Framed by rich borders composed of various vegetal motifs extending along three sides, this magnificent illuminated leaf depicts the scene of the Crucifixion. At the center of the foreground, the crucified Christ dominates the scene; his muscular body takes exactly the same shape as the cross itself, while his head gently inclines to his right, toward the Virgin Mary, who, dressed in a blue gown and a pale pink mantle, prays while gazing sorrowfully at her son. To the right, Saint John the Evangelist, wrapped in a large pink-lilac drapery and holding a book in his left hand, raises his right hand and looks thoughtfully toward Christ. In the middle ground, a hill of brown earth, dotted with small green bushes, serves as a background for the figures of the Virgin and Saint John the Evangelist, who stand out in contrast to the pink tones of their garments, while the distant blue landscape of the background highlights Christ’s upper body. In the lower portion of the leaf, the opening words of the Hours of the Cross begin with a large gilded initial “D,” standing out against a blue background and adorned with a large flower at its center.

A remarkable rediscovery for the history of Toulouse illumination at the end of the 15th century, this leaf was illuminated jointly by Liénard de Lachieze and the Master à la devise “Tout ce change” and comes from a Book of Hours produced in Toulouse around 1490 that is known only fragmentarily. Until now, only five illuminated leaves from this same Book of Hours were known: the Nativity, the Adoration of the Magi, the Presentation in the Temple, the Flight into Egypt, and the Coronation of the Virgin. Apart from the Nativity, all these miniatures today are preserved in the library of Toulouse. Liénard de Lachieze, formerly known as the Master of the Missal of Jean de Foix, after the sumptuous missal produced for that patron in 1492 (Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, ms. lat. 16827), was identified thanks to the rediscovery, by François Bordes, of a payment receipt for an illuminated bifolium that the artist painted in the Livre des Histoires, for the city’s Capitouls in 1500–1501 (Toulouse, Archives municipales, BB 273/13). Studied principally by François Avril, Aurélia Cohendy, and Rafaël Villa, Liénard de Lachieze’s career is now relatively well known and can be divided into two phases. Probably originating in western France, he was first active in the lower Loire Valley (perhaps Poitiers?) around 1470–1485. He subsequently settled in Toulouse, where he worked for the city’s Capitouls and for a prestigious local clientele. It was during this period that he collaborated with the Master à la devise “Tout ce change”, a specialist in decorative border painting, who assisted Liénard de Lachieze not only in the Missal of Jean de Foix but also in the Latin Bible now preserved in Paris (Bibliothèque nationale de France, ms. NAL 3192) and in the Book of Hours from which the present Crucifixion originates.

Stylistically, the miniature at hand (and its sister leaves) can be dated to the 1490s, that is, to the beginning of Liénard de Lachieze’s Toulouse period. It represents the earliest known collaboration between Liénard de Lachieze and the Master à la devise “Tout ce change”, making the dismembered manuscript an excellent example for tracing the evolution of Liénard de Lachieze’s career and artistic style. The composition of the present Crucifixion compares well with the miniature depicting the same scene in the Hours of Florence of Saint-Georges (Paris, Bibliothèque Sainte-Geneviève, ms. 2697), dating from the very end of Liénard de Lachieze’s Poitou period. Stylistically, however, the present illumination is closer to the double full-page miniature of the Missal of Jean de Foix (1492) and to the paintings in a Book of Hours for the use of Rome dated around 1495 (Cambridge, Fitzwilliam Museum, ms. 94).

We thank Dr Rafaël Villa for his expertise.

Sister leaves
Flight into Egypt and a bifolio of text (Toulouse, Bibliothèque municipale, ms. 3289).
Adoration of the Magi (Toulouse, Bibliothèque municipale, ms. 3302).
Presentation to the Temple (Toulouse, Bibliothèque municipale, ms. 3303).
Coronation of the Virgin (Toulouse, Bibliothèque municipale, ms. 3304).
Nativity (private collection).