two meandering rivers that merge into the distance. One of them runs along the walls of a rather large town with innumerable towers and spires. The horizon is alive with a variety of buildings, but it is only because of the photographic enlargement that we are able to distinguish the incredible wealth of detail (fig. 27). Above this superb panorama is a blue sky, not monochrome, but delicately shaded. T o appreciate the talent of the miniaturist we must remember that the pictures which have been described were not intended to be hung on walls and admired by the friends of a patron. They are small miniatures, approximately two inches by three, hidden away in a manuscript. The frontispiece perhaps received more attention, but the pictures inside the book (the Carrying of the Cross appears on fol. 199V) were seldom if ever looked at. Normally these books of devotion have come down to us in perfect condition, as if they had never been used; it is only recently that our manuscripts have begun to suffer from intensive use in our libraries, because of the fervor of careless admirers. All the aesthetic qualities of these little pictures are the natural expression of the artist, not the result of a conscious effort. They do not show the artist at his best but as he is. One might say that the miniature is to panel painting what chamber music is to symphony. The immediate chronological successor to Reinald's breviary is a missal for the Carthusians, MS 174 of the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore.31 The landscapes are in no way so daring as those in the Morgan Library MS 87, but there is a seascape (fol. i o i v , fig. 30) that is much superior to that in the breviary. In a miniature of the Morgan manuscript, 30 31

About these two fragments see previous note. Dorothy Miner, 'Dutch Illuminated Manuscripts in the Walters Art Gallery,' The Connoisseur Yearbook, 1955, pp. 66-77.

24

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ILLUMINATED

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representing the same scene (fol. 207V, fig. 24), the sea is a broad, river with the water realistically rendered and a seagull taking off from the surface. In the Calling of Peter, in the Baltimore missal, the sea stretches up to the horizon, which is alive with sails and ships. As Dorothy Miner writes in her enthusiastic description of this miniature,32 this view is not borrowed from an earlier tradition but is an authentic picture of the Dutch coast. The heavy sky itself lends local color to the whole scene. The large Crucifixion on folio 152V, a full-page miniature (fig. 29), is laden with emotion. An ugly Christ is dead on the cross, the face and the whole body marked with his sufferings. None of the Netherlandish painters have represented Him in so humble a condition. On the left, Mary and the disciples have accepted with dignity the tragic end, but on the other side (fig. 28) one can see in the expressions of the faces the diverse reactions of the onlookers. On folio 116 (fig. 34) the group of disciples and the Virgin receiving the Holy Ghost looks very much like a gathering of country people, with delightfully crude faces. Another illustration, representing the Jews about to stone Jesus, shows even greater variety and more liveliness in rendering the features (fol. 65V, fig. 31). T w o miniatures in the same missal again raise the question of comparison of Dutch manuscript illumination and Netherlandish painting.33 For the moment we must limit ourselves to iconographie resemblances; we shall return to the problem when more data have been accumulated, in the synthesis about Dutch style. The illustration of the Feast of the Discovery of the Cross (fol. 79V, fig. 32) is virtually identical to the painting on folio 118 in the missal fragment of the Turin-Milan Hours.34 The basic composition is the same in both manuscripts, and certainly the Turin page is far superior in quality. However, the miniature of the Discovery of the Cross in the Baltimore missal reveals an inventiveness consistent with the other illustrations in the manuscript and not superior to them. Therefore there is no reason to suppose that the Baltimore version is copied from the Milan page; both could well be variants of the same model. Another miniature in the Baltimore manuscript, the Trinity (fol. I2v, fig. 33), resembles as closely the painting of the same subject attributed to the Master of Flémalle in Leningrad;35 in the emotion expressed and homeliness of the features, the miniature compares favorably with the panel. Another miniature (Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, M S Lat. 432, fol.2v, fig. 35) is by the same artist, but in a less conventional illustration. Hugh of Lusignan, Cardinal of Cyprus, is 52

Ibid., p. 73. Friedrich Winkler was the first scholar who stressed these iconographie similarities between Dutch miniatures and panel paintings: 'Studien zur Geschichte der niederländischen Miniaturmalerei des x v . und xvi. Jahrhunderts, m. Zwei utrechter Miniaturisten aus der Frühzeit der holländischen Malerei und die Heures de Turin,' Jahrbuch der kunsthistorischen Sammlungen in Wien x x x i i (1915), pp. 324ff. Since then many others have added interesting comparisons in this domain, above all Panofsky, Early Netherlandish Painting, p. 103. 34 Hulin de Loo, Les Heures de Milan, pi. xxn. 35 See Panofsky, Early Netherlandish Painting, fig. 210. 33

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shown receiving a copy of Peter of Herenthals' commentary on the Psalms.36 The miniature can safely be dated 1434, because of the simultaneous presence at the Council of Basel of the cardinal and the bishop of Utrecht. Although the interior perspective is faulty, the cardinal's study retains the intimate atmosphere of a room and the personages are not stereotyped but have been rendered with features that are realistically human.37 There are other manuscripts that were decorated and illustrated by the Master of Zweder van Culemborg and his collaborators, and I have left out some important miniatures that demonstrate the concern of Dutch painters for objectivity and naturalness. To finish this group, we shall turn to the work of the Zweder Master's best assistant (Baltimore, Walters Art Gallery, MS 168). Miss Miner states that this collaborator 'integrates his narrative action and his cubic space more successfully than his master.'38 Her observation is particularly true if we study the confrontation ofJesus and Pilate (fol. 76V, fig. 36). The Betrayal (fol. $2v, fig. 37) resembles, more than any other earlier or later Dutch minature, the page of the Turin-Milan Hours of the same subject.39 Moreover, the palette of this artist is more varied, more daring— though not so subtle—than that of his master. He juxtaposes, for instance, brilliant yellow and vermilion; the result is not always happy, but his miniatures are radiant with light and color. DRAWINGS

AND

OTHER

TECHNIQUES

The Dutch miniaturists did not always use gouache; other techniques were considered equally good for the illustration of their manuscripts. In some Bibles, pen drawings appear side by side with gouache miniatures. These drawings must not be considered primary sketches that were supposed to receive the gouache afterward; they are too finished, too complete in themselves; a layer of paint would have destroyed the refined complexity of the pen strokes. Some examples that will be analyzed are remarkable for the quality of the drawing. Furthermore, there are manuscripts entirely illustrated by pen which cannot be unfinished books; experience shows that unfinished books are never left interrupted at the same stage throughout; some parts are always more advanced than others. The number and the quality of drawings in Dutch manuscripts prove the creative invention of the craftsmen and also their freedom of expression, which was probably the consequence of a tolerant patronage. As a technique, drawing is less expensive than painting with 36

Description in B y v a n c k , op. cit., p. 1 5 3 .

37

Panofsky (Early Netherlandish

Painting,

p. 103) considers the presence o f the round mirror in this miniature as a proof o f

V a n E y c k ' s influence, because the same motif is found in the Arnolfini portrait in London. Is it necessary to attribute to V a n E y c k details o f this nature, frequently encountered, when one is dealing with a style o f miniatures that is characterized b y its objective rendering of the exterior world ? 38 35

Miner, op. cit., p. 74. Fol. 24 o f Turin, Biblioteca Nazionale, M S K . 4.29, n o w burned; see Durrieu, op. cit., pi. x v .

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M A N U S C R I P T S

pigments, and can be applied to a cheaper material, paper. Drawing has its proper language; its vocabulary is limited to lines and it must, through the technique of crosshatching and shading, render those surfaces and even volumes that paint can more easily convey. Some miniatures drawn in Holland satisfy all these requirements and are of such high quality that one wonders why they have received so little attention from the specialists.40 From 1 4 1 0 to 1439 we see the technique in frequent use; it disappears later or is of poor quality. Let us not forget that the milieu of the Devotio moderna was very much concerned with the religious education of the masses and thus there was a need for some cheap process for instructing the people by visual representation. In order that the teaching could better reach its audience, religious ideas or moral principles had to be illustrated by pictures. Pen drawing was certainly the quickest and cheapest technique for the extensive program of education undertaken by the Brethren of the Common Life, but it could hardly satisfy the demand. The block books, with text and picture carved together on a single piece of wood, seemed to be the answer to the problem. The origin of these block books is still highly controversial, but the communities of the Modern Devotion, with their ardent faith, enthusiasm for education, and exceptional tradition in making manuscripts, were undoubtedly ideal centers for the creation of this new means of expression. The Archives of Wiesbaden possess a rather untidy-looking manuscript on paper (MS B. 10), dated 1410, which is a collection of texts concerning the spiritual life. The book is a sort of rapiarium, a 'Reader's Digest' of the time, in which excerpts and quotations from various religious texts were copied and compiled in the lay or clerical communities of the Devotio moderna. This particular manuscript has an unusual feature: it contains many pen drawings on pieces of paper that are pasted on spaces left blank in the transcription of the text. The picture is sometimes accompanied by a commentary. Under the drawing reproduced here (fol. 132, fig. 38) one reads that it represents some Jews about to stone Jesus. The presence of this type of illustration proves that the drawing and the commentary coexisted in manuscript before they were engraved together in a single block book. Few illustrations of Jesus' life have shown one scene of this long drama without connecting it visually with the main actor, Christ himself. This group of men moving with great determination, their hands clutching stones, could represent any pending violence and therefore the legend under the picture was indispensable. The artist was not concerned with the illustrative purpose of his drawing. The text said that the Jews came to throw stones at Jesus; so his pen literally transposed the words into an image without even introducing Jesus.41 40 Excessive specialization must be the explanation of this silence concerning pen drawings in manuscripts, in the same w a y as decorations and miniatures in collections of archives are often neglected. 41 F. Lyna has described with great feeling the rare expressiveness of the "Wiesbaden rapiarium in 'Les miniatures d'un manus c r i t d u " C i n o u s d i t " et le réalisme préeyckien,' Scriptorium i (1947), p. 1 1 5 ; see also Panofsky, Early Netherlandish Painting, p. 1 0 7 .

27

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ILLUMINATION

The two great difficulties of anecdotal representation are movement and emotion. At this early epoch we cannot expect much subtlety in the transposition of either into a few strokes of the pen. Jan van Eyck himself, who analyzed the human face so incomparably, left it completely immobile, physically as well as psychologically. In contrast, this little drawing renders both action and emotions in a lively way. These men are on their way somewhere with a definite purpose in view. Their faces express their feelings; the slight forward inclination of the bodies, as well as the position of the limbs, particularly the legs, gives a convincing illusion of movement. T o these exceptional merits one can add the variety and reality of the features: the group is undoubtedly composed of Jewish peasants attired in a great variety of garments; one man is holding his hat in his hand. Only observation of life could introduce these unimportant but realistic details. O n folio 126 the Three Dead, although cruder in technique, is also highly descriptive for the year 1410. A Bible in the British Museum (MS Add. pen

drawings.42

38122)

contains a rather impressive number of

They are not as exceptional as the previous ones, but their quality is more

uniform. A number of them ought to be reproduced because of their beautiful composition and the genuineness of the human representations. The manuscript, generally dated from around 1430, is contemporary with the miniatures of the Bedford Master in Paris and the Guillebert de Mets and Gold Scrolls Masters in the southern Low Countries. Whereas those miniaturists painted conventional scenes, the artist who penned the drawings seems always to have represented authentic events. Ruth behaves like a true wife when she waits on her husband in front of the skeptical elders who are reluctant to accept this Gentile among them (fol. 248, fig. 39). The young Moses puts a burning coal on his tongue in front of the Pharaoh and the High Priest (fol. 175, fig. 40). In both miniatures the composition is superbly balanced and both are impregnated with a sense of naturalness. T w o other scenes present a very different anecdotal quality. This time there is no story, which in each of the previous examples was condensed into its most vital moment. Here, on the contrary, the text of Exodus only mentions the smith Bezaleel in his workshop; therefore the miniaturist represents him and his helper Aholiab, surrounded with tools and actively busy, one at the anvil, the other at the forge (fol. 117V, fig. 41). In a picture of this type the passage of the Bible to which it is connected is ignored and the image becomes simply the practical representation of what a smith does. The human content of the subject satisfies the aesthetic needs of the miniaturist; one might even say that he was looking for this quality, for he selected the subject himself. This human approach to religious themes is not accidental. In another drawing in the same Bible (fol. 78V, fig. 42) the artist has illustrated the construction of the Temple in 41

Byvanck, op. tit., p. 146.

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MANUSCRIPTS

Jerusalem. W e would naturally expect some half-completed building and, as we are dealing with a Dutch manuscript, we should normally see represented a few workers around it, busy with barrows and beams. This would be too simple. T o build a temple one needs bricks, and so we are presented with the first stage of the construction: the making of the bricks. Underneath a shed a man shapes the clay into bricks; one of his fellow workers takes them away on a barrow to pile them, with space between, to dry. A previous batch is already baking in a big oven, from which flames are escaping. The various stages of brickmaking have nothing to do with the sacred text, and seem to have no symbolic value, but how much more picturesque they are than the conventional building of the temple as it is usually represented. Many other illustrations in this Bible have the same quality. The group of Egyptians who accuse Benjamin of stealing (fol. 65, fig. 44) has a composition as well balanced as that in the miniature where Ruth is seen kneeling under the critical eyes of the Elders. Similarly the interior scene of the birth of Moses (fol. 73V, fig. 43) imparts a feeling of atmosphere and intimacy that can be compared with Bezaleel's workshop. The technique used by the illustrator of the British Museum Bible is very peculiar. After the main lines of the compositions were drawn, many small parallel strokes of different densities were added in order to contrast the surfaces of shadow and light. This process of parallel shading introduced the technique that wood engravers employed soon afterward. Drawings of a very different nature decorate another Bible, which is dated 1439 (Munich, Staatsbibliothek, M S Germ. 1102). 43 Here the long though tortuous lines drawn with the pen are enhanced with wash. This technique would normally soften the harshness of the pen strokes or make them less distinct. In spite of the combination of techniques, the drawings I have selected from the Munich Bible still preserve an exceptional vigor. The subject of the first is the Vengeance of Lamech, from Genesis (fol. n v , fig. 45). Lamech has just shot an arrow at his enemy who is fleeing. The moment represented is the very instant after the arrow has penetrated the body of the victim; he is shown still in the act of running away, but the top part of his body is already toppling backward, convulsed by the arrow wound (fig. 46). The other two personages of the drama are expressively animated; there is no difficulty in imagining all that has preceded this last act. However, their vivid attitudes cannot be compared with the power of the part of the drawing that represents the victim. N o other picture of the fifteenth century expresses tragedy with so much intensity, and movement with such force, particularly the contradictory backward and forward motion of the body. This unique little drawing is attributed to an anonymous artist called the Master of 43

Ibid., p. 148.

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Catherine of Cleves. Other illustrations in the Munich Bible of 1439 are by his hand and are equally impressive. Before 1450 it would be difficult to find so masterly a study of human anatomy as in the miniature representing Adam and Eve leaving Paradise (fol. 9V, fig. 47). Not only are the lines of the body drawn accurately, but above all the flesh and the muscles are modeled with exceptional sensitivity. The pathetic expression of the faces, very different from each other, is not inferior to the plastic quality that has just been mentioned. Less evidently exceptional, though also very beautiful, is the study of the diverse reactions of the sons of Noah (fol. 15V, fig. 48). The drawing is more than a simple figuration of the biblical text; the psychological complexity of this event is rendered with great depth. Toward 1430 some Dutch miniaturists tried their hand at another technique, the grisaille, done with gouache or silverpoint. It is often thought that this type of miniature came from a workshop established at Delft, near The Hague. A Book of Hours in the Royal Library in Brussels (MS

21696)

has a colophon in which the scribe says that the book was written

and illuminated by the Augustinian nuns of the Val-Josaphat near Delft. 44 But we know that in Dutch Books of Hours pages with miniatures were added later to gatherings that had already been written and decorated, sometimes even with historiated initials. Therefore the folios with these grisailles could have been made anywhere. Furthermore, we find different styles of grisailles; those in gouache are often cruder than those in silverpoint. Thus the localization of this specific technique is still insufficiently established.45 The grisaille was greatly in favor in Paris in what can be called the royal atelier, where Pucelle worked during the first half of the fourteenth century. It was used sporadically afterward, sometimes with touches of color as in the Très Belles Heures of Jean de Berry (Brussels, Bibliothèque royale, M S 11060-61). Slightly later, we find in some French Books of Hours an isolated miniature in grisaille among the other pages which are colorfully decorated and illustrated.46 The grisaille technique seems to have been occasionally mixed with pen drawings, as in the manuscripts of Christine de Pisan. But the grisaille seems to have disappeared around 1415, to reappear at the court of 44

Gaspar and Lyna, op. cit. in note i, p. 1 1 6 .

45

A B o o k o f Hours o f the Walters A r t Gallery in Baltimore, M S 165, which is identical in format and illustrated with the

same type of grisaille, has, on the other hand, a calendar for the use of Utrecht. T h e decorative techniques are totally different f r o m those in the Brussels manuscript; for instance, the complex red and black pen flourishes in both books have nothing in common. This proves h o w manuscripts made in different centers, or publishing houses, could have inserted pages w i t h miniatures that had been issued b y the same workshop. This particular group o f manuscripts in grisaille must be studied in relation to the engravings by the 'Master o f the Gardens of L o v e ' ; see J . D . Hintzen, ' D e Noord-Nederlandsche Grisailles en de "Meister der Liebesgarten," ' Oudheidkundigjaarboek 46

2 (1922), pp. 1 7 8 - 1 8 3 .

E.g., Baltimore, Walters A r t Gallery, M S 2 1 9 , fol. 249; and N e w Y o r k , M o r g a n Library, M S 743, fol. 1 7 . A b o u t the

former, Millard Meiss has already underlined its North-Netherlandish style in ' T h e Exhibition of French Manuscripts o f the X I I I - X V I Centuries at the Bibliothèque Nationale,' The Art Bulletin x x x v m (1956), p. 1 9 5 ; the page is probably the w o r k of a Dutch miniaturist.

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Philip the Good, in a beautiful but unconventional B o o k o f Hours illustrated in 1454 by Jean Le Tavernier. 47 In the interim, Dutch miniaturists seem to have been the only ones w h o used it. The process gives a very sober effect, but when done with silverpoint it can be highly refined. The encounter o f Jesus and Pilate (Brussels, M S 21696, fol. 32V, fig. 49) makes us appreciate the subtlety of the technique. 48 The attitudes are awkward, the draperies rather stiff, but the faces are drawn with refinement and a sense o f individuality. The passage from light to shadow in the costumes as well as in the features is soft and not highly contrasted. The use of yellow beige for the w o o d w o r k , the ceiling, and the shutter is not out of place in this grisaille, but some touches o f gold for the metal objects seem rather archaic in a picture that is full o f atmosphere. The presence o f Pilate's wife, w h o comes to the w i n d o w to ask her husband not to condemn Jesus, helps us to visualize the crisis in its complexity. In this miniature the iconographie interpretation is less sophisticated than in the one seen in an earlier manuscript (fig. 9), but it is just as sincere. The author o f the grisailles in the Brussels B o o k o f Hours is at his best in the miniature representing the Entombment (fol. 50V, fig. 53). Here the composition is beautifully balanced with the tomb, and Christ's body placed above it, exactly in the diagonal o f the picture. As it is an exterior scene, a light touch of blue at the top o f the page indicates the sky. The gold is used more intensively for the halos o f Christ, his mother, John, and the other Marys, but this does not impair the general effect o f deep affection and quiet sadness. The faces are very well drawn but rather uneven; the best o f them is certainly that o f Joseph of Arimathaea, w h o is at the head o f Christ. In the variety o f representations o f the human face in western Europe at about this date, f e w if any are so delicately modeled as this profile. In the same manuscript a collaborator o f the great master seems, on the contrary, to w o r k in angles. In the Carrying o f the Cross (fol. 39V, fig. 50) the profiles are sharp, the features strongly accentuated, introducing the type that Bosch used so abundantly later. The same type o f caricature appears in a scene o f the Circumcision (Oxford, Bodleian, M S Douce 248, fol. 104V, fig. 51). In the Annunciation o f the same book (fol. 74V, fig. 52), however, the attitude o f the Virgin is very graceful, her body leaning forward in respect for the message which is brought to her.49 She holds her book in an unusual fashion: one hand grasps the top on one side while she seems to hold d o w n the leaf o f the other side of the book with the

47

T h e H a g u e , R o y a l Library, M S 76, F. 2, described in A . W . B y v a n c k , 'Les principaux manuscrits à peintures conservés

dans les collections publiques du r o y a u m e des Pays-Bas,' Bulletin de la Société française de reproductions de manuscrits à peintures x v (1931), p. 43. T h e author thinks that s o m e o f those grisailles have a D u t c h character. In paintings, particularly o n the backs o f altarpiece w i n g s , the grisaille technique begins at a p p r o x i m a t e l y the same time as can be seen in some panels b y R o b e r t C a m p i n and Jan v a n E y c k , a l t h o u g h in these cases it seems t o have originated f r o m stone sculptures. 48 49

B y v a n c k , La Miniature, p. 124. Description in B y v a n c k and H o o g e w e r f f , p. 23.

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fingers of the other hand.50 Moreover, there is a rendering of movement and an atttitude of assurance in the angel who has just come down from heaven but whose features have not been idealized. In connection with the grisaille technique, a manuscript in the University Library in Leiden (MS Let. 289) 5 1 could be classified among the books with drawings having touches of gouache. Some of the strokes are stiff and give an effect of caricature, as in the encounter of Jesus and Pilate (fol. 71V, fig. 54), or they can be very subtle, as in the Flagellation (folio 74V, fig. 55), and give a deep sense of reality by means of the unconventional faces, the clothing, and the simple but well-observed interior perspective. It has already been mentioned that some Dutch miniaturists employed an unusually rich palette. Their love for bright and gay colors was expressed in the miniatures of the breviary of Reinald IV of Guelders (figs.

20-27)

and even earlier in the Prayer Book of Mary of

Guelders (figs. 12, 13). In this domain some pictures in a Book of Hours in the MeermannoWestreenianum Museum in The Hague (MS 10 E. 1) offer us still greater originality.52 In the Adoration of the Magi (fol. 77V, fig. 58), all the colors are very warm, but the king, who is seen from the front, and Joseph are both wearing coats of a pale green that is exquisite, though rather effeminate for these sturdy man. In a miniature representing the Archangel Michael (fol. 69V, fig. 56), to whom a chapel in the cathedral in Utrecht was dedicated, all the colors of the rainbow appear behind the Archangel, who has thrown the devil to the ground. Michael makes a triumphant appearance in his brilliant robe and wings, but in the background the blue of the sky and the red of hell are mingled in confusion as if the very elements were participating in a battle to the death between good and evil. N o other miniature, to my knowledge, so early in the fifteenth century displays such audacity in the choice and distribution of colors, and so much power, combined with such grace, in the representation of this subject. Though less apocalyptic, the depiction of St. Christopher (fol. 71V, fig. 57) shares this revolutionary sense of color. In this survey of the various techniques found in manuscripts produced no more than twenty-five years apart, we are impressed as much by their diversity as by the quality of the best examples. N o other country in western Europe can compete with what was done in the northern Low Countries around 1430; no miniaturist of the second quarter of the fifteenth century can sustain comparison with the Master of Catherine of Cleves. Naturally, not all the Dutch manuscripts are as good as those examined and reproduced in this book; many are dully and even badly decorated and illustrated. After all, the

50

For interesting variants o f this gesture in other manuscripts o f the same g r o u p , see Leiden, B i b l i o t h e e k der R i j k s u n i v e r -

siteit, M S B . P . L . 224, fol. 5Jv; B y v a n c k and H o o g e w e r f f , op. cit., pi. 88. 31

B y v a n c k and H o o g e w e r f f , op. cit., p. 30.

51

B y v a n c k , La miniature, p. 141.

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northern provinces were not very rich at this period. The pictorial talent encountered in many Dutch miniaturists was by no means shared by all of them. In some manuscripts illustrated in this magnificent style, we find another tradition, very linear, hard and strangely unrealistic. The Master of Otto van Moerdrecht, who produced a vast number of miniatures, is the most important figure of this group of craftsmen who preferred sharp and angular lines to the subtle handling of the brush. Nevertheless, his work must not be disregarded; his strange color schemes may have influenced some of his colleagues and encouraged the fantasy that we find in their palettes. Moreover, he shares with them unusual iconographies for his religious subjects. In one of his most spectacular works, a large Crucifixion (fig. 59) detached from a missal and now preserved in the Cleveland Museum,53 the group of men at the right of the Cross is identical with the riders and their followers in the Budapest Carrying of the Cross, which is considered by some scholars to be a copy of a painting byjan van Eyck.54 I confess that until David Carter's observation I had never thought that the miniatures painted by the Master of Otto van Moerdrecht deserved careful examination. We shall soon have more proof that, during the second quarter of the fifteenth century, Dutch miniaturists were creative not only in the domain of pictorial techniques but also in the themes for the illustration of their manuscripts. THE

BIBLES

Before the middle of the fifteenth century, Philip the Good managed to unify under his power the northern and southern Low Countries into what was later called the States of Burgundy. His political success at the expense of the counties of Holland and Zeeland and the bishopric of Utrecht must have affected the artistic production in those provinces. Around 1430, and even until 1445, the south did not feel the effects of the presence of the Duke;55 he and his new court were not yet interested in beautiful manuscripts but in panel paintings that could be exhibited with pride on the walls of their castles. In the north, however, in spite of a much less favorable situation, manuscript production continued with the same originality, though not with the same luxury. Yet the breviary of Reinald IV of Guelders (New York, Morgan Library, MS 87, figs. 20-27) is o n e ° f the most lavishly decorated manuscripts in western Europe at that time. The manuscripts of the Duke of Bedford " Cleveland Museum of Art, Mr. and Mrs. William H. Marlatt Fund, 59254. This parallel has been established by D. G. Carter, 'The Providence Crucifixion: Its Place and Meaning for Dutch Fifteenth Century Painting,' Bulletin of Rhode Island School ofDesign Museum (May 1962), figs. 18,19, and 23. Although this article falls into the traditional interpretation of Dutch illumination, it is nevertheless by far the best recent study in this domain. The author has underlined many connections between early Netherlandish panel painting and Dutch manuscript illumination. 55 See L . M . J . Délaissé, La miniatureflamande,le mécénat de Philippe le Bon, Catalogue of the Exhibition in Brussels, Amsterdam, and Paris in 1959, Introduction. 54

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(Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, M S Lat. 17294; London, British Museum, M S Add. 18850) are certainly more elegant, but the marginal ornaments of the pages with text are routine work in comparison with the variety of flowers and the number of human representations found on each of the 436 folios of the Dutch manuscript. As for their illustrations, we have seen how the Morgan breviary breaks away from the conventional cycles of other centers of production. One can imagine what Dutch book illumination would have become in a less perturbed period, with an interested patronage. A great number of Bibles were copied and illustrated during the second quarter of the fifteenth century. Some are crude copies; others are carefully executed. The text may be in Latin or in the vernacular, and many are illustrated in a variety of styles and techniques. T w o of them have already been mentioned for their exceptional pen drawings (figs. 39-48). There were many other unpretentious books with equally humble pictures, yet these manuscripts are different from the Bibles made in other parts of Europe around this time. Their illustrations are not mere pictures; they seem to be penetrated with religious fervor and with knowledge of the text that was to be transposed into miniatures. So far as I know, in only one other group of Bibles of the late Middle Ages can one find anything similar: the French Bible historiée of the thirteenth century, such as the Bible of St. Louis with some 4,000 miniatures.56 These manuscripts reflect the religious enthusiasm that prevailed at the beginning of the Gothic period. The copies made at the end of the fourteenth century, though iconographically very near to their model and equally luxurious, seem to have lost this spirit.57 These Dutch Bibles were probably all made in the communities of the Devotio moderna. The number of copies in the vernacular shows that they were not necessarily made for clerics. As can be expected, laymen were generally in charge of the illustration; they could read the text, but they needed the advice of clerics for its interpretation and its transposition into pictures. Therefore it is not surprising that we sense the conviction, the religious emotion, behind many of those miniatures. Yet there is no sense of grandeur in the pictorial manifestations of religious sentiment; they are humble and restrained, in line with the spirit of the Modern Devotion as Father Debongnie has described it. From this point of view they are at the very opposite of French manuscripts with their monumental and courtly style. The second characteristic of the Dutch Bibles is related to their religious sincerity. The 56 This Bible in three volumes is preserved at the Chapter Library in the cathedral of Toledo, with a fragment at the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York, MS 240; each page of these volumes contains eight miniatures in the shape of medallions. 57 Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, MSS Fr. 166 and 167; see Jean Porcher, L'enluminure française (Paris, n.d.), p. 62. A similar interest in the Bible in the vernacular, with illustrations (Vienna, Nationalbibliothek, MSS 2759-2764), can be observed in Bohemia around 1400, but the imperial patronage did not last long and the religious conflicts prevented the copying of expen sive books.

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illustrations are extraordinarily near to nature. T h e craftsmen seem to have visualized the text and to have expressed it w i t h a rare sense o f reality, as i f it w e r e a scene f r o m e v e r y d a y life. This does not, h o w e v e r , explain the illustration o f all the D u t c h Bibles; some have a visionary quality w h i c h , t h o u g h not exaggerated, brings fantasy into the v e r y simple style o f illustration that D u t c h craftsmen often adopted. T h e R o y a l Library in T h e H a g u e possesses a Bible ( M S 78 D.38) containing m a n y drawings 5 8 like those o f the British M u s e u m Bible that was described earlier (figs. 39-44). A scene related to the life o f A b r a h a m (fol. 25, fig. 60) has the firmness, the correct proportions that indicate a great artist, even i f he is not so remarkable as the Master o f Catherine o f Cleves w h o illustrated the M u n i c h Bible (figs. 45-48). T h e elements o f the landscape are v e r y conventional, although the e m p t y b a c k g r o u n d imparts a feeling o f infinite horizon, and puts the subjects m o r e v i v i d l y into relief. B u t it is in h u m a n representation that this artist shows his talent: the faces, the gestures, and the clothing are beautifully depicted and are so natural that one easily overlooks the real aesthetic merits o f the miniature. O n another page (fol. 103, fig. 62), w h e r e Moses is striking the rock w i t h his rod, Moses himself is p o o r l y done but, on the other side o f the picture, the g r o u p o f Israelites watching the miracle is a little masterpiece. T h e diversity o f the features reflects the reactions o f the spectators, f r o m the practical m a n w h o is anxious to receive the water to the skeptic w h o does not w a n t to manifest surprise. T h e miniature representing Balaam (fol. 105, fig. 61) contains an unusual animal study. T h e d o n k e y , w h o alone sees the angel in his path, wants to stop, and twists his head, s h o w i n g his teeth in protest at the cruel insistence o f his incredulous master. T h e same artist illustrated a B i b l e that is n o w preserved in the Municipal Library o f N u r e m berg ( M S Solger 8).59 This time a v i e w o f a t o w n (fol. 160, fig. 64) and, even better, a scene o f country life (fol. 83, fig. 63), display the naturalness frequently encountered in the w o r k o f D u t c h miniaturists; all the f a r m buildings, for instance, appear at the borders o f a

field. S o m e miniatures o f the Apocalypse in M S 9020-23 in the R o y a l Library at Brussels,

w h i c h is dated 1431,'60 are in direct contrast to the series o f pen drawings that have been described. T h e text opened infinite possibilities to an artist w i t h imagination. Y e t , instead o f being exuberant in the manner o f the illustrators o f the Spanish Beatus, the miniaturist seems to have controlled himself, at least f r o m the point o f v i e w o f composition. It is rather in the unusual palette that the visionary character o f the w o r k is apparent. T h e miniaturist adopted a v e r y peculiar h u m a n type; the lines o f the faces are softly indicated b y slight touches o f color, whereas the eyes, nose, and m o u t h are sharply marked 38 59 60

Byvanck and Hoogewerff, op. at., pp. I3ff. Ibid., p. 18. Caspar and Lyna, op. cit., p. 70.

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(figs. 71, 72). His tones are very unusual: light olive green, brilliant vermilion, and mauveine blue enlivened with gold. 61 The personages and their coloring both give the pictures an atmosphere o f unreality that suits the subject perfectly. Furthermore, the miniatures often combine elements o f the text or different episodes o f the action, which undoubtedly proves a conscientious reading, but complicates the iconographie interpretation. In other miniatures b y the same hand, some compositions are so classic, so regular, that they give the impression o f being absolutely symmetrical. The Adoration o f the Lamb (Brussels, Bibliothèque royale, M S 9020-23, fol. 137, fig. 65) is a perfect example o f this: the result is rather lifeless, but here it suits the scene. In contrast, in the crowning o f Christ (fol. 65, fig. 66) the symmetry does not impair the sense o f action. This comes from the attitudes in which Christ's torturers are represented, yet they are suggestive not by their realism but by their quality o f caricature, in the same w a y in which the gestures o f puppets are exaggerated. This is true also o f the Flagellation (fol. 65, fig. 67), in which Pilate is seen washing his hands. T h o u g h reduced to a few figures, the subject is treated with deep emotion. Between these t w o extreme styles, the one realistic, the other visionary, are many intermediate styles, often dull and expressionless. But occasionally, even among long series o f unimportant pictures, w e discover some that are crude yet original, like the miniature in the British Museum (MS Add. 10043, fol. 35, fig. 68) which illustrates chapter 43 o f Genesis.62 It is evident that the miniaturist tried to portray Joseph's entertainment o f his brothers and even to depict the last verse, which says: 'they drank and were merry with him.' The grin on the face o f one o f the guests and the gesture o f his arms are the literal translation o f the Biblical phrase. Some of his co-feasters, particularly the one with long and untidy hair, are so vulgar that Bruegel would have accepted them as models. O u r last Bible, also in the British Museum (MS Add. 15410), shows a much more advanced style, which is a transition to the next period. 63 The finest miniatures o f this manuscript are b y the Master o f Catherine o f Cleves, the best illuminator of the second quarter o f the fifteenth century. This artist had the rare ability to select, for each personage, the attitude most suggestive o f the whole action, and to synchronize the different postures so that together they sum it up perfectly. For this reason, a picture representing a group o f judges with the high priest (fol. 160, fig. 69) is the antithesis of the art o f V a n Eyck and his impressive immobility. Furthermore, a slight accentuation o f the features gives to the whole scene a vitality that is never encountered in Flemish book illumination. A quieter

61

Like some o f his contemporaries, this master m a y have been influenced b y the coloring o f the Master o f O t t o van

Moerdrecht. 62 63

Described in B y v a n c k and H o o g e w e r f f , op. cit., p. 18. B y v a n c k , La Miniature, p. 147.

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episode, like that of the young Abisag being led to the old king David (fol. 207, fig. 70), is equally successful in the exact concentration of details toward the principal action. The Master of Catherine of Cleves is not the first Dutch miniaturist to possess this rare quality; the Master of Zweder van Culemborg was also very sensitive to life and able to render the complexity of a conflict. W e shall soon see how their successor was nevertheless superior to both. PRODUCTION

TOWARD

THE

MIDDLE

OF T H E

CENTURY

One generally dates from about 1440 a very beautiful Book of Hours that was made for Catherine of Cleves, who married Arnold of Egmont, Duke of Guelders, in 1427. 64 The date is temporarily unimportant for the study of Dutch style. Whether the manuscript was finished a little before or after 1440, it is a brilliant and typical example of Dutch illumination and surpasses any manuscript that was made in the southern L o w Countries in the same epoch. The Catherine of Cleves book is exceptional not only for its aesthetic quality but also for its luxury. This is probably due to the eminence of the Cleves family, and in particular of the donor, as well as to the fact that Guelders had escaped, at least for the moment, the policy of the unification of the L o w Countries pursued by the third duke of Burgundy, Philip the Good, since the beginning of his reign. 6 ' The province had not been so constantly coveted as the rest of the northern L o w Countries, particularly the county of Holland and the bishopric of Utrecht. Whatever the reason, Catherine's Book of Hours is the most ornate manuscript made in Holland since the breviary of Reinald IV of Guelders (figs. 20-27). The representation of the destinataire is also more elaborate than is customary in Dutch manuscripts.66 To emphasize the owner of a book in such a way was more in the tradition of the Valois family up to the beginning of the fifteenth century, and was accentuated still 64 The manuscript belonged to the Duke of Arenberg and for years was inaccessible. It came on the market some years ago, when it was partially photographed, and is now in the hands of an American collector. It was exhibited in Amsterdam in 1958: Middeleeuwse Kunst der noordelijke Nederlanden, p. 124. F. Gorissen dates these Hours as 1431: 'Historische-heraldische Betrachtungen über ein Stundenbuch der Katharina von Kleve, Herzogin von Geldern,' in Gehe. Vereeniging tot Beoefening van Geldersche Geschiedenis..., Bijdragen en Mededelingen, lvii (1958), pp. 210-212. The complementary fragment of these Hours was recently acquired by the Pierpont Morgan Library in New York; some of its exceptional miniatures are reproduced, with a commentary, in the postcript to this volume. Whatever its exact date of execution in the first half of the fifteenth century, the Catherine of Cleves manuscript remains one of the most important books for the history of medieval illumination. 65 Philip's aunt, Mary of Burgundy, had been married to Arnold of Guelders. This union was probably planned with a view to territorial expansion in accordance with the normal policy of the princely families of the time. The first duke had managed to put his second son at the head of the duchy of Brabant and marry his daughter to the count of Holland and Hainaut. The political schemes of the family had become considerably more ambitious. In 1473, for a short time only, Charles the Bold added the duchy of Guelders to his possessions. 66 The only exception is the portrait of Mary of Guelders in Berlin, Staatsbibliothek, M S Germ. 4° 42, fol. 19V (fig. 13), which was probably painted over an earlier composition.

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more at the court of Burgundy, with Philip the Good, in the middle of the fifteenth century.67 The decorators of the manuscript have tried to invent new types of ornament for the margins of a few of the more important pages. A miniature representing God the Father is surrounded by a very delicate frame composed of angels in a filigree pattern (fol. 115v, fig. 73). Thereafter the Dutch manuscripts show greater variety in decoration; the illustrators were no longer satisfied with the acanthus leaves that had, toward the middle of the century, become the sole ornament of French and Flemish borders. Other margins are enlivened with majestic griffons or dragons that a follower of the master used with greater originality in the Hours of Vronensteyn. Elsewhere we find a wealth of realistic scenes. If the extraordinary drawings of the Munich Bible, dated 1 4 3 9 (figs. 4 5 - 4 8 ) , are anterior to the Hours, as seems probable, it must be admitted that the Master of Catherine of Cleves has lost some power and has adopted a softer style. The subjects of the miniatures are psychologically just as sincere, but the technique is less powerful, the style more mannered. However, the illustrations of the book, which represent the main moments of the Passion, the Flagellation, the Crucifixion, and the Deposition (fol. 69V, fig. 75), are certainly more natural than, for instance, the Nativity (fol. 35V, fig. 74). In the latter the landscape is artificial, not in the French manner as the Master of Bedford would paint it, but more in the Germanic tradition, with fantastic castles on hills and minute details, as if it were necessary to fill the countryside in the background. However, there are touches of true realism in the weathercock, and the family basket hanging on a nail in the stable. In the Deposition scene (fig. 75) the line of horizon is much lower, and in consequence there is a more accurate sense of depth. The subjects seem to be treated with greater objectivity. As this miniature reproduces the iconography of a Deposition attributed to the Master of Flémalle,68 it might be supposed that this greater realism in landscape is due to the influence of the painting. This is not necessarily so; we shall soon see how inventive and naturalistic our master could be, in a miniature that has, at least to my knowledge, no parallel anywhere. Some of the small miniatures which are not on the inserted folios but on the rectos, at the beginning of various texts, can be counted as the most refined among the master's works. The scene of Joseph of Arimathaea before Pilate (fol. 67, fig. 76) is as remarkable for its composition as it is for the interior perspective. From this point of view there is definite progress in comparison with the best miniatures of the Master of Zweder van Culemborg, who nevertheless had already so well assimilated human figures into the architectural frame in which he represented them. The pupil has gone beyond his master also in the human 61 This is particularly evident in the breviary of Philip the Good in Brussels, Bibliothèque royale, MSS 9026 and 9511, reproduced in V. Leroquais, Le bréviaire de Philippe le Bon (Brussels, 1929), pl. VI. 68 Friedrich Winkler (op. cit., pp. 332-333) was the first to observe this identical composition.

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types he portrays. W e have observed how near to nature, how unflattering, were the faces painted by the Zweder Master. Their plain ugliness was not exaggerated as in some German manuscripts, for instance, in miniatures painted by the less important painters of the Bohemian Bibles.09 The Master of Catherine of Cleves seems to have chosen his models from the common people; he uses, along with this crude type of face, a more refined one, and thus shows his consciousness of the variety of the human species. Moreover, he manages to give an impression of life by the gestures and attitudes of the men and women he paints, and by the way he arranges them in his composition (fol. 104, fig. 77). Among all the miniatures of the book, one deserves special mention for its iconography. Monday Hours of the Dead is illustrated by a picture of two men carrying a naked corpse (fol. 99V, fig. 79). For this service the miniaturists nearly always reproduce funerals: a catafalque in a church, with a few people present. Here the painter has completely broken with tradition to represent stark reality—a dead man being taken away by two members of the family—rather than one of the moments that follow the true tragedy. Moreover, he has set the scene in its authentic context, an unadorned room in its ascetic simplicity. This is more than the rendering of a room in perfect perspective, with the beams receding to the same point: it is the genuine experience or vision, and the spontaneous representation of a very ordinary room. Like the Zweder Master, but even more, the Master of Catherine of Cleves is sensitive to something as ordinary as the changes of light on the smooth surface of a wall. Although the illustrator of the Catherine of Cleves Hours employed a particularly warm color scheme, at times he surpassed even the most fanciful of his colleagues. The two eyes of the monster representing the mouth of Hell are painted in a very light saffron, which gives a perfect impression of incandescence (fol. i68v, fig. 78). This miniaturist generally worked just as well when he had to paint pictures in the more ordinary Books of Hours. A representation of the Flagellation in the University Library in Leiden (MS B.P.L. 224, fol. 128V, fig. 80) would be accepted, if it were a panel painting, as one of the best on that theme.70 Christ breaking down under the blows and the sadistic pleasure of the torturers are both rendered with rare objectivity. But another miniature reveals even more religious emotion. In the preparation of the Cross before the Crucifixion (a subject which, to my knowledge, is never found in the French Books of Hours) a Christ of sufferings, covered with blood, is shown waiting for his next torment (fol. 134V, fig. 81). He is the focus of the picture, which is a perfect example of religious imagery. This brings us back to the Devotio moderna, with its educative program and religious fervor. W e must turn to that milieu to understand a very rare iconography in a Book of Hours 69 70

E.g., the Bible o f 1402 in the Plantin Museum in Antwerp, M S S i j . i , 15.2. Byvanck, La Miniature, p. 142.

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in the Fitzwilliam Museum in Cambridge (MS James 137, fol. 138V, fig. 82). God the Father and the Son, with the Holy Ghost as dove between them, holding joined hands of the crowned Virgin above the Gospels. This group is painted in a mandorla of angels in adoration. The miniature is the work of another painter, who has contrasted beautifully the old face of the Father with the young face of the Son. The Father looks at his Son, who lowers his eyes toward his mother in accordance with a theological interpretation of the transmission of grace.71 Both faces, though very different in expression, are neatly modeled; the beards particularly have been well done. The lozenges with angels in the margin constitute another innovation in book decoration, and this leads us to a group of manuscripts which have in common a new kind of ornamentation in their margins, some of them highly naturalistic. At the very moment when all the workshops in the southern Low Countries were limiting the marginal decoration of their manuscripts to acanthus leaves in many shapes and colors, those in the northern provinces were tending toward greater variety. Sometimes the subject of the miniature overflows its frame, and secondary scenes connected with it are painted in the border to broaden the significance of the main topic. These marginal scenes are freely integrated in the decoration and are not enclosed in frames and medalhons as are those found in French manuscripts illustrated by the Bedford and the Rohan masters. In a scene of the Last Judgment (Berlin, Staatsbibliothek, MS Germ. 8° 648, fol. io8v, fig. 83), the fate of the chosen and that of the damned, represented in the margins, constitutes the most pleasing element of an unpretentious page." A manuscript at Oxford has more unconventional decoration; the scenes painted in the borders are completely independent of the picture proper and are exceptionally descriptive.73 T w o knights are seen leaving their individual tents ready for the encounter (fol. ioov, fig. 84); in the lower margin of the page is a general view of the tournament, with three ladies and their entourage watching the combat at its crucial moment, when the lances are crossed. This may be the most accurate representation soon after the middle of the century of the chmax of a tournament; not until later do we find equivalent and superior figuration of this typically medieval theme.74 W e have mentioned previously the markedly linear technique used by some Dutch craftsmen, which is as extreme—at least in comparison with the contemporary schools of Europe— 71

T h i s 'quadrinity' is perhaps a pictorial and doctrinal enrichment o f the T r i n i t y as f o u n d in B a l t i m o r e , W a l t e r s A r t Gallery,

M S 168, fol. i o 8 v . 71 73

B y v a n c k , La Miniature, p. 121. M S D o u c e 93, H o u r s o f Y o l a n d e d e Lalaing, w i f e o f Reinald II o f B r e d e r o d e , described in B y v a n c k , ibid., p. 152. In

the miniature proper, a c r o w n e d saint w i t h a banner in her left hand, Ecclesia, is riding a lion, but behind her one can distinguish an o x , an angel, and an eagle and therefore the f o u r o f t h e m together must be the symbols o f the f o u r evangelists. I h a v e not seen this u n c o m m o n i c o n o g r a p h y elsewhere. 74

Y e t the possibility o f s y m b o l i s m must n o t be disregarded.

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as is the pictorial style of their colleagues. A Book of Hours of the Royal Library in The Hague (MS 131 G-4, fig. 85) proves the continuity of this tradition.75 The coloring is as exaggerated as that of the Master of Otto van Moerdrecht, although it is predominantly dark. The movements of the body and the features are heavy and powerfully marked, yet the margins of this Book of Hours contain some of the most unusual nature studies of the third quarter of the fifteenth century. The miniaturist has painted the kernel of an open nut and a still more difficult subject, a fly, with a precision that Hoefnagel, the painter of insects at the end of the sixteenth century, would not despise. Only after 1480 were the borders of Flemish manuscripts decorated with similar animal and vegetable motives, but this first attempt in the north is hardly inferior to the best work that came later in the south. In the pontifical for the bishop of Utrecht, still preserved in the University Library (MS 400), the historiated initials represent the bishop in the exercise of his official duties (fols. 1, 63V, figs. 86, 87); there are no full-page miniatures in the book.76 These small miniatures are typical examples of Dutch art. The subjects are conceived and rendered with simplicity and naturalness: landscapes with a low horizon, people with individuality, gestures and attitudes correctly observed—in a word, all the usual qualities of the northern miniatures. The margins of this pontifical have, as in the other manuscripts, a special charm; they are illustrated with realistic subjects, like craftsmen conscientiously busy at their work (fols. 63V, 99, figs. 88, 89), or with fanciful or even grotesque themes (fol. 113, fig. 90) which remind us of the marginal decorations of manuscripts from the beginning of the Gothic period. AFTER

1455

The episcopal town of Utrecht was the most important center of book production in the northern Low Countries throughout the fifteenth century, although not all the best illuminated manuscripts were made there. This production reached its height about 1460; the renewal of quality in the art of the book was linked to the arrival, in the episcopal see of Utrecht, of David of Burgundy, a natural son of Philip the Good. The illuminated manuscripts of this period are not more creative than those of previous decades; they may even show proportionately less purity in the representation of the world, and be somewhat mannered, but they are undoubtedly more luxurious. These books remain entirely in the Dutch tradition, in the very neat type of script of the Regular Canons, as well as in the variety and fantasy of marginal decoration, and, naturally, in the style of the 75 Professor Byvanck suggests (La Miniature, pp. 139-140) Amersfoort as the place where this Book of Hours was made, but dates it later, around 1470; even if of such a late date, these nature studies in the margins are worth mentioning; they are not yet found in Flemish manuscripts. 76 See Byvanck, La Miniature, p. 157.

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miniaturists. Book illumination in the southern provinces was then in full bloom, and we might expect it to influence the workshops of the north. As a matter of fact, however, book production in the northern provinces was very independent and, as will be shown in another chapter, it could easily be argued that the north influenced the south. The Bible made for Evert van Soudenbalch (Vienna, Nationalbibliothek, M S S 2771, 2772) is perhaps the earliest of these new and rather pretentious books.77 Evert (or Evrard) was a canon of the cathedral and undoubtedly a book lover. As frontispiece in his Bible (fol. 10, fig. 94), he had a portrait of himself kneeling in front of the Virgin painted at the bottom of a series of pictures representing the seven days of Creation, or more precisely, the six days of Creation with, on the seventh, God resting among his angels. It is impossible to tell whether this was a good likeness of the donor, but the features are so individualized that they are probably true to life. Mary looks like a pretty young mother holding her baby on her lap. But the attitude of the baby is perhaps the most beautiful detail. The proportions of his small body and of his limbs, the natural gesture of his arm stretching toward the supplicant, are better portrayed than in most paintings of the great masters of the century. In the picture just above this one we can see the creation of Adam and Eve. Since the great Bibles of the Carolingian period, the cycle of Creation had constantly been transposed into a series of pictures, among them the creation of the first couple, very often with the different scenes of their fall. In the Soudenbalch Bible, the theme is treated in a rather conventional way, but the pictorial representation of Adam and Eve is outstanding; seldom, at least during the fifteenth century, has the human body been painted so naturally. The artist has succeeded in portraying human flesh, and did not feel the need to conceal anything of its anatomy. He was not seeking out the erotic, for he could have presented the body of Eve in a very different way; it was the subject that mattered, and the miniaturist wanted to paint it as it was. The Limbourg Brothers seem to have been the first, in the Tres Riches Hemes of Jean de Berry, to have introduced so naturalistic a figuration, with probably more delectation than the Master of the Soudenbalch Bible. Many miniatures in the two volumes of the Vienna Bible deserve similar commentaries and ought to be reproduced. A great number of them are so naturalistic that one may fail to realize how accurate they are in detail. Perhaps we touch here the very characteristic of Dutch illumination and, at the same time, the reason why it has been too much ignored. The pictures can look so much like life itself that neither incongruity nor idealization catches our eye. But the quality of simplicity was virtually nonexistent at the time, particularly in Flemish book illumination, and therefore deserves more consideration. 77 For a complete description of this manuscript with bibliography, see P. J. H. Vermeeren, 'De Nederlandse Historiebijbel der Oostenrijkse Nationale Bibliotheek, Codex 2771 en 2772' with a summary in English, in Het Boek x x x n (1955-1957), pp. 101-139.

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In the first volume of the Bible, in the book of Judges, a judgment scene is portrayed (fol. 140V, fig. 91). The two opposing parties are in front of a partition in the foreground. The judge is seated in the middle and his assistants are discussing the question while the two parties and their supporters listen intently. W e are amazed at the variety of these personalities, so different in physiognomy, clothing, and above all in expressions and attitudes. If we add to that the rich coloring of the original, this little group is one of the liveliest genre scenes of the fifteenth century, and gives us a fairly accurate idea of a tribunal sitting at the time. O f the many other miniatures that portray this human quality, one of the most striking in the Vienna miniatures is the meeting of Solomon and the Queen of Sheba (fol.

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93). At first sight, the only appeal of this picture is the brilliant red of the drapery of the bed that fills much of the background. A detailed examination, however, reveals how well the miniaturist understood this royal encounter, and how beautifully he portrayed it. The way in which Solomon receives the black queen in the royal chamber and embraces her, and the way in which she responds, leave no doubt as to the nature of their sentiments. W e have only to look at the court ladies to be convinced. The one on the right is shocked, and her attitude, with her hands on her hips, signifies a violent protest at this unseemly behavior. The other two seem to accept their fate, but one puts her arm on her neighbor's, either to console or to be consoled. Few miniatures of other schools, or even panel paintings, achieve so deep an analysis of the human soul. Normally, both crude and exaggerated attitudes are used to reveal sentiment. Our miniaturist is far more subtle in handling the gestures that give meaning to this encounter, and he even depicts the varying facial expressions; the three court ladies, particularly the one on the right, superbly reveal their personal reactions to this unpleasant event. The love for reality does not always result in refined miniatures such as the one we have just analyzed; the ugly and the monstrous also exist. The duel between David and Goliath is one of the most frequently painted themes of the Old Testament, from the beginnings of the illustration of medieval books. The subject demands neither great imagination nor skill to be transposed into an image. The result is a great number of unattractive figurations, even from the brush of the most gifted miniaturists. But in the miniature illustrating the first book of Samuel in the Vienna Bible (fol. 165V, fig. 97) there is something new and fresh in the rendering of the battle; the artist has painted more than a tall, rigid soldier in armor staring at a small shepherd, as is often seen in miniatures. Here the gigantic body of Goliath has just collapsed awkwardly on the ground, and the young David, grasping the beard of his enemy, is in the act of striking the uncovered neck. The rest of the picture does not count: a town, some hills, fields separated by rows of trees—all is roughly brushed in. Our attention is focused on the huge twisted body, with its monstrous but superb head, almost half the width of the picture. In another miniature of the same Bible (fol. 165, fig. 98), which depicts the killing of a king, the action is even more savage, with the killer chopping up the body of the already 43

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beheaded victim. The naked body, spread shamelessly across a thick wooden table, makes the scene look like a butcher's shop or a slaughterhouse. In some other miniatures the main element is not so well done as the detail, which is exactly the opposite of what w e have just seen. In a painting which combines two episodes of Moses' story, we can easily limit our observation to these two main subjects (fol. 129V, fig. 95). On the top of a stylized representation of Mount Sinai, a very displeased God the Father instructs Moses that he must tell these people down below how to behave; in the valley the Jews are lamenting their dead prophet. Neither scene is painted with particular merit; the figures evidently represent common people, which is typical of a good Dutch miniature, but these are not very realistic, and the tents behind the Jews, as well as the mountain and the rocks in the front, are rather poorly done. In this miniature it is the landscape in the far background that the artist has painted with care and love. The contours of the ground, the variety of the trees, the unrolling of the landscape toward a lost horizon, all this, nearly hidden in a small corner of the picture, makes us think of the details from the paintings of Bruegel which can be isolated and constitute exquisite landscapes. In many other miniatures the details have been painted more carefully, more realistically, perhaps with more affection than the main subject. The catafalque for Joseph's funeral (fol. 49v, fig. 96) is rather a failure, but behind it the ambulatory is painted with nuances of light and shade which mark the different depths of the two rows of columns and of the windows beyond. The Vienna Bible was made for Evert van Soudenbalch, and for that reason its main anonymous illustrator has been given that name. W e shall meet his work again in some other remarkable manuscripts and analyze his style more carefully, but already we see that he falls into the best tradition of Dutch illumination, and is a worthy successor of the Master of Zweder van Culemborg, and of the Master of Catherine of Cleves. He had many collaborators for the illustration of this luxurious manuscript, collaborators of very unequal quality, who nevertheless, in their own and more humble way, have something to say, and whose work is sometimes more individualized than that of more skilled but lifeless painters. The Wedding at Cana (fol. 2 i v , fig. 92) has the quality of a scene of country life with a diversity of expression among the participants which denotes the artist's sensitivity. The embarrassment of the bridegroom, the request of Mary, the detachment of Jesus, the surprise around the table, all these reactions are well observed. The manuscript was very probably done some years before 1460; LoysetLiédet, who soon became the most successful miniaturist working for the court of Burgundy, had not yet begun his career.78 78

About Liédet's production, see Délaissé, La miniatureflamande,pp. 69-70.

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Another Book of Hours with an excellent miniature by the Soudenbalch Master has recently come on the market. Its frontispiece represents a Coronation of the Virgin (fol. 15V, fig. 99) which seems to derive from the 'quadrinity' of the Fitzwilliam Museum manuscript (fig. 82). God the Father and Mary are exactly the same as in the last scenes of the large frontispiece of the Vienna Bible (fig. 94). The decoration with its bands of gold lines can also be found in the margins of both manuscripts and probably came from, or at least was used in, a workshop in Cologne. 79 The University of Liège possesses a Book of Hours that came from the same workshop 80 and was also executed a little before 1460 for Gijsbrecht van Brederode, a decided opponent of the policy of Philip the Good. Nearly all the miniatures are done by another anonymous master, who has received the name of the donor. In the Vienna Bible he painted, among many other scenes, the Wedding at Cana (fig. 92). His style is weaker than that of the Soudenbalch Master and his palette is much less brilliant, but his sense of reality saves him from mannerism and its banalities. The Judgement of Pilate, for instance (fol. 56v), or the scene of Jesus Being Nailed to the Cross (fol. 6ov, fig. 100), proves that the miniaturist had a sincere understanding of the religious drama that he painted and of its complex network of human reactions. The Master of Soudenbalch did only one miniature in the Liège manuscript, the Last Judgment (fol. 39V, fig. 101). The observation that was made about the miniature of the Vienna Bible representing Moses (fig. 95) can also be applied here. The scene, with Mary, John the Baptist, and the resurrected bodies is not the best part of the picture, though the simple, unassuming human type chosen by the master is pleasing. Behind the figures the abrupt and unrealistic screen of rocks seems to isolate the real world from the apocalyptic scene. Beyond, in a very narrow strip of the miniature, the real interest of the master and his exceptional talent are displayed: a minutely detailed landscape seems to stretch toward infinity, with only a faint line of mountains or large hills at the back of the picture. The masterpiece of this period is another Book of Hours that came on the market after the war, and was acquired by the Royal Library of Brussels (MS II 7619). 81 The manuscript is known as the Hours of Mary van Vronensteyn, because the marks of ownership of that lady were added with great care a few years after the book was finished. The coat of arms of the 79 I am most grateful to Mr. H. P. Kraus, who kindly informed me of this new Book of Hours and gave me permission 10 reproduce this unusual miniature. The manuscript is described in Catalogue 108 of the firm. For the Cologne style of borders see A. Boeckler, Deutsche Buchmalerei der Gotik (Konigstein-im-Taunus, 1959), pi. 1 and text related to it. 80 J . Brassinne, Deux livres d'Heures néerlandais à la Bibliothèque de Liège (Brussels, n.d.), with full reproduction of all the miniatures. 81 Owing to its importance, the manuscript was immediately described and reproduced nearly in full, but only briefly analyzed from the point of view of style in my article, 'Le livre d'Heures de Mary von Vronensteyn, chef-d'œuvre inconnu d'un atelier d'Utrecht, achevé en 1460, ' Scriptorium m (1949), pp. 230-245. See also Carter, op. cit., in note 54.

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first owner, who appears twice in the miniatures, has been identified as that of Jan van Amerongen. 82 The decoration and illustration of these Hours have been clearly divided among different hands: twelve full-page miniatures and their original borders on inserted folios are all the work of the Master of Evert van Soudenbalch; the other historiated initials were shared among three other craftsmen, two of whom have never been mentioned anywhere, even under an anonymous appellation. As the manuscript is dated 1460, it constitutes an essential landmark in the history of Dutch manuscript illumination, and in particular of the production in Utrecht. Most probably the manuscript was written by the Regular Canons and illuminated by lay miniaturists, none of whom have been identified up to now. The superiority of the Vronensteyn Hours in comparison to the other works of the Soudenbalch Master lies in the greater unity of composition and consistency in quality. All the miniatures are homogeneous and, though some are more appealing than others, all show the same rich palette, the same exceptional talent. The Betrayal of Christ (fol. 17V, fig. 104) is evidently in the tradition of this subject as it was painted in the Turin-Milan Hours,83 but many details do not correspond exactly to the early miniature.84 The greatest difference is that the arrest is not made in the twilight but in daylight, though torches and a lantern are used as if it were dark. The arrest is represented as if the place were not far from Jerusalem; it is in the rendering of space between the town walls and the group of people around Jesus in the foreground that the artist improves on his predecessors. The happy proportions of the elements of the picture give to the whole an atmosphere of reality. The town walls built on the rocks, with vegetation at their foot, are certainly the best part of the background. The gate, with the adjacent constructions that spread forward onto the bridge, is particularly realistic.85 Because Judas' betrayal is the first miniature of these Hours, the whole page has been decorated more than the others. Three other incidents in the arrest of Jesus are painted in the margins with great liveliness. In addition we find Judas hanged on his tree, the bust of 82 1 owe to K. G. Boon the identification of the arms and, inconsequence, of the first owner of the book, Jan van Amerongen, which he published in 'Een Utrechtse Schilder uit de I5de Eeuw, de Meester van de Boom van Jesse in de Buurkerk,' OudHolland, 1961, p. 51, note 2. 83 Reproduced in Paul Durrieu, Les Heures de Turin (1902), fol. 24, pl. x v . Since this iconography exists only in Dutch miniatures, it should be studied without a preconceived idea of an Eyckian model that had been copied many times with more or less fidelity. 84 For instance, Peter is not striding over Malchus; in Judas' betrayal, Peter can be represented in two different positions: Baltimore, Walters Art Gallery, MS 168, fol. J2v (fig. 37), or Brussels, Bibliothèque royale, MS II 3634 s , reproduced in Gaspar and Lyna, op. cit., II, pl. c x x x i . 85 In Flemish manuscript illumination, it is only with Liévin van Lathem and the late works of Dreux Jean in the Conquêtes de Jérusalem that this feeling for the exterior world is first expressed; see Délaissé, La miniatureflamande,p. 102, and the reproductions related to those manuscripts. The landscapes of Simon Marmion, beautiful as they are, result from a cerebral composition of separate elements and are not simply a transposition of reality into a picture. The date, 1460, of the Vronensteyn Hours, is therefore one to remember.

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Peter and the maid, and the cock, who are mixed into the decoration, but who, of course, participate in the main action. Although the integration of marginal scenes with the main picture is not new, the distribution of the narrative in the borders in relation to the miniature is remarkably free and fanciful. The Entombment (fol. 67V, fig. 102) seems to have occurred near the place where Jesus was crucified, but much farther from the town than the arrest; at least this is the impression given by the indication of space between the foreground and the view of Jerusalem in the background. From the height of Golgotha one looks down toward the town, but the intervening landscape is lively with people riding or walking, painted in a way that naturally conveys the sense of recession of the landscape. The diversity of human types, of their emotions, and of their clothing all give a quality of truthfulness to the whole. The corpse of Jesus, rendered in anatomical detail, is carried away with conscientious devotion by Joseph of Arimathaea and his companion, who bend down to introduce the body into the tomb. The Office of the Dead (fol. 161 v, fig. 103) is just as natural as the previous miniature but for different reasons. The interior view of the church in which the mass for the dead man is in progress is very rare; the perspective is completely eccentric, with a very good effect of light and shade. The composition itself is asymmetrical, and accentuates the feeling of genuineness. The faces chosen by the master are very vivid; it is easy to imagine that we have seen people with such features. The best page of these Hours is probably the Judgment of Pilate (fol. 38V, fig. 105). Medieval miniatures rarely give the impression of being inspired by direct observation of nature, and they virtually never express psychological conflicts, particularly those which concern different personalities, as in this picture. Pilate is evidently puzzled; hesitant about making a decision, he wants a last look at the figure of Jesus who impresses him so much. His right hand, slightly raised, must mean his noncommitment, but his left hand is already stretching toward the basin: he gives in to the priests. Jesus seems serenely submissive, and very dignified, as if he were no longer interested in this human verdict. The outstanding figure of the group is Pilate's wife. The Soudenbalch Master was more sensitive to feminine charm than his contemporaries, or perhaps he was more successful in painting it. His representations of Eve and of Mary with her Baby in the Soudenbalch Bible (fig. 94) are delicate, with attractive features and pleasing expressions. The Virgin and the holy women around her in the scenes of the Entombment are fascinating from this point of view (fig. 102), but none can be compared with Pilate's wife. Here we have one of the most perceptive and vivid revelations of feminine coquetry. Not only her dress but even the arrangement of her hair is fashionable; this had not been done before, to my knowledge. Moreover, her anxiety to persuade her husband not to interfere in this conflict about Jesus is well de47

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scribed in her urgent gestures. Nothing spoils this complex drama, for the secondary actors are just as well rendered: the soldiers hold fast to the victim, and the servant gracefully presents the basin to his master. Although the psychological complex of emotions dominates the Judgment of Pilate as it is portrayed by the Soudenbalch Master, and makes it one of the best miniatures of the fifteenth century, the physical context of the crisis also deserves attention. As in the Office of the Dead (fig. 103), the perspective is lateral and eccentric, which gives the feeling of a spontaneous visual image rather than an intellectually conceived setting.86 The Soudenbalch Master had an exceptional collaborator, but it is unfortunate that so little of his work has been preserved; we have only a few borders that reveal this lively artist. He is certainly not as refined as the head of the workshop, but he is more spontaneous. He seems to use a pen rather than a brush to draw his figures with a very nervous hand. The result is full of life and expression, though at a superficial glance the general effect of his work is rather dark and sketchy. His best collaboration in the Vronensteyn Hours is in the borders of a page (fol. 18, fig. 106) in which the tree ofjesse is spread out. All the members of Judas' tribe that are painted in the tracery of the branches seem to have individuality as if they were portraits drawn from nature. He has also painted small scenes in the margins which are unrelated to the subject, but are there simply to add their intimate charm to the book. Another collaborator of the Soudenbalch Master in the same manuscript uses a totally different technique. "Whereas his colleague works spontaneously, as if he were inspired, this artist is much more controlled and given to minutiae. For this reason his figures are rather dry, but the backgrounds of all his miniatures are painted in a very subtle manner. The landscape behind David (fol. 139, fig. 108) is a perfection of miniature work; everything is so thinly drawn that the silhouettes of a church or a castle seem to evaporate in the far distance. Yet there is a gradation into this unrealistic landscape. The same is true of the Annunciation, also painted in an initial (fol. 28, fig. 107). The figures of Mary and the angel are uninteresting, but the wall at the back of the room has been painted in an unusual manner. It is not the scrupulous painting of each stone that counts, but the feeling for matter, the sensibility for surfaces, which remain characteristic of Dutch art. In a splendid manuscript like the Vronensteyn Hours, these small initials play a very unimportant role, yet they are painted with loving care, as if they were the essential feature of the manuscript. Furthermore, artificial as they are, both exterior and interior backgrounds are painted with a true consciousness of reality: a landscape is composed of fields, trees, and buildings that are dispersed 86 Boon, in the article cited in note 82, suggests a rather fascinating identification of the Master of Evert van Soudenbalch with the painter Erhard van Rewijck (or Rewich); the Hours of Vronensteyn and the other manuscripts would be his early work.

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in the distance, and a room is made of stones and beams; a Dutch painter cannot ignore these elementary facts. Even if it has become a convention, as for this collaborator of the Soudenbalch Master, it is assimilated into the pictorial vocabulary of the Dutch miniaturists, whereas their foreign colleagues are generally unconscious of its importance. THE LAST

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The luxury that characterized the manuscripts illustrated by the Soudenbalch Master hardly survived the third quarter of the fifteenth century; from this point of view Dutch manuscripts can no longer sustain comparison with those of the southern provinces. The change of power from Philip the Good to his son Charles the Bold does not seem to have had any good effect on this aspect of artistic creation. The last twenty years of Philip's reign were rather peaceful, whereas Charles started with a new political program and ideas of having revenge on the French crown. Thus greater financial demands as well as a growing centralization of the States of Burgundy in the south may have slowed the production of de luxe manuscripts in the north. At this time, too, the art of printing was rapidly spreading throughout western Europe; virtually all texts ceased to be handwritten, but were printed; liturgical and prayer books were the last to remain in 'manuscript' form. Some pages cut from a Book of Hours (Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Douce 381) show hardly any characteristics of their Dutch execution. A page representing St. Barbara (fol. 85, fig. 109) is little different from what was done in the Flemish workshops, except perhaps that around 1470 the southern miniaturists did not use so strong a color scheme.87 The Walters Art Gallery (MS 182) has a small Book of Hours painted by the same collaborator of the Soudenbalch Master (whose work is reproduced in figs. 107, 108). The subject matter of the miniatures is not worthy of mention, but the backgrounds are exceptional. Dorothy Miner drew my attention to two pages of this book, in which the Dutch tradition is still strong.88 The Adoration of the Magi (fol. 54V, fig. no) is a good but not particularly beautiful representation of that theme. In contrast, the minuscule landscape at the top on the right is a little gem. The slanted tree, which looks like a silver birch and is apparently growing on the bank of the moat that surrounds the town, is a very unconventional nature study. The bushes and greenery along the roadside have an impressionist quality which denotes the artist's rare feeling for the exterior world. 87 This page and a few others are fragments of a Book of Hours that have been put together with pages of many other manuscripts in Douce 381. It is for this reason that they escaped the attention of A. W . Byvanck, who has seen nearly all the Dutch manuscripts in existence. They are probably the work of the Master of the London Passionary, a collaborator of the Soudenbalch Master. About this miniaturist, see P. J. H. Vermeeren, 'Het Passyonael van den Heyligen in het Brits Museum te Londen (MS Add. 18162),' in Het Boek, x x x i n (1959), pp. 1 9 3 - 2 1 0 . 1 am very grateful to Dr. Vermeeren for this information. 88 For the stylistic appreciation of this manuscript, see Miner, op. cit., pp. 76f.

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The landscape behind King David is very different, yet it is the result of the same artistic attitude (fol. 8ov, fig. i n ) . David himself is certainly not the best part of the picture; monumental and stiff, he kneels on an unrealistic knoll. The mountains in the background are just as artificial, but the rest of the landscape is a microcosm analyzed to the last detail. The whole countryside is alive with people, and the sea is covered with boats of various kinds; the island, dominated by a huge castle, is painted in great detail also, and it is difficult to choose what to admire most, the depth and relief of the various buildings or the vegetation growing next to the walls. N o other Dutch miniaturist handled his brush with such minuteness, even though some of them loved to paint subtle backgrounds. A scene of the Crucifixion (Oxford, Bodleian Library, M S Douce 30, fol. 47V, fig. 1 1 2 ) also belongs in the group of tiny manuscripts that contain exquisite landscapes comparable with those in the Baltimore manuscripts.89 Behind the many figures that take part in the Crucifixion, a common subject here banally rendered, is a landscape that probably was not copied from nature, but which nevertheless has a rare accent of authenticity. At the same period, around 1470, Flemish manuscripts began to contain miniatures characterized by a realistic atmosphere, but in the north miniaturists had been creating realistic landscapes for some decades. The next two manuscripts to be considered are both exceptionally original, though one is rather unostentatious and the other was executed in a more deliberately luxurious style. Only the second is dated, 1475, but chronologically the other manuscript very probably comes first, though I do not think there is a great difference between them in time. The more modest of the manuscripts is not properly a Book of Hours, but a prayer book, a book of devotion for Holy Week, illustrated by unusual miniatures. The two subjects described here never occur in the cycle of the Passion that generally illustrates the Hours of the Virgin in Dutch Books of Hours.90 The scene called Ecce Homo (fol. 26V, fig. 1 1 3 ) represents Pilate harassed by the Jews but still trying to save Jesus, when he presents him to the mob with the well-known criminal Barabbas, in the hope that Jesus will be chosen and so escape death. The Jews are shouting with conviction the name of their choice; the facial types and expressions are a foretaste of those that Hieronymus Bosch would introduce into his paintings a few decades later. If we are uncertain of the name they shout, w e have only to look at Jesus and Barabbas. Jesus looks sadly surprised, whereas the criminal is rather pleased; Pilate is disconcerted. The technique of this miniature is elementary and rather caricatural, but magnificently expressive. It is the reaction of a simple-minded miniaturist, who represents the scene as he understands it, and that is why his picture is probably the most lively of all those 89

Description in Byvanck and Hoogewerff, op. cit., 70. See William H. Robinson Ltd.'s Catalogue 83 (London, 1953), pp. 136-138; I want to thank Mr. P. R . Robinson, the owner of the manuscript, for his information. 90

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which have reproduced this theme. His eyes and his sensibility were exceptionally receptive. Another detail in the same scene proves this in a rather unexpected way. In the building behind Christ and Barabbas, there are people looking through the windows; their faces seem to be slightly blurred by the glass while the farthest one is hardly visible.91 The contrast between this subtle observation and the rather crude technique of the painter is significant. T o my mind, Peter's denial (fol. i8v, fig. 114) is better still. The composition is simpler— nothing more than the essential actors in one of the palace rooms. A soldier is just popping in to put the maid on her guard against the man who is with her, because he believes he has seen him with that Jesus who has been arrested, and about w h o m the whole palace must be talking. Evidently he is quite satisfied with himself, and the maid is not a little surprised. Poor Peter, represented with bare feet, is at least embarrassed. Evidently weak-willed, he starts denying that he ever had known the Galilean. At that moment the cock crew; so naturally a rooster is represented perched on the wall above, to complete the sequence. There is something pathetic in the simplicity with which the drama is painted. Moreover, it is not the first time that there is evidence of a love for representing the unadorned surfaces of walls. Finally, the rare presence of a broom not only helps to identify the subject but also imparts a homely, domestic atmosphere. Needless to say, the Dutch intimisme of the seventeenth century is already present in this little picture. The last manuscript is called the Hours of Homoet because it contains the arms of Reynalt von Homoet and a mark of ownership of his wife Mary. 92 The Hours were very little known until 1945, when they were recovered among the art treasures collected by the Germans. The manuscript circulated among dealers for some time, and is now in the Wallraf-Richartz Museum in Cologne. Dr. Paul Pieper in his long and detailed analysis of the manuscript localizes its execution in Arnhem, that is, in Guelders, though he recognizes that Utrecht must have influenced the style of books made farther east. He considers the Hours to be an early work of the Bartholomaeus Master, who later painted in Cologne, but who had previously made a panel for the cathedral at Arnhem. Furthermore, the Homoet family lived in Guelders. Although the style of the miniatures is rather different from that of Utrecht, the dependence of the Homoet Hours on what was done in that town can be proved by the similarity of the marginal decoration in this manuscript and that of the Hours of Mary van Vronensteyn 91 A very similar composition appears in a painting attributed to the Master of the Virgin Among Virgins, now in the Art Institute of Chicago. Other work by the same miniaturist can be found in another earlier Dutch Book of Hours in the collection of M. Joseph Blondeau exhibited at the Royal Library in Brussels in 1958 (Les richesses de la bibliophilie beige, pi. 9, where the manuscript is erroneously dated 1430). 91 Paul Pieper has published a long study of this manuscript with many reproductions and also some comparative material concerning the Bartholomaeus Master, in his article, 'Das Stundenbuch des Bartholomäus-Meisters,' Wallraf-Richartz Jahrbuch x x i (1959), PP- 97-158-

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(figs. 102-108). The manuscript acquired by Cologne is said to be dated 1475. At that period the marginal decorations of books change: the acanthus leaves that used to be the dominant element in the decoration, and were painted on the parchment itself, are replaced by other ornaments, such as flowers and fruit, or both the old and the new motives may be painted on golden or monochrome backgrounds. The same phenomenon was happening in France and in the southern as well as in the northern Low Countries.93 But 1475 was still a period of transition and we can find both techniques in the same book. The Homoet Hours falls in this category. Among the pages with borders in the old style, the Nativity (p. 224, fig. 115) is set in a frame of colorful, complex, and tortuous yet elegant scrolls of acanthus, as used in the Vronensteyn Hours (fig. 102). Borders in the new style, with motives set against monochrome backgrounds, can be seen in figures 117 and 118. This representation of the Nativity appears mannered in comparison with the three following reproductions of pages that illustrate the Passion of Christ.94 Like many paintings at the end of the fifteenth century, the whole scene looks artificial, particularly the stable, in spite of the presence of birds on the roof and on the beams; the maids are dressed up like great ladies, and Joseph is in an impossible attitude for sleeping. Only the faces ofJoseph and Mary look natural. Fortunately the palette is so dazzling that it makes us forget the many weaknesses of this page. The Flagellation (p. 90, fig. 116) is perhaps the most gruesome picture of this scene that exists. The completely naked body ofJesus is suspended from the capital of the column, and is exposed to the brutality of his executioners. The attitudes and even more the faces are the best part of this tragic miniature. The vulgarity of the features manifests the cruelty of their souls. The clothing is very realistic, without the superfluous folds that surround the body of Mary in the Nativity. If both pages are by the same artist, they show a rather uncommon versatility of style. The human types are so true to life that we feel that we have seen similar people around us; the short but rather corpulent man with a broad face is the most individualized of all.95 The Crowning with Thorns (p. 102, fig. 118), which is at the same time also a mocking of Christ, is more cruel than any other known miniature dealing with this theme. The torturers are not the same as those in the previous picture, but they enjoy their dismal function just as much. The man behind Christ has a snarl on his face, whereas the person kneeling at his feet makes a vulgar gesture to make sure that there is no misunderstanding about the real meaning of what he does. The painter has managed to give Christ the same 93

T h i s change in the decoration is particularly evident in Flemish b o o k illumination w h e r e it is accompanied b y important

stylistic innovations; see Délaissé, La miniature flamande, p. 183. 94

A similar observation was made concerning the H o u r s o f Catherine o f C l e v e s . See a b o v e , p. 38.

95

T h i s v e r y t y p e o f face had already been used in a miniature o f the C a r r y i n g o f the Cross in an earlier manuscript, but,

since the place o f its e x e c u t i o n is debatable, it w i l l be dealt w i t h after the D u t c h style has b e e n analyzed and defined.

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features throughout the whole set of miniatures, though here they are not as twisted with suffering as they were in the Flagellation. Another act of the Passion is no less horrible. As Jesus struggles to carry his cross (p. 124, fig. 117) someone hits him on the side with a stick, another pulls his hair and strikes him on the head, while Simon does not seem to put much heart into his assistance. One can see that Christ is at the limit of his endurance and ready to collapse. We have seen how emotional expression has progressively been intensified in the miniatures of the Dutch artists, but here we have reached a sort of climax, an exaggeration, a seeking out of what is horrible, which may not quite fall into the Dutch tradition as we have seen it up to now. In this review of miniatures that have generally been considered as Dutch, we can detect some characteristics that are shared by all of them. When our analysis of Dutch style is done, it will be easier to judge if any among these illuminated manuscripts do not fit entirely into this tradition. The Homoet Hours may be one of them, because of its hyperrealism in which there seems to be an intention to exaggerate the expression of sentiment. Stylistic differences of this kind might have been introduced by an artist of foreign origin with other aesthetic values. They might also be offshoots from the main tradition, either an unsuccessful departure that did not survive locally or, on the contrary, the source of an enrichment, or at least a change in the regional style.

53

CHAPTER

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III

STYLE

Although the present book is not a complete survey of Dutch illumination, enough material has been gathered in the previous chapter to enable us to draw some conclusions, to detect some common values, and to establish some aesthetic characteristics. There is no problem of localizing works of art that have been analyzed in the preceding chapters; all were made in the region of the Lower Rhine. But it would be unscientific to conclude without further evidence that we now know what Dutch style is. One must not conclude too hastily that if a work of art has been made in a specific place it reflects the style of that milieu, or pass too easily from the localization of its execution to the localization of its style. An occasional manuscript or painting that is known to have been made in a particular town might be the work of a traveling artisan or artist and therefore would not fall into the local aesthetic tradition. It is then a unicum to which can be opposed contemporary works of art of a very different aesthetic merit, and thus its particular style should not be localized in the place where the manuscript was made; the art historian must then try to discover another region in which the production has qualities similar to the work of art in question. In other words, 'made in Holland' does not necessarily mean 'in Dutch style.' A very good example of the need for this distinction is the famous astrological treatise of Albumasar in the Pierpont Morgan Library. 1 It was perhaps made in Bruges before 1403 at the request of Luprecht Auschilt, the abbot of Eeckhout monastery, but no other manuscript of this town, either before or after this date, shows an equivalently daring approach to this iconography, which appears in other copies of the text but never in so lively a form/ Fortunately this doubt can easily be resolved where Dutch manuscript illumination is concerned. In the manuscripts that we have selected we can discover a great variety of artistic merits. Some of them, for instance, the very characteristic vision and rendering of man as 1 MS 785, given in 1403 to Jean, due de Berry; see Erwin Panofsky, Early Netherlandish Painting (Cambridge, Mass., 1953), pp. ioóff. 2 That a text of this nature was exchanged between a prelate and a prince indubitably reveals an interest in science uncommon for the time, and is probably one of the first manifestations in the West of the new Humanism. It might indicate that Auschilt was a member of that select group of Europeans who participated in this movement. The cosmopolitan character of the group might help to explain the atypical style of the miniatures.

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he is, are shared b y m a n y miniaturists or schools; others are n o t so c o m m o n l y encountered but arc peculiar to a m a n or a w o r k s h o p , like the earthy feeling for the soil in the miniatures o f the Master o f Z w e d e r v a n C u l e m b o r g . B u t all these qualities s h o w a deep sensibility in regard to the visible aspects o f nature; they are the m a n y facets o f an artistic disposition that is c o m m o n to all these painters : a p r o f o u n d receptivity to the w o r l d around them. Receptivity is too negative a w o r d ; l o v e must be added to it, f o r o n l y that can explain the beauty o f these pictures.

STYLISTIC

A N D

TECHNICAL

CHARACTERISTICS

T h e best stylistic analysis in recent years o f D u t c h manuscript illumination is undoubtedly contained in D o r o t h y Miner's article in the Connoisseur Yearbook (1955) in w h i c h she introduces the reader to the b o o k s produced in the northern L o w Countries that are n o w preserved in the collections o f the Walters A r t Gallery in Baltimore. T h e individual characteristics o f each miniaturist are correctly examined and beautifully described, but not all aspects o f D u t c h illumination are represented in that collection. Since Miss Miner's publication does not pretend to be more than a survey o f these manuscripts, w e cannot expect to find in it a general panorama o f the school. In spite o f its limitations in scope, this article marks great progress in relation to its predecessors, even those b y D u t c h scholars, t o w a r d the assertion o f the originality and importance o f D u t c h manuscript illumination. Her study is the first, to m y k n o w l e d g e , w h i c h is n o t c o n stantly overshadowed b y comparisons w i t h contemporary

or earlier panel painting.

Neither does she turn incessantly to Flemish illumination for an explanation. She maintains an attitude o f exceptional objectivity in presenting material that she obviously loves deeply. 3 Nevertheless, w i t h the help o f manuscripts f r o m other collections and b y contrast w i t h the illuminated b o o k s o f the southern L o w Countries, it is possible, in m y opinion, to be m o r e affirmative about this v e r y characteristic f o r m o f art. O n w h a t Miss M i n e r quite rightly calls a v i e w o f the Z u i d e r Z e e (fig. 30), she writes: ' T h e simplicity and forthrightness o f the presentation is remarkable. N o fantastic or inherited convention o f islands or trees is introduced to g i v e picturesqueness to this austere vista o f the sea and the sky o f Holland.' 4 N o equivalent seascape is k n o w n at that time, or even later, except in the T u r i n - M i l a n Hours. 5 E v e n if these additions to Jean de Berry's Hours w e r e b y V a n E y c k before 1425, it still remains extraordinary that, as early as 1430, some D u t c h ' This, unfortunately, does not mean that Miss M i n e r will agree with m y hypothèse de travail as it is presented here, but in any case I am most thankful to her because her deep understanding o f the subject and her enthusiastic love for it have been a great encouragement to me. 4

D . Miner, ' D u t c h Illuminated Manuscripts in the Walters Art Gallery,' The Connoisseur Yearbook, 1 9 5 s , pp. 73-74-

' See Paul Durrieu, Les Heures de Turin (Paris, 1 9 0 2 ) , pi. x x x v i i , and the illustrated works on the Eyckian problem.

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miniaturist represented the sea with such a rare feeling for its depth, its life, and its color. For representations of the countryside, Miss Miner did not find the best examples in her manuscripts. From this point of view, the breviary of Reinald IV of Guelders (figs. 20-27), slightly earlier than the missal in Baltimore, contains miniatures that are as exceptional as views of the land, as the seascape just described. In the Carrying of the Cross (fig. 27), behind the conventional rock that all European schools introduced into their pictures, the background is filled with the complex silhouette of a town. The diverse aspects of this minute picture have already been analyzed at length. It has been praised as a unicum in the history of landscape, because in this case it cannot be explained by Van Eyck's work. Never did the great master use so impressionistic a technique. If we compare it with the TurinMilan Hours, we must admit that there is no parallel between the two paintings. The Baptism of Christ in the Museo Civico fragment6 is a thorough pictorial analysis of what reality could be, whereas here we have an imaginative evocation of a Dutch town toward which a river is flowing. In the same Morgan Library manuscript we find another landscape, which is very different from this one with the infinite horizon against which the complexity of a town is minutely suggested. The space behind the scene of the Entombment is narrow (fig. 22); cliffs covered with grass, undergrowth, and trees encircle the scene and stop the eye, yet the picture is as exceptional as the previous one, but this time for the material rendering of earth and plants. The trees are particularly striking because of naturalistic distribution of branches and foliage; they are not merely patches of color analyzed in detail, like Van Eyck's trees, here light filters through them. This result is obtained not by copying nature but, to use Miss Miner's expression, 'by competent impressionism.' Therefore, when this master of landscape does not show himself at his best, I do not think he is just adopting technical tricks like those used by the Franco-Flemish miniaturists; he is simply more casual. Even these less good landscapes have an atmosphere. In contrast, the French miniaturists are driven to compose artificial landscapes; they patch together hills, trees, houses, and a church to give the illusion of nature, though they are generally not sensitive to the landscape as a whole. The trend toward naturalism required them to replace the checkered backgrounds by a sky and undulating ground, so they painted them, but they were not interested in nature, and Flanders, much influenced by the south during the first half of the century, was hardly more so. The landscape in French miniatures is imported either from the north or from the south, and when the contacts with those two centers stop, all progress comes to an end too. From that point of view the vacuum left in Paris in 1416, after the death of the Limbourg Brothers, is symptomatic; not only did progress stop, but there was a regression. These entirely new 6

See ibid., pi. x x , and many books on Flemish or Netherlandish painting.

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landscapes never opened the eyes o f the French collaborators of these masters; they were not even copied. W i t h regard to the sky as an element of the landscape, w e o w e to Miss Miner an accurate observation of a miniature representing the Calling of Peter (fig. 30) in which one can recognize the heavy cloudy sky as it often appears over the N o r t h Sea. The painting of clouds so early in the century is certainly uncommon. W h e r e else do w e find them so suggestively adapted to the landscape that they dominate ? 7 The exceptional feeling of Dutch craftsmen for landscape is confirmed b y their interiors. In other centers of illumination, an indoor scene is generally pictured in a church or chapel, sometimes resembling the quiet corner o f an ambulatory. One also finds, but more seldom, lay buildings which, in Paris for instance, sometimes have Italian Unes rather than the western Gothic style. In a pen drawing o f the Birth of Moses (fig. 43), the unsophisticated representation of a bedroom, with its beams and the open door at which the father appears, is as truly a scène de genre as arc many paintings made in Holland during the seventeenth century; but the miniature is in a Bible that probably must not be dated later than 1430. 8 Some interiors are even more original, for the Dutch miniaturists dared to picture an unadorned square room, with a w i n d o w in one wall. The Master of Z w e d e r van Culemborg painted one in the breviary of Reinald of Guelders (fig. 2 1 ) toward 1430, and the Master of Catherine of Cleves another in the B o o k of Hours which must have been made around 1440 (fig. 79). The surface of these plain walls is not flat and dull, but seems to be alive with light; this is certainly not an accident, for the same care is visible in a minuscule miniature of 1460 (fig. 107). This naked r o o m with its simple walls represents, in m y opinion, the most subtle manifestation of Dutch sensitivity toward reality. Again w e cannot find a comparable treatment in panel painting so early in the century. T h e attempts of the northern miniaturists to transpose landscapes and architecture into their pictures are far f r o m perfect and were unequally successful. The results were attained not b y applying rules or principles, as their Italian colleagues did, but b y experience. This contrast between northern and southern art is c o m m o n knowledge, and it is usually on that 7

The clouds of Van Eyck, though much more realistic than those of his contemporaries, are nevertheless conventional. One other miniature, to my knowledge, also has an exceptional sky: Judas' Betrayal in the Turin-Milan Hours (ibid., pi. xv), where the moon is partially hidden behind the clouds. 8 The only similar setting, albeit of a superior quality, is that of the Birth of St. John, fol. 93 of the Milan fragment, now preserved in the Museo Civico of Turin (Hulin de Loo, Les Heures de Milan [Brussels, 1911], pl. xx). A few miniatures painted in the workshop of the Boucicaut Master (e.g., the Birth of St. John, Bourges, Bibliothèque municipale, MS 34, fol. 46V, reproduced in Panofsky, op. cit., fig. 71) show that the artist was similarly interested in the details of an interior setting; but these paintings reveal a refinement demanded by the milieu in which they were produced. They remind us of some Italian Trecento paintings, in which the realistic details are absorbed into an idealized setting, and which for that reason are deprived of the intimiste quality of the northern miniatures. In the Boucicaut workshop, these few examples, which might also have been influenced by the north, were exceptional and were not followed up. Like the landscapes of the Limbourg Brothers, they disappeared from French manuscript illumination.

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ground, among others, that w e differentiate Italian and Flemish painters. In manuscript illumination, at any rate, the Dutch seem to have had a deeper vision of the exterior world and to have rendered it more authentically, yet in a more humble way. In the miniatures of the north the details are not separated f r o m the essentials, as indeed they are not separated in actuality. The unity o f the landscape is equivalent to the intimacy o f an interior setting; each has an atmosphere that the artist must be able to communicate through his painting. All the elements o f the picture must combine to give the impression o f a true experience, but for this the setting is not enough; the people living in it are even more important. As could be expected, the Dutch miniaturists represented man with the same fidelity that w e have observed in this rendering o f the exterior world. Let us analyze more deeply this manifestation o f their naturalism. As the human aspect is complex, our observations will be divided for the sake o f clarity into three parts: type, action, and expression. The variety of types found in the works o f the Dutch miniaturists is astonishing; yet they all have something in common, a human quality. They are not stereotyped puppets, neither idealized nor made more vulgar, neither lifeless nor exuberant; they are simple human beings. M a n y factors contributed to this result. Evidently the pictorial technique, which consists in 'building up the form in paint' 9 and stopping only when the result is satisfactory, offers many more possibilities than the conventional linear style, in which the details o f the surface are neatly drawn and separately colored. Even so, the most subtle handling o f the brush could never portray the much greater complexity in tonality o f the real objects. In spite o f the variety in body structure and facial features, each artist prefers a certain human type. The range o f the pattern naturally varies a great deal from one artist to another. T h e Soudenbalch Master, w h o likes a small type o f man with rather angular face and sharp nose (figs. 91-99, 101-105), makes use o f a wider range o f figures than the Zweder Master, w h o generally portrays heavier bodies. But first the pattern itself has proportions and physiognomy that give the whole a real human likeness; moreover, within each pattern is a large number o f variants that seem to correspond to the actual diversity among human beings. M a n y types are so common that they seem to fall into everyone's experience. Therefore it would be w r o n g to speak o f a Dutch formula for the representation o f man, even if each miniaturist kept more or less rigidly to the type he chose. It is simply that the Dutch miniaturists have a more objective approach to reality and so naturally depict human bodies and faces as they are, with their individuality, their misery, and their beauty. The pathetically ugly and suffering face o f Christ on the Cross (fig. 29) and the coquettish though anxious expression o f Pilate's wife (fig. 105) reveal an equally penetrating understanding o f human nature.

9

Miner, op. cit., p. 67.

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Miss Miner used another very suggestive expression, 'energy of narrative,' in her characterization of some miniatures in the manuscripts preserved in the "Walters Art Gallery at Baltimore. This could be applied to the illustration of many of the Dutch books: the really human beings who fill these pictures are deeply involved in their various activities. Perhaps the characteristic shared by the largest number of Dutch miniaturists, even by the less gifted ones, is sincerity in the portrayal of human actions. The most conventional iconographies, those that appear over and over again particularly in Books of Hours, nearly always have vitality. Everywhere in Europe, particularly from the beginning of the fifteenth century, attitudes of the body and gestures of the limbs are used to enliven the miniatures and describe the action pictorially, but generally they are stiff and angular, either exaggerated or expressionless. The craftsmen manage to convey the idea, but seldom seem to be sensitive to the reality of the movements they paint. Some of the best Burgundian miniaturists of the second half of the fifteenth century, even one as charming as Jean Le Tavcrnier, 10 cannot from this point of view, sustain comparison with the Zweder Master (figs. 20-35), particularly in his scene of the departure of Joseph from Mary (fig. 23). But one pen drawing by the Master of Catherine of Cleves in the Munich Bible (fig. 45) is even superior to any other miniature; very probably it deserves to be considered the most powerful drawing of the fifteenth century in northern Europe. Yet let us not forget that superb group of Jews, also a pen drawing, done thirty years earlier (fig. 38). These pictures are selected cases, but many others are nearly as vividly expressive of movement, and prove the Dutch artists' rare sensitivity to life. The three miniaturists who have just been mentioned must be appreciated for more than their accuracy in depicting action. The attitudes and gestures also express emotions that are sometimes visible on the faces of the persons portrayed. The sad disbelief ofJoseph concerning Mary's fidelity is less visible on his good peasant's face than in the disengaging movement of his arm by which he shows his refusal to listen to the angel's explanation (fig. 23). Peter's denial is even richer in the subtle reactions of all the actors of the scene, in spite of its crude technique (fig. 114). At the opposite extreme we have the refined painter of the Judgment of Pilate (fig. 105) and the tragic Bartholonraeus Master in the Homoet Hours (figs. 1 1 5 - 1 1 8 ) . Not only did Dutch manuscript illumination go deeper than other contemporary schools in the perception of reality; it went beyond them. It was not always satisfied with the exterior aspects of nature. The caricatural quality of some miniatures was certainly not the inadvertent result of lack of skill. It shows a conscious choice of subject and reveals the subtle intention of the artist. Grotesque faces coexist with very refined human representations 10 Particularly in the three volumes of the Chroniques et conquêtes de Charlemagne, Brussels, Bibliothèque royale, M S S 90669068, reproduced in facsimile b y J . V a n den Gheyn, Cronicques et conquestes de Charlemaine (Brussels, 1909).

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(figs. 49-51), and in later miniatures such as Peter's denial (fig. 114) the conflict of emotions in the different actors seems to be ironically enjoyed by the miniaturist. He does not simply want to represent reality, but to make sure that we understand it. For that reason he emphasizes the elements that give greater meaning to his picture. To stress the sensitivity of the Dutch miniaturist to the exterior world and his ability to represent human beings in the complexity of their emotions more naturally and earlier than had been done in other schools is not enough. It misses a more important characteristic which is apparent in many pictures, not only in the best ones, and which has a deeper significance. In spite of undeniable weaknesses, a number of Dutch miniatures have a quality of sincerity and homogeneity that is seldom found elsewhere. The physical unity between the elements of the picture is not sufficient to explain that quality; the word 'atmosphere' is more adequate, but to understand it we must think of seventeenth-century panel painting in Holland, where this characteristic is more apparent. If the works of those painters were a mere juxtaposition of perfectly rendered details, they would be soulless; but they are animated by life, and that is precisely the quality that a number of Dutch miniaturists began to express at the beginning of the fifteenth century. To summarize all the aspects of artistic expression in northern book illumination: the miniatures are not mere iconographies but reflect the personal reaction of the artists, who drew from lively experience anything that could help them in the realistic interpretation of a theme. With this wealth of artistic creation the Dutch miniaturists displayed remarkable audacity in the technical domain of painting. The northern artists, who lived where light is softer than in other parts of Europe, naturally used a richer and subtler palette. From this point of view the reproductions in this book cannot reveal the daring creation, the brilliance or incredible refinement in color of some of these miniatures. The choice of pigments and the originality in their mixture would be an interesting subject for research and might demonstrate the inventiveness of the Dutch miniaturists; but the variety of the processes used is, in my view, as important as the art of using the colors. Pen drawings, grisaille in gouache, and grisaille in silverpoint, with a great variation in touches of color, plus the usual pigments, all were tried by the Dutch miniaturists around 1430. Some books are illustrated in a single medium, others in a variety of techniques. The division of illustrations among those diverse processes often corresponds to the gatherings of the manuscripts. During the first half of the fifteenth century, different techniques were more frequently combined in Dutch manuscripts than anywhere else, probably because the patronage in that part of Europe was not so powerful and exacting as in Paris or the States of Burgundy. More freedom was left to the Dutch craftsmen and resulted in 60

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greater spontaneity. It is interesting to speculate on what would have happened to the development of Dutch illumination if it had had as educated but tyrannical a patron as the king of France, Charles V. Still, technically, the greatest merit of the Dutch miniaturist was the art of using the brush to achieve pictorial quality. W e have seen the subtlety of brush strokes in the modeling of Alexander's face, in a Bible dated as early as 1403 (fig. 3). About some miniatures in M S 1 7 1 at Baltimore, which were probably finished before December, 1404, Dorothy Miner writes:

outlines have disappeared entirely and everything is established by building up

the form in paint, working from the darkest tones to the highlights which are applied last... One may well find such a technique precocious, if one considers the mannered, still lineared style of Flanders and France.' 11 The enlargement of the head of Christ (fig. 8), which in the original is only slightly larger than a square inch, gives us the opportunity of analyzing the delicate handling of the brush. Yet what an inexpensive manuscript this copy of the Treatise on the Christian Faith is in comparison with the luxurious manuscripts that were made in Paris at the time! These are not the only examples that deserve exact and laudatory appreciation. The same can be said of many later miniatures. The art of the Zweder Master is essentially that of a painter and he is more entitled than any other Dutch miniaturist to be praised for his astonishing use of the brush. The Soudenbalch Master also worked in that tradition, though to a slighdy less degree. As no other school in contemporary Europe is so pictorial, it is possible that Dutch miniaturists were often in contact with painters if they were not painters themselves. Such a hypothesis might help to solve some problems of attribution and particularly to answer the perennial question of iconographic exchanges between early Netherlandish panel paintings and Dutch miniatures.12 CONTINUITY The miniatures made in Holland present under a remarkable diversity of forms an exceptional love for the things of nature as they are. This characteristic alone would enable us to speak of a very individualized style that can be called Dutch and safely applied to all Dutch illumination. The continuity of that aesthetic expression, also, permits us to isolate geographically this artistic formula. For nearly a century, from the time when illuminated manuscripts were made in Holland in the fourteenth century until the end of the fifteenth century, the Dutch miniaturists manifest the same sensitivity. 11

Miner, op. tit., pp. 67, 68.

11

It is particularly in relation to the Turin-Milan Hours that this exchange is so significant.

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The word 'continuity' might be misleading if we did not interpret it in a progressive sense. There is a great difference between the rendering of the fountain in 1404 (fig. 4) and the stone walls and arch of Pilate's palace painted in 1460 (fig. 105), but both, either in an elementary or in a more subtle fashion, depict the object itself. The rough picture of 1404 is relatively more advanced for its time, particularly since it comes from an unpretentious manuscript, than the later miniature, which illustrates a very rich book. The same can be said of the representation of Alexander, the only illustration in the Bible of 1403 (fig. 3), and the wife of Pilate in the miniaturejust mentioned. Here, however, if the crude but expressive figure of the Greek hero makes the too-polished faces of the Boucicaut Master in Paris look like marionettes, the feminine type for Pilate's wife is superior to similar representations, anywhere in western Europe. So there is progress in the stylistic development of Dutch manuscript illumination, but not continuous progress. The political life of this part of Europe was very disturbed. Philip the Good made his power felt much more strongly than did the German emperor. He was also a usurper, as he had acquired the county of Holland and the bishopric of Utrecht, which had been virtually independent previously. Later, in 1473, Charles the Bold even annexed the duchy of Guelders. The production of books must have been affected by these events, but, if my interpretation is correct, only in the luxury of execution and not in the aesthetic qualities of illustration. Some very humble manuscripts, such as the Bible of 1439 (figs. 45-48), play as vital a part in the panorama of Dutch book illumination as the Soudenbalch Bible in Vienna (figs. 91-98). However, in the period between the two books, David of Burgundy, one of Philip the Good's many natural sons, received the episcopal throne of Utrecht. A new phase in the art of the book seems to have begun approximately then, for we have a f e w manuscripts preserved from around that time which show greater luxury than their immediate predecessors. Thus Holland was not subjected to the abrupt changes that affected the southern L o w Countries around 1450, when everything was being discovered at once: a new literary movement, a new type of book, and, more evidently still, a new type of illustration. In the north, the art of the book developed more regularly, within the same pattern as well as with the same basic qualities, and was influenced only superficially by the political and economic crisis. Let us try to analyze a little more deeply the development of style in Dutch manuscripts. At first sight it looks as if, after the middle of the fifteenth century, we no longer find the magnificent landscapes that were painted earlier; yet, although the sense of landscape is no longer the same, the later representations are not necessarily inferior to the earlier ones. The same trend can also be observed in panel painting at approximately the same period. Van Eyck began the school of Bruges, but did his followers improve on him ? D o we have in the fifteenth century another landscape displaying the sense of unity of the Baptism of Christ 62

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in the Turin-Milan Hours ? 13 The enthusiasm of discovery—here it was in the depiction of the exterior world—explains, at least partly, any unexpected progress in the domain of art. In any event, it was another type of landscape that was developing in manuscript illumination in the northern L o w Countries. Isolated, the background of the Carrying of the Cross in the Morgan manuscript of c. 1430 (fig. 27), by the Zweder Master, is beyond comparison, but it has nothing to do with the main composition. The Soudenbalch Master in 1460 gave more unity to his miniatures (fig. 97). There is an easier progression from the foreground, through the middle, into the background. Furthermore, the different elements of the landscape are more realistically depicted than the impressionist silhouette of a town, incomparable as it is, by the Zweder Master. The progressive enrichment of Dutch illumination can be more easily appreciated from the point of view of the analysis of the human being and his soul. From the death of Emperor Alexander of 1403 (fig. 3), to the departure of Joseph by the Zweder Master around 1430 (fig. 23), to the Judgment of Pilate of 1460 (fig. 105), to the Crowning with Thorns of 1475 (fig. 117), and to Peter's denial (fig. 114), equally accomplished although not dated, great progress was made. All these miniatures show the same consciousness of human life and emotion; progressively the artists seem to delve more deeply into them and to analyze them more thoroughly. For the same reason they also made impressive progress in the portrayal of the human face, although the achievements of each epoch in that domain seem consistently ahead of other schools. From this point of view the succession of the masters of Zweder van Culemborg, of Catherine of Cleves, and of Evert van Soudenbalch is highly convincing. ORIGINALITY T o appraise the originality of Dutch manuscript illumination, we must contrast it with the styles used in other parts of western Europe, on the condition that, here again, we refer to the main currents, traditional in those milieus, and not to individual works that do not fit into the well-established trends. Such a demonstration would need a larger iconographic documentation than is possible in a volume of this size. W e are limited to generalities, unfortunately too theoretical; beyond that, the reader may consult the works specializing in the various national styles. T w o schools must be differentiated from the Dutch one: those of its immediate neighbors—the southern L o w Countries, or Flanders; and the region of Cologne, with Westphalia. The already strong classicism in Italy, the weakening linear tradition in England, the refined mannerism in France are too different to be taken into consideration, 13 See Hulin de Loo, Les Hemes de Milan, pi. x x . Whoever the artist of this miniature may be, no scholar has dated it after 1450.

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although the mannerism of France was felt throughout the whole of western Europe. In the southern Low Countries the production of illuminated manuscripts during the first half of the fifteenth century was dominated by two anonymous masters, the Master of Guillebert de Mets and the Master of the Gold Scrolls.14 The former shows originality in the borders of some of his books, where he paints naturalistic flowers and sometimes lovely grotesques (fig. 119). But this fantasy in the margins is uncommon among Flemish manuscripts and does not reappear until later, after 1460. The Gold Scrolls Master does not even have that peculiarity (fig. 120). Neither of the two miniaturists created any striking iconography that could be compared to those of their Dutch colleagues. They are also less inventive in technique, although their work came slightly after the period when Dutch craftsmen were trying different types of media. The Master of the Privileges of Ghent15 was less conventional in his palette than the other two Flemish miniaturists; but one wonders if his special color scheme, with a dominant blue, is not pure archaism, since in 145 316 he is still painting dark blue skies dotted with stars over his unrealistic landscapes, which the Master of the Boucicaut Hours in Paris had already abandoned by 1410. Even if these questions of iconography and technique are debatable, the three principal Flemish miniaturists or styles of illumination17 never displayed the humble naturalism of the contemporary craftsmen of the northern provinces. In the new States of Burgundy, when the court began to show its interest in luxury books, the new style of miniatures was not oriented toward the realistic vision and rendering of the exterior world. Yet, around 1450, Flemish illumination very nearly did choose that direction. A few remarkable minatures such as the frontispiece of the Chroniques de Hainau t,n the frontispiece miniature of Jean Chevrot's City of God,19 and some pages of the Llangattock 14 Concerning these two masters see Friedrich Winkler, Die flämische Buchmalerei (Leipzig, 1925), pp. z$S., 29ft; C. Gaspar and F. Lyna, Les principaux manuscrits à peintures... (Paris, 1947), II, pis. c x x v - c x x i x ; and L. M. J . Délaissé, La miniatureflamande, le mécénat de Philippe le Bon, catalogue of the exhibition held in Brussels, Amsterdam, and Paris, 1959. Unfortunately, there are few reproductions of the works of these masters because they are of little importance. 15 He illustrated M S 2583 in the Nationalbibliothek in Vienna, which contains a collection of privileges of the town of Ghent; see Délaissé, ibid., No. 244. 16 The last document copied is an addition illustrated by the same hand and dated 1453. 17 The miniatures grouped under the name of each of these masters are not the work of one man, but of his collaborators and even of other craftsmen who adopted his style. 18 Brussels, Bibliothèque royale, MS 9242, fol. 1, one of the most frequently reproduced of the medieval miniatures, and lately in color in L. M. J. Délaissé, Miniatures médiévales (Cologne, 1959), no. 27. The miniature dates from 1448 or 1449, certainly after both the transcription, which is posterior to February, 1448, and the illustration of all the other miniatures. Panofsky (op. cit., p. 268) thinks that, if not the miniature, at least the drawing is by Roger van der Weyden. This second hypothesis still requires a miniaturist who must have been an excellent painter, for the drawing alone cannot explain the superb handling of the brush. 19 Brussels, Bibliothèque royale, MS 9015, also reproduced in color in Délaissé, Miniatures médiévales, pl. 26. Lyna observed that this miniature contains the same view of a town as that in a picture of the Frick Collection in New York representing the Virgin with a Carthusian, a landscape also identical with a part of a marginal decoration of the Turin Hours (Durrieu, op. cit., pl. xxxvi) and some faces very similar to those of another miniature of the same manuscript (ibid., pl. xxxvn). See F. Lyna, 'Les Van Eyck et les Heures de Turin et Milan,' in Miscellanea Erwin Panofsky (Brussels, 1955), pp. 7-20.

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Hours20 undoubtedly have that quality. They share with panel paintings of the time, or of the earlier generation, that conscientious transposition into pictures of reality in its complexity of forms and colors. But these few miniatures, like the contemporary panel paintings, always represent select iconographical themes of a princely or religious nature and certainly not the scenes of daily life. They seem to be marked more by a consciousness in the artist of the illustrative function of the picture and of its technical perfection than by his immediate attraction toward the realistic quality of the subject. Nevertheless, the background of some of these miniatures resembles a vision of reality; the life of man or aspects of nature are revealed in a fresh and spontaneous way. Thus the subject of these pictures conforms to the imposed theme, but is represented in a realistic context, whereas the Dutch miniature is a straightforward transcription of reality. Perhaps the divergent manifestation of reality in the two groups of works of art is a consequence of differing visions in the artists. In the southern Low Countries the vision seems to consist of two operations: first, the theme to be represented; and second, a background or surroundings which are added to it. This attitude is similar to that of the miniaturists in France, but in Flanders the setting is rendered more realistically. The Dutch artist, in contrast, appears to have from the start an instinctive total vision of what he wants to represent, and both the incident and the setting are presented in a natural unity. In other words, his sense of reality is fundamental and from the beginning dominates his painting. Whatever the explanation, these few miniatures made in the south around 1450 are the exceptions. Soon after the middle of the century, Flemish manuscript illumination definitely continued the medieval tradition of illustration and often remained only an intellectual transposition of anecdotal themes into pictures. The miniatures have some landscape, the architecture some perspective, the human representation some modeling, but never with that touch of authenticity we find in Dutch manuscripts. Around 1470 the situation changes. Just when Dutch illumination was declining, artists in the south began to show a closer affinity with those of the north, to take over the values traditional among the Dutch. But we have reached the chronological limit of this particular study, at a crucial point of transition in the artistic production of the Low Countries as a whole. The Middle Rhine and the north of Germany have not left many illuminated manuscripts, and none of them, to my knowledge, is of any distinction. H. Jerchel's study of book illumination in the provinces ofJülich, Cleves, and Berg reveals no works of great quality.21 The 20

There is a long description of this manuscript, with illustrations and comparative material, in H. P. Kraus, Catalogue 100 (New York, 1962), No. 25; see also Rosy Schilling's important article on the same manuscript, 'Das Llangattock Stundenbuch,' Wallraf-RkhartzJahrbuch x x m (1961), pp. 211-236. 21 H. Jerchel, 'Die niederrheinische Buchmalerei der Spätgotik,' in Wallraf-Rkhartz Jahrbuch X (1938), pp. 65-90.

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author includes in this production some manuscripts that I have presented here as Dutch, such as the breviary of Mary of Guelders (figs. 1 1 - 1 3 ) , but on the other hand he does not claim the other manuscripts in the same style. His conclusions are very significant: 'There is little in illumination and the little there is, is varied and shows the humble role the miniatures have played.' In my opinion there is more to it than the paucity of production and the inconsistency in style; it is the difference between Dutch and German manuscripts that counts. The manuscripts of Cologne at the beginning of the fifteenth century had adopted a gentle style which is at its best in Stephan Lochner's panel paintings. It has been suggested that the school of Guelders was influenced by this already strongly established tradition in the religious metropolis of all this part of Europe. 22 If miniaturists from Guelders received from Cologne this typical softness in human representation, then they have assimilated it and even improved on it. This softness is affected and even finical in Cologne, whereas it is natural and sincere in Arnhem. If what we call Dutch style was then simply adopted from Cologne, why did it not flourish there and assert itself more strongly in the artistic production of the time in northern Europe ? Already in the fifteenth century, Cologne does not show the diversity, the originality, and the continuity in stylistic expression that we have noted in manuscripts produced in the diocese of Utrecht; it does not even seem to have been as creative a milieu as the Dutch town. In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, panel painting in Cologne differs greatly from the specifically Dutch tradition; yet Cologne, an archiépiscopal see for many centuries and a university town, was a far richer and more cultured city than Utrecht. It is therefore difficult to believe that it could have been the inspiring milieu of a tradition that lived for centuries in Holland and found its full development there. There is another artistic current in Germany which must be distinguished from the Dutch one; it influenced manuscript illumination, but is more evident in panel paintings. Although these pictures cannot be compared with what was done in France around 1400 and slightly later in the southern L o w Countries, they have a quality of their own and were unduly neglected until the second quarter of our century. They show a real interest in the exterior world and in vivid details, but they seem exaggerated; nearly all of them manifest a lack of measure in the portrayal of faces, of attitudes, and even of other objects. This harshness appears even in the works of Konrad von Soest, although he, in common with many painters of his time, was greatly influenced by French mannerism. The works of Meister Bertram at 22

See E r w i n Panofsky, 'Guelders and U t r e c h t . . . , ' Konsthistorisk Tidskrift XXII (1953). This article is the first that tries to distinguish chronologically what I should like to call two epochs of Dutch illumination. After all, Arnhem and Nijmegen are well in the western part of Guelders and not far f r o m Utrecht. For the School of Cologne see A . Boeckler, Deutsche Buchmalerei der Gotik (Konigstein-im-Taunus, 1959).

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the end of the fourteenth century, of Meister Francke,23 Lukas Moser, Hans Multscher, Konrad Witz, and other anonymous masters are full of exaggerations in the position of the bodies, in the expression of the features, in the elements of the landscape, and even in the general composition.24 These paintings were produced in what we may call the realistic zone of western Europe, which extends from the north of France to Poland; but there are many facets in this aesthetic attitude, and the Dutch characteristic must not be confused with that of northern Germany. For this reason I cannot agree with Professor Hoogewerff's statement that the works of illumination from Picardy (let us say the north west part of France) are interchangeable with the contemporary miniatures of Utrecht. 25 He admits a difference in nuance, which in my eyes is essential. In contrasting the Dutch and the German style we have to resort to paintings because we have so few illuminated manuscripts of importance from northwest Germany. 26 The first great study of German manuscript illumination by Goldschmidt was never completed by a second part, on the Gothic period. Bocckler's book on the subject, with a very unconventional approach, has been published only recently.27 Some of the miniatures he reproduces are not taken from de luxe manuscripts, but have nevertheless the same characteristics that have been analyzed above and that deserve more consideration. As such reproductions are not easy to find, two dated examples (figs. 1 2 1 - 1 2 2 ) are illustrated here. They include a landscape and groups of people which show the inclination to exaggerate that is characteristic of German illumination; 28 it is normal to find it in the rendering of faces, but it is more significant when it appears in landscapes. In summary, Dutch manuscript illumination is differentiated from the Cologne school, and other German centers where panel painting was practiced, by its naturalness and its sincerity. The style in Cologne is too soft and too mannered, that of Westphalia too intense and exaggerated. Dutch style is therefore very individualized and constant; it is not simply a mixture of the Flemish and Germanic currents; the distinction between Dutch and north German is even perceptibly clearer than the distinction between Dutch and Flemish.

23

B . Martens, Meister Francke (Hamburg, 1929). T h e origin of this painter in Guelders is established, but it seems that the artist must have adapted himself to his n e w milieu and adopted a more Germanic style. 24 For the works of these early painters there are many studies; see particularly A . Stange, Deutsche Malerei der Gotik, I—III (Berlin, 1934-1938); and W . Deusch, Deutsche Malerei desfünfzehnten Jahrhunderts (Berlin, 1936). T h e catalogue of the exhibition held in the Münster Landesmuseum in 1964, Westfälische Malerei des 14. Jahrhunderts, shows h o w creative Westphalia was at this time. M a n y paintings are already typically Germanic, others nearer to what will become the Dutch tradition. Unfortunately this early, characteristic, and productive current never produced an outstanding painter. 25

G . J . Hoogewerff, De Noord-Nederlandsche Schilderkunst (The Hague, 1936), I, 8. The contrast is particularly striking if w e compare Flemish and German illumination during the second half of the fifteenth century. 27 Boeckler, Deutsche Buchmalerei der Gotik (1959). 28 Ibid., pp. 5, 46. 26

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This survey of manuscript illumination in the northern L o w Countries, sketchy as it is, reveals the very original style of the Dutch in contrast to the contemporary production in Europe. A number of books with miniatures have something in common stylistically with what we now know as Dutch. Previously it would have appeared extremely daring to qualify them in this way, for they were produced outside the frontiers of Holland, but now the hypothesis deserves consideration. Fortunately, recent historical discoveries allow us, with legitimate confidence, to link some of these miniatures with Holland, the country of origin of the artist. Some of these documents confirm reassuringly the stylistic interpretation that is suggested by the study of the miniatures themselves; in other cases they show that the hypothesis deserves consideration, even if it cannot be proved conclusively.

IN

FRANCE

Some miniatures of the Limbourg Brothers, although they are not the earliest to exhibit the qualities encountered in the manuscripts made in Holland, are the most valuable for our interpretation. These artists, whom we must take en bloc, had certainly adapted themselves remarkably well to their new French milieu. Moreover, their contacts with Italy had given them the opportunity of assimilating, not only of copying, some of the humanist characteristics already adopted in the south. The influence is most evident in the human representation: the proportions (the canon, in technical terms), the idealization of the faces, the dignity of the attitudes, and the loose and ample rendering of clothing are the dominating elements of many miniatures of the three brothers. One of their most Italianate miniatures, the Presentation in the Temple (fol. 54v), in the Très Riches Hemes at Chantilly, 1 is generally recognized as having been inspired by Taddeo Gaddi's painting of The Presentation of the Virgin, in the Baroncelli Chapel in Santa Croce, Florence. In an excellent article Otto Pâcht has underlined the remarkable nature studies that some 1 Chantilly, Musée Condé, M S 1284, published in facsimile by Paul Durrieu, Les Très Riches Hemes de Jean de France, duc de Berry (Paris, 1904); a new study of this manuscript is badly needed.

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Italian artists of the Trecento have left us, particularly in manuscripts.2 During the rapid progression toward the Renaissance, art in Italy had to go through a period of idealized naturalism. The example as well as the models naturally came from antiquity. But as in antiquity, it is a naturalism that is thought rather than lived. Nature is sometimes represented with exceptional accuracy, but it is not there for its own sake; it is part of a program of ideas. The Meeting of the Three Magi in the Très Riches Heures at Chantilly (fol. 5 iv) is very much in that spirit. Among other realistic details, it includes the first accurate depiction of a horse, and of Notre Dame of Paris; but all this is used to represent the visit to Paris of the Emperor Manuel II Palaeologus.3 In these miniatures are other subjects, often tucked away on the side, which have a very different value. The calendar is particularly rich from this point of view. To the representation of a castle of Jean de Berry for each month, the Limbourg Brothers have added the specific work done in the fields at that season of the year. Such an iconographie program had been in great favor since the thirteenth century, but it had never before been used for twelve full-size miniatures. It is precisely in the details of these pictures that we find the same sense of nature that we have seen in Dutch miniatures. The details are not necessary to the picture, but they create the atmosphere much more fully; they show a deep knowledge of, and love for, the exterior world. In the month of August (fol. 8v), for instance, we expect to see peasants harvesting. The painter shows men at work, cutting the corn and sheafing it, and others swimming in a pond. This is the background, but in the foreground is the main subject: a prince and his intimate friends, all magnificently dressed, on their way to the hunt. The scene is sufficiently rich to illustrate the month of August, but the miniaturist adds other elements, like the cart on which the harvest is loaded (fig. 123). Many decades will elapse before such detail is again depicted so authentically as in this drawing of a cart, which appears in the distant landscape. It is unimportant in itself, but it completes the picture as nothing else could have done. The background is so homogeneous, in spite of a weakness in the recession, that it cannot have been conceived in an abstract way; the context of the main picture is inspired by reality. Other parts of these miniatures have the same quality: in the month of July (fol. jv), the trees are not imaginary trees but willows along the brook, which make the scenery more authentic and clearly depict not an Italian landscape but a more northwestern one. What could be more intimate and realistic than the portrayal of peasants warming themselves by the fire, in the miniature for the month of February (fol. 2v) V 1 Otto Pacht, 'Early Italian Nature Studies and the Early Calendar Landscape' in Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld Institutes, xni (1950), pp. 13-47. 3 For this identification, see R. Weiss, 'The Medieval Medallions of Constantine and Heraclius,' The Numismatic Chronicle, 7th series, III (1963), pp. 128-144. The same identification had already been suggested to me orally by M. Marinesco in 1958. 4 One has the impression that the Limbourg Brothers, when they arrived in Paris, conformed to what was in demand in the French capital. This is apparent in the Bible moralisée started for Philip the Bold in 1404 (Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, M S Fr. 166) and even in the Heures d'Ailly now in the Cloisters in N e w York: Jean Porcher, Les Belles Heures de Jean de France,

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The pages of the Limbourg Brothers, nearly perfect by all standards, undoubtedly fall into the same artistic current as the miniatures safely localized in Holland, at least in their representation of nature, which was a great innovation. Even so, are we entitled to call them Dutch ? Although this similarity in quality could be a pure coincidence, documents show that the three brothers were born in Holland and that they came to Paris at the request of Jean Malouel (or Malwel), their uncle. Malouel must have been an important figure in the artistic production in Paris around 1400; he worked for Philip the Bold. If scholars could agree about his work, he too could be introduced into this survey of Dutch artisans abroad. Fortunately, there is no argument about the miniatures of his nephews, the Limbourg Brothers. Recently Gorissen published documents proving that the three artists kept contact with their family in Holland, more precisely in Arnhem and Nijmegen, until their death in 1416 in Bourges.5 Therefore, what is not French and Italian in their art can legitimately be considered Dutch. After the death of this unique trio, French book illumination loses much of the Italianism so well assimilated by the three Brothers, and its Netherlandish character. All trace of their love of nature, of their perception of inexhaustible reality, of their gift of reproducing it with fidelity in line and color, disappears from the artistic stage in Paris after 1416. Their successors return to the baroque Gothic buildings and artificial landscapes. Nothing could prove the foreign origin and the Dutch temperament of the three Limbourg Brothers better than the inability of the French to understand them. IN

FLANDERS

In 1427 the town of Bruges forbade the sale of detached miniatures made in Utrecht. Whole books could still be sold, but not individual pictures.6 Fortunately, the document of this due de Berry (Paris, 1953). It is possible that their experience o f Italian art freed t h e m f r o m the Parisian c o n v e n t i o n o f unrealistic backgrounds; but their realism in the Très Riches Heures o f C h a n t i l l y has a native northern flavor that certainly w a s n o t adopted f r o m Italy. S o m e details i n Lorenzetti's frescoes,in the Palazzo P u b b l i c o o f Siena, w h i c h illustrate the effects o f a g o o d g o v e r n m e n t o n the c o u n t r y , are s o m e w h a t similar t o w h a t w e admire in the C h a n t i l l y calendar; b u t they must be there to fulfill a p r o g r a m o f representation o f c o u n t r y life, whereas in the landscapes o f the L i m b o u r g Brothers the details are the least important part o f the picture, w h o s e main subject is the castle and courtly g r o u p . T h e later landscapes in Italian painting c o n f i r m the great difference in sensitivity b e t w e e n the northern and the Mediterranean artists. A b o u t these t w o attitudes t o w a r d nature, see B r y s o n B u r r o u g h s , ' T h e D i s c o v e r e r o f Landscape,' The Arts x n (September 1927), pp. 1 2 4 - 1 6 6 . 1 a m m o s t grateful to M r . R . G . C a l k i n s for bringing this v e r y important article to m y attention. T h e r e f o r e I cannot agree w i t h D r . H o o g e w e r f f w h e n he writes (op. cit., I, p. 150): ' T h e style o f M a l o u e l and o f his three n e p h e w s . . . is certainly n o t D u t c h and e v e n less could it be called Flemish o r French.' U n d o u b t e d l y the L i m b o u r g Brothers w e r e far ahead o f their t i m e , but w h e r e does their original style survive i f n o t in D u t c h miniature and panel painting f r o m the fifteenth to the seventeenth c e n t u r y ? O n the possible presence abroad o f other D u t c h miniaturists, see L. M . J . Délaissé, 'Les miniatures du "Pèlerinage de la V i e h u m a i n e " de Bruxelles et l'archéologie d u livre,' Scriptorium x (1956), p. 246. 5

See F. Gorissen's article ('Jan M a e l w a e l und die Briider L i m b u r g , ' in Qeîre. Vereeniging tot Beoefening van Geïdersche

Geschie-

denis, Bijdragen en mededeîingenu.'V [1954], pp. 153-221), ' b y far the most stimulating contribution to the study o f this crucial period in art history that has been m a d e i n a v e r y l o n g time,' according to M . Rickert's r e v i e w in The Art Bulletin x x x i x (1957), p. 77. 6

J. W e a l e , ' D o c u m e n t s inédits sur les enlumineurs de B r u g e s , ' Le Beffroi IV (1872-1873), pp. 238-239. T h e date is m o r e

exactly A p r i l 1, 1426 (old style).

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edict has been preserved; had it been lost, a whole chapter of the history of medieval art would have been completely misunderstood. But the interdiction of 1427 was a repetition of an earlier one of 1404, and was renewed in 1447. The importation of Dutch miniatures on the market in Bruges must have been pretty impressive to have provoked so strong a measure. Furthermore, it was obviously not a recent phenomenon; the tradition had probably been going on for some time and by 1427 had created a situation that had become intolerable for local craftsmen. This interdiction was applied above all to miniatures for Books of Hours. The manuscript publishers in Holland, particularly in Utrecht, had a very original way of making their books. The text would be written continuously, from page to page, and from gathering to gathering, leaving space for initials that could be historiated or not, but the main illustrations were not included in this planning.7 Leaves, with pictures on the verso, which thus faced the text, were inserted in the book later, wherever they were needed. The rectos of these added pages were left blank and normally were not even ruled, since they were not to receive any text. The marginal decorations of the miniatures generally are totally different from the borders of the original part of the book. The leaves that could so easily be added to a manuscript already completed in its text might have been painted in a workshop different from the one in which the rest of the book was written and decorated. The material division of the work in Utrecht between the craftsmen who made the book proper and those who painted the illuminated pages, and the evidence of the sale of these isolated pictures, greatly complicate the task of the historian of illumination at the beginning of the fifteenth century. Bruges was probably not the only town in which Dutch miniatures could be acquired. At any rate, the problem arises for any manuscript that was made in the Flemish town: are the illuminated pages a local product or did they come from Utrecht? A manuscript in Ushaw College near Durham in England8 gives us an opportunity of experimenting with this kind of difficulty. The book is dated 1409 and the scribe declares that he finished it in Bruges. On these grounds it would generally be concluded that the entire contents were executed in Bruges. The illustrations of this Book of Hours include many miniatures of the type of iconography often encountered in these books of devotion. But among them is a Pietà (fol. 57, fig. 124) which, although not remarkable for its execution, is nevertheless rich in emotion. In the many Flemish Books of Hours grouped under the name of the Gold Scrolls Master or the Master of Guillebert de Mets, this subject is not 7 111 the French Book of Hours, spaces were left blank while the text was being transcribed, and the miniatures were painted in afterward. 8 I want to thank Professor Otto Pacht for informing me of this manuscript.

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represented with so much feeling.9 Yet this particular theme is rendered with exceptional sincerity and crudity in a Dutch manuscript of 1404 (fig. 7). It therefore becomes difficult not to conclude that the miniatures were among the numerous pictures imported from Utrecht which provoked the interdiction of 1427. In the same Hours (fol. 45, fig. 126) the meeting of Jesus and Pilate is identical with the representation of the same theme in an early Dutch Biblia pauperum which has been described previously (fig. 9). In the preceding examples the iconography entitled us to present as a hypothesis the Dutch origin of the pictures; but some books of Flemish origin, more specifically those issued by a publishing house in Bruges, have miniatures identical in style and show the same technique as those made in Utrecht. In the Bodleian Library at Oxford, a Book of Hours (MS Canon. Liturg. 17) with a calendar for Bruges and presenting all the characteristics of manuscripts made in that town, contains inserted miniatures (fol. 67, fig. 125) painted by one of the illustrators of a Dutch Bible made in Utrecht in 1431 and now preserved in the Royal Library in Brussels (MS 9018-19). 10 He was one of the collaborators of the Master of Otto van Moerdrecht, who was mentioned previously for his important contribution to manuscript illumination, though he is better known for the quantity of his work than for his originality. The same miniaturist illustrated a psalter (Copenhagen, KongeligeBibliotek, MS Thott 533 40) with rubrics in French and a calendar for the north of France; the book was certainly written there, but under the miniature representing the Carrying of the Cross (fol. 70V, fig. 127) one can still read a note in pencil by the illustrator himself, 'cruus dragen' (carrying of the Cross), which leaves no doubt of his northern origin. A few Flemish manuscripts contain many pages, some of them of the best quality, which raise the same question: are they Flemish or Dutch? The similarity with the northern style may be such that it is difficult not to favor the Dutch origin of the artist. In a recent acquisition of the Royal Library in Brussels (MS IV 194), made for the use of Flanders and with the techniques of the Books of Hours of Bruges, many of the miniatures (e.g., the Deposition, fol. 59, fig. 128) reveal the hand of the Master of the London Passionary, perhaps the most prolific illuminator in Utrecht around 1 4 6 0 . " The National Library in Vienna possesses a manuscript (MS 1988) that presents all the characteristics of the books made in Ghent around 1480, particularly the borders with broad but elegant acanthus leaves in blue and dark gold. Some miniatures are in the style of the Master of Mary of Burgundy, who worked in Ghent; but one, representing Mary and her Child (fols. 30V-31, fig. 129), is of a very different quality: the rather ugly features, the 9 The iconographies of Flemish Books of Hours, except for those that adopted the Dutch distribution of the miniatures, were usually inspired by the French models. In Holland the Hours of the Virgin would be illustrated by scenes from the Passion of Christ, whereas in France we have eight pictures from the Annunciation to the Coronation. 10 Concerning this manuscript see figs. 65-67 for the reproductions, and, for the Master of Otto van Moerdrecht, fig. 59. 11 See note 87, p. 49.

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almond-shaped eyes, the high forehead do not seem Flemish. In the catalogue of the exhibition of Flemish book illumination 12 1 suggested that such a human type was not very different from many similar representations of the Virgin by the Master of the Virgin Among Virgins. Since then Mile. Sulzberger has established a greater similarity with the well-known Virgin by the Dutch painter Geertgen tot Sint Jans in the Boymans Museum in Rotterdam." Whoever the artist is, the Dutch quality of the miniature is undeniable. A late-fifteenth-century breviary made for Queen Isabella of Spain and now preserved in the British Museum (MS Add. 18851) is another Flemish manuscript in which Dutch presence or direct influence can be felt. The book has all the characteristics of those made in Bruges, and, in any case, such a luxurious manuscript could not have been made in Holland. As it is superbly decorated and lavishly illustrated, many craftsmen must have collaborated in its execution. Some of the miniatures remind us spontaneously of the best manner of Gerard David, and it is easy to understand why the pioneers in the history of Flemish illumination did not hesitate, in their enthusiasm at the discovery, to attribute paintings of this style and quality to the great painter himself. 14 In the British Museum breviary, the Adoration of the Magi (fol. 41, fig. 130) is probably the most typical miniature in this manner. But in another we find, once more, the same unflattering human type that is prevalent in the paintings of many Dutch masters (fol. 8iv, fig. 131). Dutch by birth and training, Gerard David rather quickly adopted in his paintings made in Bruges the mannerism that marks much of the artistic production of the southern L o w Countries; yet he expressed a depth of emotion not common among his contemporaries. It is not surprising, therefore, that a manuscript from Bruges should show us this stage in his development. If the Adoration of the Magi is not by David, it is the work of one of his assistants, who may also have been a panel painter. The other miniature, which represents Jesus healing a man, and which at first glance looks so different, is technically nearly as well finished as the previous one, but the artist does not adopt the convention of painting pleasing faces; he is as plebeian as the Master of the Virgin Among Virgins, and equally sincere. As his model is commonly encountered in Dutch paintings, either he had recently come down from Holland to Bruges or, if he had been practicing in that town for some time, he was not afraid to keep to a less pretty but more realistic type. 15 13

L. M . J . Délaissé, La Miniatureflamande,Le mécénat de Philippe le Bon, catalogue of the exhibition held in Brussels, Amsterdam, and Paris, 1959, No. 269. 13 S. Sulzberger, 'Gérard de Saint Jean et l'art de la miniature,' Oud-Holland LXXIV (1959), pp. 167-169. 14 Winkler made this attribution in Die flämische Buchmalerei des xv. und xvi. Jahrhunderts (Leipzig, 1925), p. 134. Is Winkler attributed this second style to the Master of the Dresden Hours (ibid., p. 95). I would suggest rather that the work given to that miniaturist should be divided into two groups, the one being the miniatures in this very expressive style, and the other, the more polished miniatures.

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In spite o f the interdiction imposed by Bruges on the importation o f pictures made in Utrecht, Dutch style was present there from the beginning o f the fifteenth century until nearly the end. Naturally circumstances changed. In our time, if the import tax on an article is too heavy, the foreign producer often starts a factory in the country and competes with the local industry. The same phenomenon occurred in Flanders toward the middle o f the fifteenth century, resulting in the continual presence o f Dutchmen in the Flemish harbor. Contrary to conventional belief, the great style o f manuscript illumination attached to the name o f Philip the Good started not at the beginning of the century but toward the middle. The Duke o f Burgundy and his n e w court were interested first in paintings that could be exhibited in their castles, particularly their portraits; the taste for beautifully illuminated manuscripts came a generation later, around 1450. W e are justified in speaking o f a new type o f book because many o f its elements have a quality that was unknown in the manuscripts made earlier in the same region. A n e w type of script was adopted: a French cursive reformalized and approximately doubled in size. In consequence the manuscripts are often larger and thicker. The miniatures o f the third quarter o f the fifteenth century are far superior to those o f the earlier period. There was an effort toward realistic representation, a sense o f naturalism in landscape and in human representation, in almost every workshop. The most important change appears in the literary production. From Books of Hours and rather f e w copies o f earlier texts, w e pass, in the middle o f the century, to a period o f creative lay literature. This statement must be taken in its broadest sense, and even so w e must keep in mind that these works are more impressive in their quantity than in their quality. After Mons, Hesdin, and Valenciennes in the south, Bruges is the first town in Flanders proper where the new style appears. A document issued by the town hall proves that in 1454 a certain W i l l e m Vrelant f r o m Utrecht was one o f the earliest members o f the new guild o f illuminators. 16 Even if this document did not exist, it could easily be shown that the Dutch-born miniaturist dominated the production of book illumination in the Flemish town. His earlier w o r k in Utrecht is ascertained by a manuscript 17 made for a member o f the de Montfort family which was established there (Vienna, Nationalbibliothek, M S S.N. 12878), but in hundreds o f illuminated manuscripts from Bruges w e recognize his hand or at least his style. W e k n o w from the official list o f miniaturists in Bruges that at least four w o m e n were trained in Vrelant's workshop. 18 W i t h such a workshop it is understandable

16

W e a l e , op. cit., p. 253, quoted b y A . D e Schrijver, ' D i e Miniaturisten in Dienst van Karel de Stout' (unpublished thesis,

Ghent University, 1957). 17

Délaissé, La Miniature flamande, N o .

18

W e a l e , op. cit., passim.

100.

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that his original but certainly not beautiful style can be found in hundreds of miniatures illustrating a vast number of manuscripts, particularly Books of Hours. When he was still working in Utrecht, Vrelant showed a rather pleasant freshness in coloring and composition. His firm manner classifies him in the linear current of Dutch illumination, not among the masters of the brush who did the best pictures issued by that school. In the page reproduced here (fol. j6v, fig. 132), the main subject, David, is of no account and the landscape at the back is hardly better, in comparison with those by the Zweder Master (figs. 27-30). Yet the tower that dominates the town at the left of the miniature reminds us of the spire of Utrecht Cathedral, with the sky visible through the columns of the top part of the steeple. This is probably the first authentic representation of a church in a manuscript since the view of Notre Dame by the Limbourg Brothers in the Très Riches Heures.19

But Vrelant seems capable of a better style, for in Flanders, soon after the middle of the century, he collaborated with a group of unusual artists who later ceased production in the Flemish towns and who must have come from Holland. But before analyzing the manuscript in which his collaboration is visible, we shall consider another group of miniatures intimately connected with this question. The well-known Turin-Milan Hours was completed about 1445 by a miniaturist considerably inferior to the earlier Netherlandish painters who had illustrated some pages of that book. The best of those miniatures have been attributed by some scholars, such as Huhn de Loo, Winkler, Friedländer, Panofsky, and Chatelet, to Van Eyck, either Hubert or Jan or both; others, Dvorak and de Tolnay, ascribed them to Dutch artists; while Baldass simply wrote that they were not by Van Eyck.20 It is impossible to enter into this debate here; the whole question, to which the names of the greatest critics have been attached, would require a large volume. W e shall consider only the latest and inferior pictures which, because of their more modest quality, have been virtually ignored since Hulin de Loo's study in 1911. Without inquiring for whom and when they were painted, we cannot but observe that these miniatures are at the same time rather unseemly but full of the knowledge of nature and of human behavior; in other words, they are true to life. A typical picture by this miniaturist, in the fragment now in the Museo Civico in Turin, represents a bishop preaching in a church (fol. 111, fig. 13 3). The building itself is represented in faulty perspective, but as an interior setting it gives a rare feeling of unity and of genuine experience. The scale of 19

T h e cathedral at U t r e c h t , w i t h its impressive t o w e r , w a s m u c h admired as h a v i n g the highest spire in H o l l a n d . T h e r e

m a y be another authentic representation o f a b u i l d i n g a m o n g the additions in the A n j o u Hours, L o n d o n , British M u s e u m , M S E g e r t o n 1070: a v i e w o f Jerusalem, o n fol. 5r, reproduced in O t t o Pächt's article, ' R e n é d ' A n j o u et les V a n E y c k , ' in Cahiers de l'Association internationale des Etudesfrançaises 8 (1956), p. 59, fig. 2. 20

For the latest and most c o m p l e t e discussion as w e l l as b i b l i o g r a p h y o f this subject, see E r w i n P a n o f s k y , Early

Painting ( C a m b r i d g e , Mass., 1953), passim, but particularly p p . 232-246 and the notes connected w i t h the text.

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the figures, their v e r y ordinary faces, the varied attitudes o f the congregation listening or arriving to listen make the w h o l e scene m o r e real than an elaborate picture in w h i c h the subject m a y be out o f proportion to its architectural f r a m e . " A similar observation can be made about another miniature in the same fragment. 2 2 It represents another c e r e m o n y in a church, the Mass for the Dead, but is painted b y a m u c h greater artist. W e shall n o t discuss its possible attribution to V a n E y c k or to a D u t c h miniaturist; the artist is certainly v e r y conscious o f technical problems such as perspective, and uses his brush in a masterly w a y . Still, the less skillful miniaturist did n o t c o p y this superior m o d e l ; he w o r k e d independently and his vision, m o r e popular, was also more spontaneous. This popular flavor makes this miniature m o r e at h o m e in the D u t c h tradition than in a n y other milieu. 2 ' A miniature representing the P a y m e n t o f Judas (fol. 38V, fig. 134, a theme w e have seen in a D u t c h B o o k o f Hours) is rather crude and unsophisticated, w i t h spontaneous yet accurate perspective o f a r o o m . T o appreciate the artist at his real value, w e must l o o k at some o f the marginal illustrations, such as a banquet (fol. 113 V, fig. 135) w h i c h is a scene de genre in the best vein, n o t encountered this early in the century in Flemish books. T h e C a r r y i n g o f the Cross (fol. 30V, fig. 136) is better still; it is a v e r y unusual narration o f that m o m e n t in Christ's Passion. A s in the church interior, the action is a natural part o f the surroundings and the procession stretches through the countryside w i t h a unique liveliness. T h e technique remains coarse, but the impression o f the w h o l e is strangely genuine for the time. T h e h u m a n sincerity o f the artist is perceptible in these scenes de genre, and his religious sensibility can be detected in the C a r r y i n g o f the Cross, t h o u g h this theme does not demand great imagination f r o m its painter. It is in the representation o f the celestial court (fol. 113, fig. 137) that this unimportant and ignored master reveals himself as a remarkable m i n iaturist. N o t that he refines the h u m a n figures; in heaven as o n earth they are ordinary people, as w e see them; but the composition is grandiose: his success in achieving a sense o f the recession o f the different levels in the heavenly hierarchy and in the rings o f angels floating around the T r i n i t y m i g h t w e l l be envied b y the best o f painters. T h e w h o l e picture is at the same time h i g h l y spiritual and deeply human. These miniatures selected f r o m the last period o f illustration o f the T u r i n - M i l a n Hours in n o w a y differ f r o m the D u t c h tradition as w e have seen it in m a n y books. Panel paintings as well as miniatures made in Holland often have a religious as w e l l as a human quality that does not exist a n y w h e r e else. T h e same artist w h o finished the illustration o f the T u r i n - M i l a n Hours collaborated w i t h

This unity o f subject and setting is lacking in many of the paintings of the Madonna that are attributed to Van Eyck. Fol. 116, pi. x x i of Hulin de Loo, Les Heures de Milan (Brussels, 1911). 1 5 Flemish miniaturists after the middle o f the century very rarely copy Eyckian, Flemalesque, or Rogerian models, nor do they have that positively popular, pre-Bruegelian atmosphere. 21

"

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a few other miniaturists and Willem Vrelant in the recently discovered Llangattock Hours.24 Here he shows the same characteristic lack of refinement but consciousness of reality, which seems to be more important to him than the iconography imposed by the text. The Massacre of the Innocents (fol. 96V, fig. 138) is evidently by his hand. Indeed, Mrs. Rosy Schilling very accurately observed some compositional motives already used in the Turin Hours that leave no doubt concerning the relation of the two manuscripts; for instance, the two groups of soldiers and Herod with his attendants are identical in both books.25 Technique and pictorial vocabulary are the same in the two series of pictures. But if we accept the Dutch character of this miniaturist, his colleague, the so-called 'Petrus Christus Master,' must have the same origin. 26 The Visitation (fol. 68v, fig. 139), with its delightful landscape and above all the unexpected detail of a line of clothes drying in the wind, does not correspond to the style of miniatures usually painted by the southern craftsmen, whereas it falls within the Dutch tradition. It is difficult to deny the influence of Willem Vrelant on the execution of the Annunciation if we analyze the face of the Virgin (fol. 53 V, fig. 140). I attribute the miniature at least partially to his hand. But here we encounter an even more debatable question; it is safer to postpone to another occasion this research into the presence of Dutch craftsmen in Flanders. To appreciate Vrelant rightly we must take into consideration an exceptional manuscript in the Biblioteca del Palacio in Madrid, where the miniatures seem to be by his hand though not all in his usual linear manner; he uses his brush very freely and his landscapes are superior to his later work. 27 Nevertheless, Vrelant did not often practice this subtle manner in Bruges. From soon after 1450 until approximately 1480, his style is, directly or indirectly, present in the great number of books produced in the Flemish town, but his work seems progressively to lose its freshness and to become more rigid, as if the local patronage was satisfied with this kind of miniature. It cannot be denied that a Dutch artist started the new style of book illumination in Flanders and also that he and his assistants produced more than all the other miniaturists of Bruges put together. 24

See H. P. Kraus, Catalogue loo (New Y o r k , 1962), N o . 25. Rosy Schilling, 'Das Llangattock-Stundenbuch,' in Wallraf-Richartz Jahvbuch x x m (1961), pp. 2 1 1 - 2 3 4 . This Massacre of the Innocents compares with a miniature of the Turin fragment, one of five (on four folios) that were detached from the Turin Hours before they were destroyed b y fire in 1904, and are n o w preserved in the Cabinet des Dessins at the Louvre. 16 If the interpretation of Dutch illumination as given in this book is accepted, it is evident that manuscripts such as the Llangattock Hours must be reexamined. A t this stage of m y research on Flemish book illumination, I have the impression that Vrelant's presence in Bruges is equivalent to that of Malouel in Paris: he introduced his compatriots into the Flemish harbor. Some kept their original style; others evolved and adapted themselves. After 1 4 5 0 - 1 4 5 5 , and at least for twenty years, the Flemish miniaturists rarely adopted the painterly technique; they seem neither conscious of reality as it is, nor desirous of painting it, and they did not copy the panel paintings that were made in their o w n town, whereas their colleagues in the north did. 25

27

Hours of Queen Juana Henrfquez; J . Dominguez Bordona, Manuscritos con pinturas (Madrid, 1933), 1, 437, N o . 1008, pis. 370-372.

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ENGLAND

In England, Dutch influence can be felt in the best books made at the end of the fourteenth century and at the beginning of the fifteenth. W e owe to Margaret Rickert's research on English illumination a capital restatement on the Dutch influence in the British Isles.28 Professor Rickert's analysis convincingly demonstrates that around 1400 a Bohemian and a Dutch style of miniature coexisted with the very linear English manner in some manuscripts of remarkable quality, such as the Carmelite Missal which she has so patiently and magnificently reconstructed.29 Some miniatures of this manuscript have more atmosphere and human interest than others; some include details—such as a candle on a bedside table (fol. 138V, fig. 141)—details to which the Dutch masters seem to have been more sensitive than their contemporaries, at least in western Europe. The English and the Bohemian craftsmen seem always to use stereotyped figures, whereas their Dutch colleague represents individuals; as Professor Rickert writes, 'He is a figure painter.'50 The miniatures painted in the imported style are slightly softer and more refined than those found in the manuscripts made in Holland. It is possible that the artist had been under the influence of the Cologne school before he went abroad, or that he adopted in his new country an elegant mannerism because of royal patronage; but, even so, his art is more genuine than that of his German contemporaries, a fact that favors his Dutch origin. A mid-fifteenth-century B o o k of Hours that belonged to Queen Mary and is n o w preserved in the Bodleian Library at Oxford is very probably another example of a great and more easily recognizable Dutch miniaturist working in England (MS Auct. D . inf.

2.13).

The Hours of the Virgin are for the use of Sarum, but this is not sufficient reason to assert that the book was made in the British Isles. It is n o w known that the continent produced a large number of Books of Hours for the British clientele that lived on both sides of the channel. The secondary decorations, particularly some initials and all the borders, are, h o w ever, definitely insular. As the decorators are less likely to move than their more gifted colleagues the miniaturists, because they are much less important, it is more probable that the book was made in England than on the continent. The style of the miniatures has nothing to do with the British tradition at that late period (fol. 41V, fig. 142; fol. I02v, fig. 143). The same hand is easily recognizable in two very luxurious manuscripts made in Utrecht around 1460, the Vienna Soudenbalch Bible (MSS 2 7 7 1 , 2772),

and, particularly, the Vronensteyn Hours of Brussels (MS II

!S

7619),

both men-

M. Rickert, Painting in Britain: The Middle Ages (Baltimore, 1954); a new edition is in preparation. M. Rickert, The Reconstructed Carmelite Missal (London, 1950), a masterpiece of archaeological work in the field of manuscripts. 30 For a more thorough analysis of this style, see Rickert, Painting in Britain, p. 174. 29

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tioned previously (figs.

91-98,

PRESENCE

102-105).

ABROAD

The iconographies and the style are common to

both Books of Hours, although the Oxford manuscript is in grisaille, whereas the Brussels Hours are painted with a very rich palette.31 H o w can these three books have been illustrated by the same hand if the earlier was made in England and the two later ones in Holland ? The calendar of the Oxford Hours indicates Lincoln as its destination because of the importance of the cult of St. Hugh. Lincoln is the capital of a region of the British Isles which is called 'Little Holland,' as Dutch families settled there, perhaps after floods had damaged their country or for political reasons. All these facts put together seem to suggest the presence of a Dutch miniaturist in or near Lincoln, who later returned to his country and became the chief illuminator of Utrecht. Another interesting manuscript in the Bodleian Library at Oxford contains illuminations which must have been executed in circumstances similar to those of the Queen Mary's Hours previously mentioned, although in this case the manuscript was certainly written in England. 32 The text, the 'Mirroure of the Worlde,' is in English and was copied by an English scribe in a cursive script typical of the British Isles. The manuscript bears no date, but the decoration is characteristic of the middle of the fifteenth century, perhaps slightly later. The text is illustrated with pen drawings in pale brown ink, but the discoloration may be due to chemical transformation of the ink that can easily occur over the centuries. The technique of drawing is not frequently encountered in English manuscripts of this period, but there are two other reasons to doubt the English origin of the artist. The drawings were done on blank spaces left between chapters, without being enclosed within a frame as miniatures normally are. From the point of view of the history of art, this technique of drawing for itself is close to that of other earlier manuscripts made in Holland. Furthermore, the style and some of the iconographic themes remind us of the Dutch tradition. Though they all seem to be done by the same hand, these drawings nevertheless present a considerable variety in quality. Simple or complex in their composition, drawn with great care or casually, all the sketches are lively. The lack of frame always gives a greater feeling of life. The human type as we see it under the pen of the artist is not conventional but has an undeniable accent of sincerity. The main iconographic parallel with Dutch manuscript illumination can be found in a miniature representing the Last Judgment (fol. 87V, fig. 144). The 31 The most recent mention, to m y knowledge, of this important manuscript is in D. G. Carter's article ('The Providence Crucifixion: Its Place and Meaning for Dutch Fifteenth Century Paintings,' in Bulletin o j Rhode Island School of Design, Museum Notes, [May 1962]), where, strangely enough, the manuscript is dated between 1450 and 1470, which is either before or after the Vronensteyn Hours, dated 1460. M y impression is that the Oxford grisailles are even earlier than the Vienna Bible which must have been done before the Vronensteyn Hours. 52 This manuscript also was kindly brought to my attention by Professor Otto Pacht. In a doctoral dissertation for the University of California (Berkeley, 1965), Miss K. Smith, now Mrs. Scott, has studied this 'Mirroure of the Worlde' with its miniatures and related it to other books of the same time in England. Since then she has enlarged her subject in an impressive way; let us hope she will soon publish her important conclusions.

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mouth of Hell is avidly open on the right, whereas a beautiful Gothic spire, to which the chosen are directed by St. Peter, fills the left side of the picture. The center, in conformity with tradition, represents Christ at the moment of the resurrection of the dead. This specific composition, balancing the mouth of Hell against the Gothic church for Heaven, is virtually the same as in the two other manuscripts of the Soudenbalch Master, the Queen Mary's Hours at Oxford and the Vronensteyn Hours at Brussels, made in Utrecht in 1460. It is very common in Dutch manuscripts of both good and bad quality, but does not appear, to my knowledge, in the English tradition of book illustration. The aesthetic merits of the previous group of manuscripts are identical with those that demonstrate the originality of Dutch illumination. The natural conclusion is that the artists were born and trained in Holland. There is also documentary evidence to confirm the hypothesis that the stylistic analysis has led us to take into account. Further study might force us to omit from this list some miniatures that have been placed in the Dutch tradition; it might, on the contrary, add more paintings or drawings to an already impressive group. Other cases might be cited in which the Dutch influence is evident. There is, for instance, an Italian manuscript that seems to have been decorated and illustrated by two miniaturists, a Dutchman and an Italian, working together. Another manuscript, made in Aragón, could be more easily understood if a craftsman from Holland had come that far south and shared with his Mediterranean colleague not only his art of using the brush but also some very distinctively northern iconographies. If Dutch artists went as far south as Paris and Dijon, there is no reason for not considering the possibility that they went even farther. W e know that Holland was a highly creative milieu during the first half of the fifteenth century and also that local demand and patronage were not sufficient to absorb the artistic production. The conclusion is evident. This study is not intended to be a complete survey of Dutch illumination within and outside the northern L o w Countries. It is hoped that the examples mentioned above will serve to alert the art historian working on illuminated manuscripts from other parts of Europe, particularly if he has been convinced of the merits and originality of the Dutch aesthetic tradition in manuscript illumination.

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V

POSTSCRIPT The Complementary Fragment of the Hours of Catherine of Cleves Recently Acquired by the Pierpont Morgan Library

The present study on Dutch illumination was already in the hands of the publisher when I heard, through the kindness of Frederick B. Adams, Jr., Director of the Pierpont Morgan Library of New York, that the Morgan Library had acquired an important Dutch manuscript illustrated by the Master of Catherine of Cleves. Any book that contains paintings by one of the best of the Dutch miniaturists is bound to bring new discoveries. But at first glance it was evident that the miniatures of this new manuscript are as exceptional in their iconography as in their style, and that the ornamental borders are among the most daring creations in the history of medieval book decoration. All these qualities confirm in an unexpected way the analysis of Dutch style made in Chapter in and of Dutch influence in Chapter iv. Therefore, since Mr. Adams kindly allowed me to add this unique manuscript to my survey,33 it seemed proper to introduce a separate commentary on this fragment here, before the concluding chapter, rather than to upset the original plan of the book. In his publication concerning this magnificent addition to the Morgan Library, Dr. Plummer demonstrates how it must be integrated with another fragment known by the same name and now in the hands of a private collector in New York (figs. 73-79). Only a decision taken by two booklovers to share a manuscript admired by both can explain the strange division of the original Book of Hours. Yet, as Dr. Plummer has shown, the manuscript was not simply divided into an equal number of quires, or gatherings; some folios with miniatures were extracted from one fragment and inserted in the other with complete disregard for the text. The result is a complex redistribution of the folios within the gather33 I am delighted to have this opportunity to thank M r . Adams for his inexhaustible kindness to me; since the beginning of m y work on medieval manuscripts he has given me all the help I needed for research. For many reasons it was considered best that the present volume should come out only after this exceptional acquisition had been published by Dr. John Plummer, Curator of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts at the M o r g a n Library: The Book of Hours of Catherine of Cleves ( N e w Y o r k , 1964).

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ings, but also an inexplicable separation of the pictures. The Morgan fragment, which contains the more original marginal decorations and illustrations of the two, may be considered a summa of the stylistic characteristics of manuscript painting in fifteenth-century Holland. Furthermore, it is undoubtedly the source of inspiration of the realistic and illusionistic borders which were thought to have been created in Flemish manuscripts made a few decades later. When one reconstructs the Book of Hours in its primitive condition, it would appear that the artist felt an urge toward the unconventional; he seems to have given free rein to his imagination as he invented a new decorative motif on every page. This applies to the illustrations also. Although we know the creative power of the Master of Catherine of Cleves from his other paintings (figs. 39-48, 73-79), the new acquisition by the Morgan Library contains an unparalleled series of pictures. A few examples of these two aspects of the book will, I hope, justify the abnormal way of presenting' this new material in the present study. Dutch miniaturists showed their love of reality in the use of naturalistic borders for the pages they had illuminated. They were the first to represent realistic flowers and plants (figs. 15, 16), whereas in the other centers of northern Europe the artists and their patrons were satisfied with the conventional acanthus and ivy leaves painted in a great diversity of shapes and colors but with uniform dullness. Later the northern miniaturists introduced scenes of everyday life (figs. 88, 89), or even a conscientious pictorial analysis of unimportant details such as chestnuts or flies (fig. 85). The Morgan fragment contains a number of pages that are earlier than the ones just mentioned, but which are nevertheless infinitely more varied in their decorative themes and more analytical in style. Those who are interested in archery or fishing in the fifteenth century can find all types of contemporary equipment carefully painted in the margins of Catherine of Cleves' Book of Hours (pp. 253, 233, figs. 145,146). A variety of birdcages, some highly complex and showing rare craftmanship, fill the borders of page 247 (fig. 147). A superb necklace is elegantly spread around page 237 (fig. 148), with its two tassels and pendants heavy with precious stones. Coins, which like pilgrimage badges were often sewn in prayer books and Books of Hours, and which were later painted in Flemish manuscripts,34 already appear in this book, at least thirty years earlier than in the south (page 240, fig. 149). On page 231 an equally inventive decoration seems to be linked with a miniature representing Matthew. The Apostle is holding a carpenter's square, and the page is surrounded by a finely carved wooden frame on which the effects of 34

Traces of badges that were sewn on the pages are still visible in many medieval manuscripts; the Bodleian Library in Oxford has in its collections a Book of Hours in which the original badges are still preserved: MS Douce 51. Among examples of Flemish manuscripts in which pilgrimage badges are painted on the monochrome background, another manuscript in the Bodleian Library can be mentioned: MS Douce 311, on fol. 2v.

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light and shadow have been accurately rendered (fig. 150). A border of very delicate lace also demonstrates the skill of the painter (page 306). Some borders contain more than realistic representations of objects or animals. In the margins of page 244 (fig. 151) are painted a series of open mussels and a crab, their mortal enemy; they appear to converge toward it, ready for the holocaust. It is natural to wonder whether such images have a hidden meaning, or perhaps express a popular proverb. A similar intention may lie behind the ring of fishes each devouring the other (p. 266, fig. 152), with regular insertions of eels entwined about each other, while the tails of the eels are being devoured by large fishes. Here again, in the lower margin, breaking the circle, a sole is represented unmolested by the other fish but very near the hook on a fisherman's line. The meaning of the whole sequence might well be: One way or another there is no escape. Many other marginal decorations could be mentioned: peacock feathers used later in the manuscripts illustrated by the Master of Mary of Burgundy around 1485,35 butterflies painted with perfect accuracy (p. 268), and a great variety of jewels. But among these borders, so revolutionary for the time, we fortunately find also the conventional type with acanthus, the same type that we have seen in MS 87 of the Morgan Library (fig. 26) and in MS 174 in the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore (fig. 29); this enables us to locate the execution of the new fragment in the same milieu that produced these earlier masterpieces. Other borders, however, display the more luxurious type of decoration of miniatures painted by the Soudenbalch Master in the Vronensteyn Hours at Brussels (fig. 105), which seem to have been finished in Utrecht in 1460. Some miniatures are equally revolutionary, even in comparison with the unconventional repertory of images in Dutch Books of Hours. Usually the Hours of the Holy Ghost and the Hours of the Dead are illustrated with a single miniature; in the Cleves Hours they have received a full cycle. In consequence the master had to invent or adapt some other themes that could fit into this series; but this, of course, presupposes a rare knowledge of the biblical text such as we have already seen in the illustrations of the Bibles—a knowledge that is usual in the milieu of the Modern Devotion. Even in these favorable conditions, no other Dutch miniaturist has shown so inventive an imagination as that of the Catherine of Cleves Master. The Hours of the Holy Ghost begin with the usual scene: the descent of the Holy Spirit onto the Virgin and the Apostles. The iconography conforms with the tradition, except that the interior perspective of the church as architectural background is rarely painted so naturally and with such feeling for atmosphere. Among the illustrations of the Hours o f 35

Otto Pacht, The Master of Mary of Burgundy (London, 1948), pis. B and C .

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Compassion is the unusual depiction of the pool of Bethesda (fol. 104, fig. 153), evidently a typological representation of the intervention of the Holy Spirit: the first cripple lowered into the water after it had been stirred by the angel would be cured of his infirmity. Dr. Plummer has observed that the composition of this miniature is similar to that of a drawing in the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum in Brunswick, which has two more figures not related to the biblical story. The Rohan Master, in one of his most striking miniatures, the Last Judgment (Paris, Bibliothèque nationale, MS Latin 9471, fol. 154), had used a detail of this composition: the man at the extreme bottom right of the picture who heaves himself on his stick and is trying to get up.36 Because of the greater similarity between the drawing and the miniature in the Hours of Catherine of Cleves, both may come from the same milieu, where the whole iconography was in existence. But this comparison favors the northern origin of the Master of Rohan himself, whose style is definitely not Parisian, nor even French.37 The Hours of the Dead are illustrated with another cycle of miniatures that does not seem ever to have been used before in manuscripts. One of the folios of this group, which was left in the other fragment of the Cleves Hours, was reproduced as figure 79. Discussing this painting I stressed that for the first time, to my knowledge, death had been represented as a family tragedy. Another illustration in the same text, which has been found in the new fragment, confirms this interpretation. The miniature that originally preceded the scene depicted in figure 79 represents a dying man (p. 180, fig. 154). He is on his bed surrounded by his whole family: the wife in black, pathetically conscious that the last moment has come, and the son, gaily dressed, who seems to have returned in time from a journey. The doctor is looking at a urine specimen, a priest has come to administer the Unction, a mourner says her prayers. Three of the shutters have been closed and the light filters in without hurting the eyes of the sick man. The whole scene is a creation in the history of medieval iconography and would certainly not be out of place in seventeenth-century panel painting in Holland. Other miniatures representing themes of death are equally original. In the Suffrages a corpse is placed on a stretcher high above the ground (p. 206) and a man is digging the grave in which it will be placed. On another page, a young man puts a branch with green leaves 56 Millard Meiss has made this interesting comparison in his article, 'Un dessin par le Maître des Grandes Heures de Rohan,' Gazette des Beaux-Arts, 1935, pp. 65-75. Professor Meiss observed that the same detail can be found in another French book (London, British Museum, M S Harley 2897, fol. 323), where it appears to conform more strictly to the drawing or to a common model. This indicates that the northern composition was already in Paris around 1 4 1 0 - 1 4 1 5 . !7 On this question I must disagree with Jean Porcher, who considers that the Rohan Master could be Catalan: The Rohan Book of Hours (London, 1959), p. 8. In my opinion, the intensity and depth of emotion apparent in the miniatures of the Rohan Master go very far beyond the powerful linearity and the conventional articulation of the body that we find in Catalan miniatures. On the other hand, I do not think that the Rohan Master is Dutch, but rather German because of the exaggeration in the gestures and in the pathos of his human types. But he could have passed through Utrecht on his way to Paris. Such a hypothesis supposes a long life for the iconographie theme, but we have observed in Dutch book illumination how long similar compositions could live, for instance the Betrayal of Christ.

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in the mouth of the corpse (p. 91, fig. 155), but in the following miniature a big stone that had been laid on the tomb over the corpse has cracked, and a tree, obviously the image of life's victory over death, has grown through the opening (p. 97, fig. 156). Very different from these symbolical miniatures are two successive folios that represent the Holy Family in a highly descriptive style. In one of them (p. 151, fig. 157), Mary, seated, is giving her breast to her Baby and Joseph is eating while resting in his armchair. The room is crowded with furniture and kitchen equipment: shelves, an open cupboard, a big cauldron hanging over burning logs in a beautifully proportioned fireplace, even bellows. Never before has an interior setting been represented so naturally, and this whole picture, from the exquisitely rendered attitude ofjoseph to the minutest object, could easily figure among the best intimiste pictures of the later Dutch masters. The other miniature (p. 149, fig. 158) seems to represent the same scene at a later stage. Baby Jesus is now taking his first steps in a walker while his mother is weaving. The room has been enlarged on the right and is now L-shaped. The uprights in the new wing have been put in place, and Joseph is busy with his tools preparing another piece of wood. This representation of family life is not inferior to the previous one and shows equally well the rare sensitivity of the artist to simple daily reality. The series of new illustrations for the various Hours evidently manifests a deliberate innovation of the painter. The unexpected inventiveness apparent in the miniatures in the second half of this Book of Hours produced similar results in the marginal decoration. Such a simultaneity indicates that at one moment the painter not only freed himself from the conventional illustrations but deliberately tried to find more original subjects. What is particularly symptomatic is that these miniatures are inspired by the experiences of daily life, and that even religious themes, such as the Hours of the Dead and the Holy Family, are simply human. The stylistic characteristics of the decoration and illustration of this book were already known. Many miniatures of other manuscripts have asserted the same set of values and shown the same approach to reality, but no other book contains so many illustrations in that style and few equal them in their specific Dutch quality.38 The recent discoveries of manuscripts made in the northern Low Countries have not changed our interpretation of Dutch style; they have merely given a better foundation for it. There is no reason to believe that the series is closed.39 On the contrary, more books 38 More work is badly needed on the Master of Catherine of Cleves; we may hope that Mr. R. G. Calkins, who is writing his doctoral dissertation for Harvard University on this miniaturist, will before long have the opportunity of publishing the conclusions of his work. 39 While this book was in proof, the Museum Meermanno-Westreenianum at The Hague acquired an unusual Book of Hours (10 F 50), more attractive for the lively decorations painted in its borders than for its miniatures. A description with reproductions of the main pages was given by P.J. H. Vermeeren in the catalogue of the exhibition of this manuscript: Rondom

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will probably appear, some from different epochs of Dutch illumination, others made outside Holland and containing miniatures that do not fall into local tradition but would be better understood as works of Dutch artists working abroad. If this hypothesis is correct, we shall probably discover their style in books produced in Holland. In any case, this strongly characterized Dutch style, so firmly localized and different from other national styles, constitutes a solid base for future research. de Meester van Catherina van Cleef, The Hague, Rijksmuseum Meermanno-Westreenianum, 1965. Dr. K. G. Boon in his article, 'Nieuwe gegevens over de Meester van Katharina van Kleef en zijn atelier,' Bulletin van de Koninklijke Nederlandsche Oudheidkutidige Bond 17 (1964), pp. 242-254, has shown that some of the decorations in this new manuscript are related to the only group of Flemish manuscripts that use such grotesques: the books illustrated by Lievin van Lathem. As the Dutch Hours are at least a decade earlier than the Flemish manuscripts, it is easy to see where the mode originated. Dr. Boon's observation strangely confirms my remark about the appearance of such borders in Flanders (see above, p. 46, note 85). Another manuscript from the same milieu was kindly shown to me by its owner, Mr. A. van Alfen. Although more modest than the other productions of the workshop, it contains some of the most original border decorations encountered in the Morgan fragment of the Hours of Catherine of Cleves, among them the mussels and the crab (fig. 151). This confirms that the great master did not have the monopoly of naturalistic borders in manuscripts executed in Holland. A third book, more important than the others, has been acquired by the Landesmuseum' in Münster. Dr. Paul Pieper, who published his catalogue after this book was in proof (Das Stundenbuch der Katharina van Lockhorst und der Meister der Katharina van Kleve [Münster, 1966]; appearing also as no. 2, vol. 44 [1966] of the magazine Westfalen), very kindly allowed me to use this new material. Fascinating for many reasons, this manuscript shows a new development in the art of the Master of Catherine of Cleves. In the other manuscripts, in which the painter showed such incomparable creativity, he too often used a human type with strongly marked features, which render the faces highly characteristic, but without sufficient individuality. In Judas' betrayal in the Münster manuscript (fol. 91V, fig. 159), we see, on the contrary, the miniaturist modelling his faces, particularly that of Judas, with a refinement and subtlety that would not put to shame the greatest contemporary panel painters. This more delicate painterly technique makes the Master of Catherine of Cleves the direct precursor of the Soudenbalch Master.

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Even if we exclude the work of Dutch miniaturists abroad, the illuminated manuscripts executed in the Lower Rhine area from the end of the fourteenth century until the end of the fifteenth show that the local craftsmen brought something new to the history of the medieval book. In their art of representation the object comes first and is not distorted by the vision of the artist. The object may be too complex in its nature, or the craftsman who wants to translate it into a picture is not able to reach his aim; but, if the relationship between the object and its representation is adequate, at least there is no falsification. There is no idea such as that of human grandeur, no preconceived system to interfere with the vision and transform its representation. In spite of many weaknesses of a technical nature, the Dutch miniaturist manifests in his transposition of an object into an image a remarkable receptiveness to reality. This statement is necessarily oversimplified. The Dutch craftsmen were in contact with neighboring traditions and had adopted some of their exterior manifestations, such as coloring or human type, either from Cologne, Flanders, or France; but normally their natural tendency was to give them a Dutch spirit or to absorb them rapidly into the Dutch tradition. The first achievements of these miniaturists were very humble, as we have seen in the face of Alexander and that of Christ on the Cross (figs. 3, 29). But in spite of a modest technique, a human quality was already present which no great French miniaturist such as the Boucicaut Master managed to render. On the other hand, in their pictures the Dutch miniaturists did not try to render truthfully all aspects of reality at the same time but depicted at least one of its facets with authenticity. It would be wrong to deduce from this authenticity that all the landscapes as well as the human representations are copies of actual scenes or persons. They did not need to be, but they share in different ways the quality of the experienced and the familiar. Therefore, we recognize in the Dutch miniaturist a sense of the exterior world as it is, a perception that satisfies him, because he does not try to alter it, to improve it, or even to render it uglier. Many human representations among the Dutch miniatures are so individualized that they strike us as having a portrait quality; at any rate, they appear like human beings and not like the puppets prevalent in the other schools of illumination in western Europe. 87

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Two techniques used by the Dutch miniaturists helped them to translate this objective vision of the world with greater fidelity. Although the pictorial technique was certainly not a monopoly of the northern craftsmen, it was used and developed by them to a degree that does not seem to have been reached elsewhere. Whereas in the southern Low Countries the miniatures in general are still illustrations of manuscripts, even late in the century, in the north they often assume a style similar to that of paintings. It would be wrong to use as a proof that the Providence panel of the Crucifixion1 (fig. 160) and a page with the same subject in the Vronensteyn Hours (fol. 55V, fig. 161) are so similar that few people would be able to identify from the reproductions which is the miniature and which is the painting. The pictorial quality of some Dutch miniatures lies precisely in the technique used by the artists. The Master of Catherine of Cleves, the Zweder Master, the Soudenbalch Master and the Bartholomaeus Master are magnificent artists with the brush. They do not put color within well-delimited surfaces, but they try to render the complexity of reality by a subtle handling of the brush in minute and ever-overlapping strokes. This technique, proper to painters, gives the miniatures a liveliness virtually unequaled in the history of book illumination.2 Some other Dutch miniatures are even more exceptional. The illustration of some Bibles is divided between miniatures in the conventional meaning of the word, painted in gouache, and others that are pure pen drawings. The iconographie and aesthetic merits of the latter have been analyzed previously; now I simply want to stress the coexistence of the techniques in the same books, which indicates that both, different as they are, were considered equally worthy means of expression. But whereas the painterly technique tries to express either analytically or in an impressionistic manner the intricate subtlety of things, the drawing selects the essential characteristics and expresses them with great power. These drawings were not occasional sketches, on isolated leaves or in manuscripts, intended as a transitory stage and destined to be completed as something else, like a tapestry; in Dutch manuscripts they were considered finished works. Not many drawings of this nature, considered as an end in themselves, could be found elsewhere in Europe so early in the fifteenth century. Only the miniatures of the Master of Wavrin 3 in the southern Low Countries have a similar quality, but they were used to illustrate poor manuscripts on paper which demanded 1

About this painting, see D . G. Carter's excellent article: 'The Providence Crucifixion: Its Place and Meaning for Dutch

Fifteenth Century Painting,' Bulletin of Rhode Island School of Design: Museum Notes, M a y , 1962. 2

The pictorial technique of Dreux Jean can easily be detected in the plates on pages 1 7 7 , 189, and 197 of L . M . J . Délaissé,

Miniatures médiévales (Geneva, 1959); in F. Winkler, Die flämische Buchmalerei (Leipzig, 1925), pis. 1 2 - 2 6 ; in Délaissé, La miniature flamande, Le mécénat de Philippe

le Bon, catalogue of the exhibition held in Brussels, Amsterdam, and Paris, 1959, pis. 7, 56, and

57, with reference to many other works; and particularly in a facsimile edition of the Les Croniques deJherusalem abregies, Vienna, Nationalbibliothek, M S 2 5 3 3 , which is the masterpiece of this miniaturist. O. Smital, Die Chronik des Kreuzfahrer Jerusalem 3

Königreiches

(Munich, 1924).

All the works on Flemish illumination, by Durrieu, Winkler, Lyna, and others, reproduce some pages of this miniaturist,

the only one, among all those w h o worked for Philip the Good, to show some sense of humor.

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the use of the pen or the brush for water color. Furthermore, some touches of wash appear to have been substitutes for the gouache pigments unsuited to the paper. Nor must we forget that those superb caricaturai pen sketches appear some twenty years after the Dutch miniatures. In consequence, the symbolic value of the iconographies, and even of the colors, does not appear to be the primary purpose of all these illustrations. Reality rather, and its inexhaustible wealth of detail in line, color, shape, and expression deserve to be perceived and represented. Symbolic significance, which certainly penetrated medieval ways of life and thought, may also be present in the object, but in Dutch book illumination symbolism is not the primary purpose.4 The miniatures reproduced in this book—they were naturally chosen for this purpose—include objects that are not intrinsically essential to the theme. Nearly all of them represent a slice of life and so do not seem to hesitate in picturing the superfluous details that are present in ordinary life. The realistic approach is particularly evident in the way in which Dutch miniaturists represented the religious themes that had to be illustrated in their manuscripts. In the history of the medieval book during the fifteenth century no other country produced so great a proportion of religious manuscripts. W e should therefore expect to find here, more than anywhere else, the use of symbols common in religious literature. But this indirect and complex approach does not seem to have appealed to the Dutch craftsman. The discovery of the world seems to have satisfied his mind and his palette; when the artist had to represent or illustrate a passage of the Bible he transformed the religious subject into a scene of everyday life. He was not attracted so much by a building in construction as by the way the building could be constructed, and for this reason he sketched the very common, though never represented, technique of making bricks (fig. 42). Moreover in Holland religious iconography often shows a sort of translation from a spiritual level to a more human one, as in the poignant scenes of the confrontation ofjesus with Pilate (fig. 105), the Flagellation (fig. 116), and the Pietà (fig. 7). But this humanization does not mean a loss of feeling. On the contrary, because religious events are transposed into human tragedies, they become understandable; they are shared by the miniaturists as well as by the people who look at their paintings. Therefore the scenes of the Passion are often more deeply moving than those related to the cycle of Jesus' youth. The straightforward acceptance of, or rather search for, reality explains the homeliness in the illustration of the northern manuscripts. The artist prefers his experience of men as he 4 If this interpretation of Dutch style in book illumination is correct, it differs greatly in this regard f r o m Flemish art as defined b y E r w i n Panofsky: 'this imaginary reality was controlled to the smallest detail b y a preconceived symbolical program' (Early Netherlandish Painting [Cambridge, 1955], p. 137); but see Otto Pacht's remarks in his review of Professor Panofsky's book, The Burlington Magazine (1956), pp. 1 1 0 - 1 1 6 , 276-279.

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knows them to the inventive figuration o f a world that he has not observed. His imagination does not w o r k by adapting itself to unreality, but by transforming a story into an event o f daily life. Because o f their lack o f ideas, o f intellectual program, these pictures often have an accent o f naïveté that seems strange in fifteenth-century Europe which tried so hard to escape from human limitations. O n e may not find it appealing, but the genuineness manifested b y the Dutch miniaturists is probably the most characteristic quality of their art. The directness, the sincerity, o f the Dutch miniaturist's approach to his subject corresponds to a similar attitude in the religious literature o f the time. The Devotio moderna is as devoid o f allegory 5 as Dutch manuscript illumination is o f abstruse symbolism. In these spiritual matters there was a consciousness o f breaking away from tradition, above all from scholastic literature and the vocabulary o f the universities. H o w else could w e explain the very daring qualification o f 'modern' which was applied then to the new movement ? The artistic movement was never labeled so expressively as the religious movement, for it did not have the vital importance o f the n e w religious current, and its first manifestations were more humble. But this new disposition and expression, in the artistic domain as well as in religious sentiment, undeniably reflect the same attitude toward life. The vocabulary o f the artist is the same as that o f the writer: the description, in picture or in words, is an exact transposition o f the object in one case, o f the ideas or sentiments in the other. Reality is sufficient unto itself, and in Holland the authors or artists did not feel the need of hiding it under the veil o f literary or artistic images. H o w can w e interpret this manifestation o f new values in Holland so late in the development o f medieval Europe ? It is always dangerous to try to explain facts as if they were the normal and irrevocable development o f a preconceived plan. Other parts o f Europe have suddenly asserted themselves as creative centers and later, after several centuries, have disappeared like a generous spring that suddenly became dry. Can w e suggest, nevertheless, a hypothesis which may have no other merit than to provoke a reaction? 6 In the history o f medieval Europe the awakening to culture spread slowly northward. England in this respect was an exception because the British Isles were the first to revive contact with Italy and to receive from there the modicum o f antique culture saved by Cassiodorus at Vivarium. But on the continent there was^a sort o f reconcjuista o f Latinity toward the old boundaries o f the Roman Empire. The Ottoman period is an interlude. The classicism o f Ottoman art was not really genuine; it was a temporary assimilation 5 Typology—i.e., the symbolical interpretation of the O l d Testament as a préfiguration of the N e w — m u s t not be considered as contradictory to the realism of the Dutch miniaturists. T y p o l o g y had been traditionally accepted since the Greek Fathers and even earlier in Judaism itself (only for the O l d Testament) because it was necessary to transcend the literal meaning o f the text. Its recent development in the Gothic period in the Bible moralisée and later in the Biblia pauperum was ideologically essential; the transposition into pictures is natural. 6 Margaret Rickert has clearly expressed this 'puzzle' in her review o f Gorissen's publication of the archives o f Guelders (see above, p. 14, note 2) in The Art Bulletin x x x i x (1957), p. 75.

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of R o m a n and Byzantine traditions. The Meuse valley participated in the life of the Germanic empire f r o m the eleventh century, whereas Flanders on the northern frontiers of the kingdom of France asserted itself later in the thirteenth century. Toward the end of the fourteenth century the French and Italian thrust penetrated as far north as Cologne and Prague; but farther north there was little cultural or artistic life. The barbarians w h o had settled d o w n after invading the R o m a n Empire of the west were slowly acquiring maturity. W e k n o w of the progressive renaissances that prepared the Renaissance; but this phenomenon did not occur in the north. Little concerned with antiquity, the northern European discovered and expressed aesthetic and spiritual values that had nothing to do with the classic tradition. This awakening started afresh and with a powerful impact, like all new movements. The outburst in northern Europe can be considered as equivalent to, though less important than, the cultural and artistic enthusiasm of the Gothic period. In the domain of art as well as in that of thought, the Dutch did not try to transcend reality in a cerebral or idealistic way, but accepted it as such. The real significance of these humble beginnings in manuscript illumination as well as in religious literature is to be seen in their later consequences. The miniatures made in Holland in the fifteenth century foreshadow the panel paintings of the great century of Dutch art, even as the Devotio moderna opened the way to Protestantism, or at least to a moderate and tolerant type of Protestantism. This continuity in Dutch art does not require a long commentary. W h e n the northern Low Countries reached an exceptional level on the economic as well as on the political plane in the seventeenth century, when the bourgeois patronage was most interested in works of art and most demanding, painters showed the same sensibility as their predecessors, the miniaturists of the fifteenth century. W e find again, in a more refined and analytical style, the same representation of man, of his milieu, of nature, that we have seen in the pictures of our manuscripts. The scènes de genre that masters of the golden century enjoyed painting already appear in the manuscripts, particularly in the Bibles. In the fifteenth century the Dutch craftsmen were the first to represent man with the qualities of a human being, with individuality in the features, even sometimes with an apparent reminiscence of portraiture, without flattery, without idealization of any kind. Later the painters simply penetrated more deeply behind those faces and unveiled their souls with the same, sometimes cruel, sincerity. Everyday life, which gave that unique flavor to the miniatures, is observed and rendered with even more loving accuracy in the seventeenth century. T o mention a few names here would be misleading, for nearly all the artists of that later period share the same characteristics in different ways. Some art historians rightly spiritualized some of these pictures of the seventeenth century which look so terre à terre, so empty of ideas. Another symbolism must have coexisted with 91

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these realistic representations, in the same w a y that folklore, particularly the most popular, is penetrated w i t h the symbolism o f numbers, o f colors, or o f gestures. B u t m a n y m i n iatures and paintings are too narrative, too natural, too sincere to be complicated b y tortuous significance. T h e o n l y symbolic meaning that they could have was probably understood b y everyone. T h e continuity b e t w e e n the Devotio moderna and Protestantism is o f a m o r e subtle nature, as this relationship belongs to the realm o f ideas and even o f convictions and is not limited to the rather simple and less emotional comparison o f miniature and painting. T o claim that the M o d e r n D e v o t i o n could n o t have prepared the w a y f o r Protestantism because the f o r m e r was still in c o n f o r m i t y w i t h the C h u r c h o f R o m e whereas the latter was separated and condemned, has little to do w i t h the p r o b l e m . T h a t kind o f argument is valid only f r o m a purely dogmatic, technical point o f v i e w ; it has nothing to do w i t h life. T h e m o v e m e n t o f the Brethren o f the C o m m o n Life and the r e f o r m o f W i n d e s h e i m originated in the need, not o f the founder but o f the people around him, for m o r e sincerity in their w a y o f living their religion. T h e contradiction b e t w e e n ideas or ideals and facts, to w h i c h the Latin m i n d can so easily adapt itself, did not satisfy their hunger f o r spiritual life. These religious c o m munities w e n t back to the basic text, the Bible. T h e y copied it, and they translated it into the vernacular—and here it must be remembered that previous translations into the vernacular had generally been received w i t h suspicion and sometimes condemned. For the same reason, m u c h o f their religious literature was n o t that o f traditional authors, but a selection made b y themselves o f w h a t suited each individual. This direct, simple (nowadays w e w o u l d say democratic) approach, w h i c h is not so m u c h concerned w i t h doctrines and C h u r c h authority, seems to have been the attitude o f the first groups o f Protestants. T h e double manifestation, artistic and spiritual, o f this n e w culture in the fifteenth century shows its true value w h e n it is seen as a w h o l e . Its continuation and its development in the f o l l o w i n g centuries help us to understand in retrospect these h u m b l e beginnings. Furtherm o r e the fact that the expression o f neighboring traditions continued in different styles gives m o r e w e i g h t to the differentiation perceived at the beginning. S o m e G e r m a n techniques and values are present in some manuscripts made in the n o r t h ern L o w Countries, but D u t c h art e v o l v e d a w a y f r o m them just as it did n o t accept the mannerism adopted in Flanders at the B u r g u n d i a n court. T h e contrast b e t w e e n D u t c h and G e r m a n art is self-evident w h e n it is seen in the light o f individual development, but the difference b e t w e e n D u t c h and Flemish is less distinct. N o one has expressed this contrast better than Professor L y n a , w h o , w r i t i n g about the gallery o f portraits in the Gelre armorial o f the end o f the fourteenth century (fig. i) and the w e l l k n o w n frontispiece o f the Chroniques de Hainaut1 o f 1448, states: 'I think that at this epoch 7

See above, p. 64.

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one w o u l d l o o k in vain for another example o f this impressive grandeur that has been expressed w i t h such a sense o f gradation and psychological nuances. If w e compare to this page [of the Gelre armorial] the frontispiece o f the Chroniques de Hainaut painted f i f t y years later, one realizes h o w m u c h the latter, t h o u g h so famous, is superficial and lacking emotion.' 8 Flanders, politically and culturally, was too near France to escape f r o m its refinement and also f r o m its lack o f sincerity. W h y have art historians been so ungenerous in their treatment o f D u t c h b o o k illumination? In spite o f the publications o f D v o r a k , de T o l n a y , Panofsky, Rickert, and the D u t c h scholars, there is still a kind o f conspiracy o f silence about this artistic production. T w o main reasons for the general ignorance about this material can be distinguished: the f o r m a tion o f the culture o f western E u r o p e and the p o w e r o f tradition. European education since the sixteenth century has remained cerebral, idealistic, an authentic and p o w e r f u l result o f the Renaissance, w h i c h had reasserted the Platonist tradition. T h e h u m a n mind, w h i c h had so recently discovered its o w n grandeur, and the C h u r c h w i t h its p r o g r a m o f spiritual redressement, b o t h demanded that m a n should live up to his better nature. It is therefore not surprising that even seventeenth-century D u t c h art came to light so recently o n the continent. It m a y not give intellectual pleasure to the mind, but it has b e c o m e the source o f m o r e humble, more simply h u m a n delights. Tradition in scholarship, already centuries old, has fixed even m o r e strongly this orientation o f the mind. O n l y recently, thanks to the scholars mentioned above, has some curiosity been aroused in regard to D u t c h b o o k illumination. Interest in medieval miniatures is rather recent. T h e study o f manuscript illumination started w i t h the w o r k s o f the late G o t h i c period that w e r e related to panel painting and w e r e preparing the Renaissance, and slightly later w i t h the earlier manuscripts that w e r e p r o l o n g i n g antiquity w i t h i n the barbaric w o r l d . T h e G o t h i c period proper was, and sometimes still is, considered a v a c u u m in between. A f t e r w a r d the art historians l o o k e d for the masterpieces, the best manuscripts preserved, and, w h e n it was possible, grouped them around the f e w names o f artists k n o w n , and started to recreate a history based on present-day national boundaries and according to period. Such a choice had to provide a f r a m e w o r k and an explanation for the inferior w o r k s . This aristocratic interpretation has prevailed for a l o n g time and still tenaciously persists, even w h e n progressive research discovered n e w , less luxurious, but sometimes just as fascinating manuscripts. Y e t w e k n o w that this aristocratic approach is based on the w r o n g assumption; one d a y w e shall reach the end o f seeking n e w and always less g o o d , or rather less rich, manuscripts; and w e shall then change our orientation and begin to l o o k at this material f r o m another angle. T h e essential p r o b l e m is not to find h o w the masterpieces have influenced the rest o f the production, but h o w they have c o m e out o f 8

F. L y n a , 'Les miniatures d'un ms. d u " C i nous dit" et le réalisme préeyckien,' Scriptorium i (1947), p. 116.

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it. The history of manuscript illumination will be redone, no longer by jumping from one summit to another and neglecting all the lesser mountains and hills in the vast landscape, but by climbing from the bottom and by following complex and tortuous paths through the lesser heights on which the peaks are founded. The aristocratic approach to the study of book illumination is the main cause of the depreciation of Dutch material. The purpose of this book was to characterize as well as to revaluate Dutch manuscript illumination, and to differentiate it from other contemporary work. The characteristics are evident from the selection of miniatures that constitute the illustration of this volume, but their value might be debated. According to Professor Byvanck, who certainly cannot be accused of writing on this question with nationalistic feelings, 'During the prosperous period of the first half of the fifteenth century the miniatures of the northern Low Countries are more important than those of the south.'9 He was absolutely right and, from my point of view, even too modest. Yet it is undeniable that if the Dutch miniaturists continued to work after 1450 in their traditional style, their production decreased in quantity, in comparison with what was done at that time in the southern Low Countries. This fact also influenced the opinion of scholars in their evaluation of Dutch illumination, but it has never been explained. A solution to this first problem would require a thorough stylistic study of manuscript illumination in the southern Low Countries. The catalogue of the exhibition of Flemish illumination in 1959 is already revealing;10 but whatever the conclusions may be, the fact remains that before 1450, before the active patronage of the Burgundian court, the art of illuminating manuscripts flourished more successfully and with greater originality in Holland than in the south. Furthermore, we have seen the presence at that time of Dutch miniatures in Bruges. W e can, therefore, guess what happened when, after the middle of the century, the demand for books and for book craftsmen increased greatly in the south; it was a miniaturist from Utrecht, Willem Vrelant, who started the new style and became the most successful illuminator in Flanders, and there may be others. In any event, the study of Flemish manuscript illumination would enable us to define its style and contrast it with the aesthetic qualities of the Dutch production. The second problem is more complex. The relation of northern miniatures to Eyckian panel paintings, or illuminations that have the quality of paintings, is evident, but it has not been satisfactorily explained. If we attribute the paintings and miniatures to Hubert or Jan van Eyck, or both, and if we postulate that panel paintings, particularly those of the great masters, always inspire minor works and not vice versa, we have not yet explained why these works influenced the miniaturists of the north and very rarely the Flemish crafts9 10

A. W . Byvanck, La miniature dans les Pays-Bas septentrionaux (Paris, 1957), p. 115. Délaissé, La miniatureflamande.

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men, particularly w h e n these paintings are supposed to have been done in the south. T h e influence o f great w o r k s or o f the best artists o n lesser craftsmen seems to m a k e g o o d sense, but it is just as normal for a great painter to share w i t h , or adopt f r o m , others some i c o n ographic v o c a b u l a r y or technical processes or aesthetic characteristics. T o give a priori all inventions to the great names is falling, w i t h o u t proof, into w h a t w e have called 'aristocratic criticism.' Those panel paintings o u g h t to be studied in relation to any conclusions c o n cerning D u t c h and Flemish styles in manuscript illumination. T h e basic aesthetic difference b e t w e e n the north and the south in b o o k illumination is probably reflected also in panel painting, b u t the patronage o f the dukes o f B u r g u n d y m a y not have affected the t w o fields o f artistic production in the same manner. T h e r e is a third p r o b l e m : w h a t happened to D u t c h painting b e t w e e n the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries ? This can be tackled o n l y after the t w o previous ones have been elucidated. T h e last t w o questions are closely connected; Professor Panofsky summarized them in a phrase w h i c h is n o t an answer: ' N o r t h Netherlandish art was overtaken b y the develo p m e n t o f panel painting in Flanders.' 11 This is true f r o m the point o f v i e w o f place o f execution; is it also true f r o m the point o f v i e w o f style? T w o artistic currents have affected the art o f the northern L o w Countries: the more refined and m o r e mannered aesthetic trend in the southern provinces, in Flanders and Brussels particularly, and the aesthetic and ideologic values o f the Italian Renaissance. B o t h distracted, but for a time only, the sincerity o f expression that w e have observed in m a n y D u t c h manuscripts. S o m e aspects o f the art o f B o s c h and B r u e g e l m i g h t be explained simply as understandable but rather violent reactions against a deviation w h i c h they m a y have feared. W h e n the political and religious links w i t h the south w e r e broken, D u t c h art carried o n m o r e smoothly along the path that the miniaturists and the painters o f the fifteenth century had opened up. Professor L y n a has grouped some fascinating manuscripts, w h i c h w e r e certainly made before V a n E y c k and w h i c h already expressed, around 1400, the consciousness o f and l o v e for reality. T h e manuscripts enriched w i t h this n e w quality originated in the area extending f r o m northern France to B o h e m i a , f r o m the w h o l e realistic zone o f western Europe. Foll o w i n g Professor Lyna's advice that 'the w h o l e question deserves to be re-examined w i t h out any preconceived ideas,' 12 the present study has tried to isolate and define a special aspect, a specific expression, w i t h i n this vast panorama. H o w m u c h o f this interpretation o f D u t c h manuscript illumination w i l l remain valid is difficult to foresee; in any event, a t h o r o u g h study o f this production remains to be carried out. Perhaps the link between art and thought, b e t w e e n miniature painting and the Devotio 11

Panofsky, op. cit., p. 104.

12

Lyna, op. cit., p. 117.

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moderna, will appear worthy of more research. This spiritual movement penetrated an intellectual and religious élite composed of laymen and ecclesiastics, not of aristocrats. The books produced in the communities where the new spirituality had been adopted so successfully were written and illustrated by clerics and lay craftsmen working together. The literary works of the spiritual leaders have the same spirit as the aesthetic creations of the miniaturists: both are sincere and natural in their expression. Together they discovered and set forth new human values, in expressing religious sentiment as well as in rendering reality in images. This movement is still profoundly medieval. It is a development, not a rebirth. For its human quality and its humility it is at the opposite extreme from the grandeur of humanitas as the Italian Renaissance understood it. It is imbued with depth and even charm that we have taken long to rediscover. Because of its consequences in the following epoch, and perhaps even until now, this artistic and ideologic current of the fifteenth century, human but not Humanist, in a way farther from our ideals but nearer to our real selves, can be considered as one of the most important achievements of European civilization.

96

SELECTED

BIBLIOGRAPHY

(IN C H R O N O L O G I C A L

ORDER)

P I T , A . Les Origines de l'art hollandais. Paris, 1894. W I L L E M . Holländische Miniaturen des späteren Mittelalters. Strasbourg, 1899. P I T , A . L'Art flamand et l'art hollandais. Paris, 1908. V A N D E R L O O I J , A . E . C . Bijdragen tot de Geschiedenis van het Natuurgevoel in de Middeleeuwsche Nederlanden. Utrecht, 1910. VOGELSANG,

F R I E D R I C H . 'Studien zur Geschichte der niederländischen Miniaturmalerei des X V . und X V I . Jahrhunderts, III. Z w e i utrechter Miniaturisten aus der Frühzeit der holländischen Malerei und die Heures de Turin,' Jahrbuch der kunsthistorischen Sammlungen in Wien X X X I I (1915), pp. 324ÌF. K A E M M E R E R , L U D W I G . 'Nordniederländische Buchkunst und ostdeutsche Tafelmalerei im X V . Jahrhundert,' Jahrbuch der preuszischen Kunstsammlungen X L (1919), pp. 36-60.

WINKLER,

F R I E D R I C H . 'Ein niederrheinischer Miniaturmaler unter dem Einfluss der pariser Kunst und ihr Einfluss auf die niederrheinisch-kölnische Kunst am Anfang des 15. Jahrhunderts,' Zeitschrift für bildende Kunst L V (1920), pp. 252-256. HINTZEN, J . D . 'De Noord-Nederlandsche Grisailles en de "Meister der Liebesgärten,"' Oudheidkundig Jaarboek II (1922), pp. 178-183. WINKLER,

A D O L P H . 'Holländische Miniaturen aus der ersten Hälfte des 15ten Jahrhunderts,' Oudheidkundig Jaarboek III (1923), pp. 22-27. B Y V A N C K , A . W . and H O O G E W E R F F , G . J . Noord-Nederlandsche Miniaturen in Handschriften der i4de, 15de en lòde Eeuwen verzameld en beschreven. 3 vols. The Hague, 1922-26. GOLDSCHMIDT,

BURROUGHS, BRYSON. 'The Discoverer of Landscape,' The Arts X I I (September 1927), pp. 124-166. D E W I T , C. 'Het Atelier der utrechtsche Miniaturen en een Kapittel uit de Geschiedenis van het Karthuizerklooster Nieuw-Licht,' Oudheidkundig Jaarboek VIII (1929), pp. 264-271. HOOGEWERFF, G. J . De Noord-Nederlandsche Schilderkunst. Vol. I. The Hague, 1936. D E W I T , KEES. 'Das Horarium der Katarina von Kleve als Quelle für die Geschichte der südniederländischen Tafelmalerei und der nordniederländischen Miniaturen,' Jahrbuch der preuszischen Kunstsammlungen LVIII (i937). PP- 1 1 4 - 1 2 3 B Y V A N C K , A. W . La Miniature dans les Pays-Bas septentrionaux. Paris, 1937. [This book sums up many earlier articles on the same subject.] JERCHEL, H. 'Die niederrheinische Buchmalerei der Spätgotik,' Wallraf-RichartzJahrbuch X (1938), pp. 65-90. H O L T E R , K U R T . 'Eine wiener Handschrift aus der Werkstatt des Meisters des Zweder von Culenborg.' Oudheidkundig Jaarboek VII (1938), pp. 55-59. B Y V A N C K , A . W . De Middeleeuwsche Boekillustratie in de noordelijke Nederlanden. Antwerp, 1943. L Y N A , F . 'Les Miniatures d'un ms. du " C i nous dit" et le réalisme préeyckien,' Scriptorium I (1947), pp. 1 0 6 - 1 1 8 . R I C K E R T , M A R G A R E T . 'The Illuminated Manuscripts of Meester Dire van Delft's " T a f e l van den Kersten Ghelo ve,"' Journal of the Walters Art Gallery X I I (1949), pp. 79-108.

97

SELECTED

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VOGELSANG, WILLEM. ' N o o r d - N e d e r l a n d s e Miniaturen,' in exhibition catalogue, Noord-Nederlandse Handschriften 1300-1500. Twenthe-Enschede, Rijksmuseum, 1950. Pp. 11-20. RICKERT, MARGARET. The Reconstructed Carmelite Missal. Chicago, 1952. PANOFSKY, ERWIN. Early Netherlandish Painting. 2 vols. Cambridge, Mass., 1953. GORISSEN F. 'Jan Maelwael u n d die Brüder L i m b u r g : ein N i m w e g e r Künstlerfamilie u m die W e n d e des 14. Jhs.,' Vereeniging tot Beoefening van Geldersche Geschiedenis, Oudheidkunde en Recht, Bijdragen en Mededelingen LIV (1954), pp. 153-221. MINER, DOROTHY. ' D u t c h Illuminated Manuscripts in the Walters Art Gallery,' The Connoisseur Yearbook (i955), PP- 66-77. VERMEEREN, P. J. H . ' D e Nederlandse Historiebijbel der Oostenrijkse Nationale Bibliotheek, C o d e x 2771 en 2772,' Het Boek X X X I I (1955), pp. 101-139. KURZ, O T T O . 'A Fishing Party at the C o u r t of W i l l i a m VI C o u n t of Holland, Zeeland and Hainault,' OudHolland LXX.1 (1956), pp. 117-131. RICKERT, MARGARET. Review of F. Gorissen, 'Jan Maelwael u n d die Brüder L i m b u r g , ' ArtBulletin

XXXIX

(i957). PP- 73-77BOON, K. G. ' D e eerste Bloei van de Noord-Nederlandse Kunst,' in exhibition catalogue, Middeleeuwse Kunst der noordelijke Nederlanden. Amsterdam, Rijksmuseum, 1958. Pp. 11-30. [English translation— ' T h e First Flowering of Art in the N o r t h e r n Netherlands'—bound in at the back.] PIEPER, PAUL. 'Das Stundenbuch des Bartholomäus-Meisters,' Wallraf-Richartz Jahrbuch X X I (1959), pp. 97-158LIEFTINCK, G. I. 'Windesheim, Agnietenberg en Marienborn en h u n Aandeel in de Noordnederlandse Boekverluchting,' Dancwerc.. .aan Prof. Dr. D. Th. Enklaar. Groningen, 1959. Pp. 188-207. HOOGEWERFF, G . J . 'Gelderse Miniatuurschilders in de eerste Helft v a n de X V d e E e u w , ' Oud-Holland L X X V I (1961), pp. 3-49CARTER, D . G. ' T h e Providence Crucifixion: Its Place and Meaning for D u t c h Fifteenth C e n t u r y Painting,' Bulletin of Rhode Island School of Design, Museum Notes (May 1962), pp. 1-40. HOOGEWERFF, G . J . 'Enkele verluchte Getijdenboeken tussen 1375 en 1425 in de Nederlanden ontstaan,' Koninklijke Nederlandse Akademie van Wetenschappen, Mededelingen, Afdeling Letterkunde, N.S. X X V I (1963), PP- 75-98FINKE, U . ' U t r e c h t - Z e n t r u m nordniederländischer Buchmalerei,' Oud-Holland LXXVIII (1963), pp. 27-66. PLUMMER, J O H N . The Book of Hours of Catherine of Cleves. N e w Y o r k , 1964. B O O N , K . G . ' N i e u w e Gegevens over de Meester van Katharina van Kleef en Zijn Atelier,' Koninklijke Nederlandsche Oudheidkundige Bond, Bulletin X V I I (1964), pp. 242-254.

98

INDEX

Abisag, 37; fig. 70 Abraham, 35; fig. 60 Acanthus leaves, 38, 40, 52, 72, 82; fig. 29 A d a m and Eve, 30, 42; figs. 47, 94 Adoration of the Lamb, 36; fig. 65 Adoration of the Magi, 32, 49, 69, 73; figs. 58, n o , 130 Ahasuerus, Feast of, 76; fig- 135 Aholiab, 28; fig. 41 Albumasar (treatise) ( N e w York, Pierpont M o r g a n Library, M S 785), 54 Alexander, Master of, 2 1 Alexander the Great, 16, 61, 62, 63; fig. 3 Angels, 24, 38, 40, 48, 76; figs. 23, 73, 82, 120, 137 Angels, Seven, Sound Their T r u m p e t s , fig. 7 1 Anger, Deadly Sin of, fig. 122 Annunciation, 19, 3 1 , 48, 72n, 77; figs. 52, 107, 140 A n t w e r p , Plantin M u s e u m , M S S 1 5 . 1 , 15.2, 39 Archery border, 82; fig- 145 Armorials, 13, 14, 18 Arms, coats of, 13, 1 5 , 16, 22, 45, 51 August (calendar of Jean de Berry), 69; fig. 123 Badges, pilgrimage (border), 82 Balaam and the Ass, 35; fig. 61

Baltimore, Walters Art Gallery, M S 165, 3on M S 168, 26, 46n; % s . 36, 37 M S 1 7 1 , 16, 17, 61; figs. 4, 5, 8 M S 174, 24-25; figs. 28-34 M S 182, 49-50; figs. no, i n M S 185, 20; figs. 15, 16 Barabbas, 50; fig. 1 1 3 Bartholomaeus, Master of, 51, 59, 88 Bedford, D u k e of, 33, 34 Bedford, Master of, 38 Benediction of the Tombs, fig. 87 Benjamin, 29; fig. 44 Berlin, Staatsbibliothek, M S G e r m . 4°42, 19-20; figs. 11, 1 2 , 13 M S G e r m . 8°648, 40, fig- 83 Bertram, Meister, 66 Bethesda, pool of, 84;

Bodleian Library. See O x f o r d , Bodleian Library Borders. See Marginal decorations Boucicaut Master, 57n, 62, 64 Breviaries, 19-20, 22, 23, 56, 73 Brickmaking, 29; figs. 42, 96 British M u s e u m . See London, British M u s e u m Bruges, 2, 54, 62, 70, 7 1 , 72, 73, 74, 77 Brussels, Bibliothèque royale, M S 205, fig. 3 M S 9015, 64 M S 9018-19, 72 M S 9020-23, 35-36; figs. 65-67, 7 1 , 72 M S 9026, 38 M S S 9066-9068, 59n M S 9242, 64, 92-93 M S 9 5 1 1 , 38 M S 9798, fig. 120 M S 10772, fig. 1 1 9 M S 11060-61, 30 M S 15652-56, 1 3 - 1 6 , 18, 92-93; figs. 1, 2 M S II 3634, 46n M S II 7619, 38, 45-48, 78, 83, 88; figs. 102-108, 1 6 1 M S IV 194, 72; fig. 128 Brussels Passion, Master

fig- 153 Betrayal of Christ. See Judas: Betrayal of Christ Bezaleel, 28; fig. 41 Bible historiée, 34 Bibles, 10, 1 1 , 16, 18, 2 1 , 26, 28, 29, 30, 34, 35, 36, 38, 39, 42-44, 57, 62, 72, 91 Biblia paupemm, 18, 72; figs. 9, 10 Birdcages border, 82; fig. 147 Birth of the Virgin, fig. 141 Block books, i8n, 27

of, 2 1 Butterflies border, 83

Calendars, 3on, 69-70, 72; fig- 123

99

Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Museum, M S 1 4 1 , 20; fig. 14 M S James 137, 40, 45; fig. 82 C a m p i n , Robert. See Flémalle, Master of Cana, W e d d i n g at, 44, 45; fig. 92 Canons, Regular, of St. Augustine, 10, 16, 41, 46 Carmelite Missal, 78; fig. 141 Cart Loaded w i t h Crops, 69; fig. 123 Carthusians, missal for the, 24-25; figs. 28-34 Catherine of Cleves, Hours of, 37, 81-86; figs. 73-79, 145-158 Catherine o f Cleves, Master of, 29, 30, 32, 36, 37, 39, 57, 59, 81-86; figs. 39-48, 73-79, 145-158 Celestial Court, 76; fig. 137 Chantilly, Musée Condé, M S 1284, 68, 69; fig. 123 Charles the Bold, 6, 8,49,62 Charles IV, 2 1 ; fig. 1 Charles V, 15, 61 Chestnuts border, 82; fig- 85 C h e v r o t , Jean, 64 Christ: corpse of, 17, fig. 7; crucified, 17, 25, 33, 50, 58, 87, figs. 6, 28, 29, 59, 84, 100, 1 1 2 , 1 1 9 , 160, 1 6 1 ; and Pilate, 18, 26, 3 1 , 32, 47, 50, 72, 89, figs- 9, 36, 49, 54, 105, 1 1 3 , 126; betrayal of, 20, 26, 46, figs. 15,

INDEX 37, 104, 159; carrying cross, 20, 31, 53, 72, figs. 16, 50, 1 1 7 , 127; entombment of, 23, 31, 47, 56, figs. 22, 53, 102; tortured, 32, 36, 39, 52, figs. 55, 67, 80, 116, 1 1 8 ; descent f r o m cross, 38, figs. 75, 128; waiting for crucifixion, 39, fig. 81; at wedding at Cana, 44, fig. 92; baptism of, 56, 62; calling Peter, 57, figs. 24, 30; as infant, 72, 85, figs. 129, 157, 158; healing, 73, fig. 1 3 1 ; at Last Judgment, 79, fig. 144; about to be stoned, fig. 31. See also Adoration of the Magi; Pieta; Trinity Christian Faith, Treatise on the, 16, 61; figs. 4-8 Circumcision, 31; fig. 51 City of God (Jean Chevrot), 64 Cleveland, Museum of Art, 59254, 33; fig. 59 Coins border, 82; fig. 149 Cologne, 1, 2, 7, 18, 45, 63, 66, 67, 78, 91 Cologne, Wallraf-Richartz Museum, The Book of Hours of Reynalt von Homoet, 51-53; figs. 115-118 C o m m o n Life, Brethren of the, 10, 11, i8n, 27. See also Devotio modema Copenhagen, Kongelige Bibliothek, M S Thott 533 4°. 72; fig. 127 Creation of the Soul, 17; fig- 5 Creation, Scenes of the, fig- 94 Creation, seven days of, 42 Cross, carrying of the, 17, 20, 24, 31, 33, 52n, 56, 63, 72, 76; figs. 16, 26, 27, 50, 118, 127, 136 Cross, discovery of the, 25; fig- 32

Fitzwilliam Museum. See Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Museum Flagellation, 32, 36, 38, 39, 52, 89; figs. 55, 67, 80, 116, 136 Flemalle, Master of (Robert Campin), 25, 38 Flies border, 82; fig. 85 Fountain of Life, 17, 62;

Cross, preparation of the, 39; fig- 81 Crowning with thorns, 36, 52, 63; figs. 66, 1 1 8 Crucifixion, 17, 25, 33, 38, 45, 50, 58, 87; figs- 6, 28, 29, 59, 84, 100, 1 1 2 , 119, 160, 161 Culemborg, Master of. See Zweder van Culemborg, Master of

fig- 4 Francke, Meister, 67

David of Burgundy, 7, 41, 62 David, Gerard, 73 David, King, 37, 48, 50, 75, figs. 70, 108, I I I , 132; and Goliath, 43, fig- 97 Dead, Office of the, 39, 47, 83; figs. 79, 103 Death, 16, 39, 83-84; figs. 79, 154, 155, 156 Debognie, Father Pierre, 9, 12, 34 Delft, Master of, 21 Deposition, 38, 72; figs. 11, 75, 85, 128 Devotio moderna, 9, 10, 1 1 , 12, 18, 27, 34, 39, 83, 90, 91, 95-96 Dresden Hours, Master of, 73 Durham, Ushaw College, MS 10, 71, 72; figs. 124, 126 Ecce H o m o , 50; fig. 1 1 3 Elders, Four and Twenty, Adoring the Lord, fig. 72 Electors, seven, 14; fig. 1 Elijah and Elisha, fig. 63 Entombment, 23, 31, 47, 56; figs. 22, 53, 102, 125, 143 Erasmus, 11, 12 Farming, 35, 69; figs. 63, 123 February (calendar of Jean de Berry), 70 Fishes border, 83; fig. 152 Fishing, 2 1 , 82; figs. 19, 146, 152

Geertgen tot Sint Jans, 73 Gelre Wapenboek, 13-16, 18, 92-93; figs. 1, 2 Ghent, Master of the Privileges of, 64 God, 19, 38, 40, 42, 44, 45; figs. 73, 82, 94 Gold Scrolls, Master of the, 64, 71 Grotesques, figs. 90, 1 1 9 Guelders, Prayer Book of Mary of, 19-20; figs. 11, 12, 13 Guennol Collection. See N e w York, Guennol Collection Guilbert de Mets, Master of, 64, 71 Hague, The, Koninklijke Bibliotheek, M S 74 G. 34, 20 M S 78 D. 38, figs. 60, 61, 62 MS 131 G. 4, 41; fig- 85 Hague, The, MeermannoWestreenianum Museum, MS 10 E. 1, 32, 8511; figs. 56, 57, 58 Hague, The, Royal Library, M S 76, F. 2, 3 in Hainaut, Chroniques de, 64, 92-93 Heidelberg, Universitätsbibliothek, M S Pal. Germ. 471, 67; figs. 1 2 1 , 122 Hell, mouth of, 39, 80; fig- 78 Historia scholastica, 11

100

Holy Family, 85; figs. 157, 158 Holy Ghost, 19, 25; figs- 33, 34 Holy Ghost, Hours of the, 83 Holy Week, book of devotion for, 50; figs. 1 1 3 , 1 1 4 H o m o e t Hours, 51-53, 59; figs. 1 1 5 - 1 1 8 Hours, Books of: Dutch, 19, 20, 30, 3 1 , 32, 37-41, 45, 49, 50, 59, 71, 72, 79, 81-85; Flemish, 71-72, 82, 86n; French, 19, 30, 39, 40, 51, 64, 68, 71 H u g h of Lusignan, Cardinal, 25; fig. 35 Humanism, 11, 54, 68

Imitation of Christ (Thomas a Kempis), 10 Initials, historiated, 16-17, 30, 41, 46, 48, 71 Innocents, Massacre of the, 77; fig. 138 Isabella, Queen of Spain, breviary of, 73; figs. 130, 131 Jean de Berry, 15, 30, 42, 55, 69; fig. 123 Jean le Tavernier, 31, 59 Jerusalem, construction of the temple in, 28-29; fig- 42 Jesse, Tree of, 48; fig. 106 Jesus. See Christ Jewel border, 82; fig. 148 Jews, 25, 27, 28, 35, 36, 44, 5°, 59; figs- 31, 38, 62, 68 John the Baptist, 45, 5711; fig. 101 Joseph (Mary's husband), 23-24, 31, 32, 36, 44, 52, 59, 63, 85; figs. 23, 53, 58, 68, 157, 158 Joseph (son of Jacob), Feast of, 36; fig. 68 Joseph of Arimathaea, 38, 47; fig- 102

INDEX

Judas: Betrayal of Christ, 20, 26, 4.6, 5711, 8411, figs. 12, 15, 17, 37, 104, 159; P a y m e n t of, 76, figs. 14, 134 Judges, B o o k of, 43 ; fig. 91 July (calendar of Jean de Berry), 70 King, E n t r y of, into a T o w n , fig. 64 King, Massacre of a, fig. 98 Knights and t o u r n a m e n t border, 40; fig. 84 Kongelige Bibliotek. See Copenhagen, Kongelige Bibliotek Konrad von Soest, 66 Lace border, 83 Lamcch, 29, 45, 46 Last J u d g m e n t , 40, 45, 79, 84; figs. 83, 101, 144 Leiden, Universiteitsbibliotheek, M S B.P.L. 224, 32, 39; figs. 80, 81 M S Letterkunde 289, 32; figs. 54, 55 Lewe, Helmich de, 19 Liédet, Loyset, 44 Liège, Bibliothèque de l'Université, M S W i t t e r t 13, 45; figs. 100, 101 L i m b o u r g Brothers, 42, 56, 68, 69-70, 75; fig- 123 Llangattock Hours, 64, 65, 77; figs. 138-140 Lochner, Stephen, 66 Lockhorst Bible, 28-29; figs. 39-44 London, British M u s e u m , M S Add. 10043, 36; fig. 68 M S Add. 15410, 36; figs. 69, 70 M S Add. 18850, 34 M S Add. 18851, 73; figs. 130, 131 M S Add. 22288, 16, 17; figs. 6, 7

M S Add. 29704-5, 78; fig. 141 M S Add. 38122, 28-29; figs. 39-44 M S King's 5, 18; figs. 9, 10 London, Robinson Collection, b o o k of devotion, 50; figs. 113, 1 1 4 L o n d o n Passionary, Master o f , 49, 72 Louvre. See Paris, Musée du Louvre

Michael, the Archangel, 32; fig. 56 Milan Hours. See T u r i n Milan H o u r s Miner, D o r o t h y , 24, 25, 26, 55, 56, 57, 59, 61 'Mirroure of the W o r l d e , ' 79; fig- 144 M o d e r n Devotion. See Devotio modema M o r g a n Library. See N e w York, Pierpont M o r g a n Library Moser, Lukas, 67 Moses, 28, 29, 35, 44, 57; figs. 40, 43, 62, 95 Multscher, Hans, 67 M u n i c h , Staatsbibliothek, M S G e r m . 1102, 29-30, 38, 59; figs. 45-48 Münster, Landesmuseum, 8611; fig. 159 Mussels and crab border, 83, 85n; fig. 151

Madrid, Biblioteca del Palacio, 77 Malachi, 22; fig. 20 Malouel, Jean, 70 Marginal decorations, 19, 34, 38, 40, 41, 45, 46, 48, 5 1 - 5 2 , 64, 71, 76, 78, 82, 8511 M a r y of B u r g u n d y , Master of, 72, 83 M a r y of Guelders: Prayer B o o k of, 19-20, 32, 66, figs. 11, 12, 13; Master of, 20 M a r y , Queen, B o o k of Hours of, 78; figs. 142, 143

N a t i v i t y cycle, 23, 52; figs. 74, 1 1 5 . See also Annunciation; Christ: as infant; Mary, Virgin; Visitation N a t u r e studies, in margins, 41, 82; figs. 86-90, 107, 152

M a r y , Virgin, 23, 25, 31, 42, 44, 45, 47, 48, 52, 59, 72, 77, 83, 85; figs. 23, 52, 53, 82, 94, 99, 120, 129, 130, 142, 157, 158. See also Annunciation; Pietä; Visitation Mass for the Dead, 48, 76;

N e w York, Guennol Collection, 81; figs. 73-79 N e w York, H . P. Kraus, B o o k of Hours, 45; fig- 99 N e w York, Pierpont M o r g a n Library, M S 87, 22, 23, 24, 32, 33, 56, 57, 63, 83; figs. 20-27 M S 691, 16 M S 785, 54 M S 917, 81-86; figs. 145-158 Nicholas B r o u w e r , Master

fig- 77 Mass o f Saint Hilary, 75; fig- 133 Mass, Preparation for the, fig. 86 Massacre of the Innocents, 77; fig. 138 Massacre o f a King, fig. 98 M a t t h e w , 82; fig. 150 Meermanno-Westreenialium M u s e u m . See Hague, The, M e e r m a n n o Westreenianum M u s e u m

of, 21 N o a h , Shame of, 30; fig. 48 N u r e m b e r g , Stadtbibliothek, M S Solger 8, 35; figs. 63, 64 101

O t t o van Moerdrecht, Master of, 21, 33, 36, 41, fig. 59; collaborators of, 72 O x f o r d , Bodleian Library, M S Auct. D . inf. 2.13, 78; figs. 142, 143 M S Bodley 253, 79; fig. 144 M S C a n o n . Liturg. 17, 72; fig. 125 M S D o u c e 30, 50; fig. 1 1 2 M S D o u c e 51, 82n M S D o u c e 93, 40; fig. 84 M S D o u c e 248, 31; figs. 51, 52 M S D o u c e 311, 82n M S D o u c e 381, 49; fig. 109 Paris, Bibliothèque nationale M S Fr. 166, 3411, 69n M S Fr. 167, 34n, 6911 M S Latin 432, 25, fig. 35 M S Latin 9471, 84 M S Latin 17294, 34 M S Latin 18014, ! 5 n Paris, Musée du Louvre, Cabinet des Dessins, R.F. 2023V, I4n 20674, 21; fig. 19 Passion, Christ's, 17, 38, 52, 72n, 89. See also Christ; Pictà Peacock feathers border, 83 Peter, 20, 25, 47, 51, 80; figs. 24, 144 Peter, Calling of, 24-25, 57; figs. 24, 30 Peter, Denial of, 51, 60, 63; fig. 1 1 4 Petrus Christus Master, 77 Petrus Comestor, 11 Philip the Good, 5, 6, 7, 8, 31, 33, 37, 49, 62, 74 Pietà, 17, 20, 71, 89; figs. 7, 18, 124 Pilate, 18, 26, 31, 32, 36, 45, 47, 50, 62, 72, 89; figs. 9, 36, 49, 54, 67, 126; j u d g m e n t of, 59, 63, fig. 105; wife of, 31, 47, 58, 62, fig. 49

INDEX

Pontifical for the Bishop of Utrecht, 41; figs. 86-90 Presentation in the Temple, 68 Prophets Slain by Order of Jezebel, 18; fig. 10 Providence, Museum of Art, Rhode Island School of Design, fig. 160 Psalter, 72; fig. 127 Pucelle, 30

Reinald IV, 8, 22, 23, 24, 32, 33, 56, 57. 63» 83; figs. 20—27 Rijsenburg, GrootSeminarie, 20; figs. 17, 18 Rohan, Master of, 16, 84 Royal Library of Brussels. See Brussels, Bibliothèque royale Royal Library, The Hague. See Hague, The, Koninklijke Bibliotheek Rudolph of Nydou, arms of, 15; fig. 2 Ruth, 28, 29; fig. 39

St. Ann. See Virgin and Child and St. Ann St. Barbara, 49; fig. 109 St. Christopher, 32; fig. 57 St. Dorothy, 22; fig. 21

St. Martin, 23; fig. 25 Scene de genre tradition, 21, 57, 76, 91 Seascapes, 24-25, 55; figs. 24, 30 Sheba, Queen of, 43; fig- 93 Simon, 53; fig. 118 Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, 43; fig. 93 Soudenbalch Bible, Master of, 42-45, 46, 47-48, 49, 58, 61, 63, 80, 83, 86n, 88, figs. 91-105, 143, 161; collaborators of, 44, 45, 48. 49

Trinity, 25, 40, 76; figs. 33, 82, 137 Turin, Biblioteca Nazionale, MS K.4.29, 23, 26n Turin, Museo Civico, Milan Hours. See Turin-Milan Hours Turin-Milan Hours, 14, 23-25, 26, 46, 55, 56, 57n, 61, 63, 75, 76, 77; figs. 133-137

Temple, Construction of the, 28-29, 89; fig. 42 Teyler Museum. See Haarlem, Teyler Museum Thomas a Kempis, 10 Treatise on the Christian Faith. See Christian Faith, Treatise on the Tree Growing from Adam's Grave, 85; fig. 156 Tres Belles Heures of Jean de Berry, 30 Tres Riches Heures of Jean de Berry, 42, 68, 69; fig. 123 Tribunal, 36, 43; figs. 69, 91

Van Eyck (Hubert and/or Jan), 23, 26n, 28, 33, 3

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Brussels, Bibliothèque royale, M S II 7619: T r e e o f j e s s e .

107.

Brussels, Bibliothèque royale, M S II 7619: T h e Annunciation

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108.

Brussels, Bibliothèque royale, M S II 7619: D a v i d (enlarged).

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Oxford, Bodleian Library, MS Douce 381: St. Barbara.

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ii4- London, Collection P. R. Robinson, Prayers for Holy W e e k : Denial of Peter.

115.

Cologne, Wallraf-Richartz Museum, The Book of Hours of Reynalt von Homoet: The Nativity.

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Cologne, Wallraf-Richartz Museum, The Book of Hours of Reynalt von Homoet: The Flagellation.

ii7- Cologne, Wallraf-Richartz Museum, The Book of Hours of Reynalt von Homoet: The Carrying of the Cross.

118. Cologne, Wallraf-Richartz Museum, The Book of Hours of Reynalt von Homoet: The Crowning with Thorns.

119

Brussels, Bibliothèque royale, MS 10772: The Crucifixion.

120.

Brussels, Bibliothèque royale, MS 9798 : The Virgin and Child with Angels.

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127. Copenhagen, Kongelige Bibliotek, MS Thott 533 4°: The Carrying of the Cross.

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Brussels, Bibliothèque royale, MS IV 194: The Deposition.

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158.

New York, Pierpont Morgan Library, MS 917: The Holy Family at Work.

159- Minister, Landesmuseum, Book of Hours of Catherine of Lockhorst: The Betrayal of Christ.

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Providence, Museum of the School of Design: The Crucifixion (reduced).