Jean Pingault (active in Lyon, late 15th century-early 16th century)
Saint Anthony, Saint Nicholas and Saint Claudio, c. 1490
Two illuminated leaves with three miniatures, from a Book of Hours.
Tempera, ink and gold on vellum.
Tempera, ink and gold on vellum.
213 x 136 mm each (framed together: 37.6 x 47.6 cm).
CHF 6'500.-
Further images
At the end of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th century, Lyon became a major center for book production in France, rivaling Paris and Tours. This prominence...
At the end of the 15th century and the beginning of the 16th century, Lyon became a major center for book production in France, rivaling Paris and Tours. This prominence was due to the growing interest of an aristocratic and merchant clientele, attracted by the city's advantageous geographical location and the importance of its fairs. To meet this increased demand, several illuminator workshops were established in Lyon, including those of the Master of Guillaume Lambert, Guillaume Leroy and the Master of the Entry of Francis the 1st, now identified as Jean Pingault.
The Master of the Entry of Francis the 1st, named after a sumptuous manuscript depicting the Royal Entry of Francis the 1st in Lyon in 1515, preserved in Wolfenbüttel (Herzog August Bibliothek, Cod. Extr. 86, 4), has been identified with Jean Pingault by manuscripts expert Elizabeth Burin. Jean Pingault, who is documented in the archives regarding the entry of Francis the 1st in Lyon, is an important scribe and illuminator in the history of Lyon illumination and particularly prolific. His works include the Missal of Charles Alaman de La Roche Echinard in London (Library of the Order of Saint John), the Pontifical of Louis Guillart d'Epichelière at the Bibliothèque nationale de France (ms. lat. 955), and a Book of Hours for the use of Geneva made for Philibert de Viry (now in the Bibliothèque de Genève, ms. lat. 367). Expert Titana Levy has suggested identifying the Master of the Entry of Francis the 1st with Jean Ramel, a painter of Lyon, but this hypothesis has not gained wide acceptance.
Jean Pingault is recognized for his rapid and lively style, using a diluted application of paint with a vivid palette dominated by cool tones, and his figures display calm expressions. The three small illuminations of our two leaves faithfully reflect this artist's style, including amusing elements like the domesticated pig alongside Saint Anthony, echoing his nickname "Saint Anthony of the Pigs", and an atypical depiction of Saint Nicholas as a bishop rather than a pope.
Our two illuminated leaves come from a Book of Hours, from which we have been able to locate other leaves: one is held at the University of Florida, and three others are in private hands in the United States. We have identified the six calendar pages from the same Book of Hours, formerly in the collection of Ernst Boehlen (Switzerland). These leaves, recently put on the market, reveal a stamped coat of arms on the January folio, thus indicating a previous owner of our leaves, and of the Book of Hours still complete.
Sister leaves:
Six calendar leaves (Switzerland, collection Ernst Boehlen, MS 1425; his sale, London, Sotheby's, July 2, 2024, lot 56; three leaves with Maggs Bros. LTD., London).
Saint John, the Christ Blessing (Florida, University of South Florida).
The Christ Blessing (New York, the Manhattan Rare Book Company).
Job on the dunghill with his friends (New York, Bloomsbury Auction, April 4, 2009, lot 62).
Saint Barbara, saint Marguerite (McMinnville, Phillip J. Pirages, private collection).
The Master of the Entry of Francis the 1st, named after a sumptuous manuscript depicting the Royal Entry of Francis the 1st in Lyon in 1515, preserved in Wolfenbüttel (Herzog August Bibliothek, Cod. Extr. 86, 4), has been identified with Jean Pingault by manuscripts expert Elizabeth Burin. Jean Pingault, who is documented in the archives regarding the entry of Francis the 1st in Lyon, is an important scribe and illuminator in the history of Lyon illumination and particularly prolific. His works include the Missal of Charles Alaman de La Roche Echinard in London (Library of the Order of Saint John), the Pontifical of Louis Guillart d'Epichelière at the Bibliothèque nationale de France (ms. lat. 955), and a Book of Hours for the use of Geneva made for Philibert de Viry (now in the Bibliothèque de Genève, ms. lat. 367). Expert Titana Levy has suggested identifying the Master of the Entry of Francis the 1st with Jean Ramel, a painter of Lyon, but this hypothesis has not gained wide acceptance.
Jean Pingault is recognized for his rapid and lively style, using a diluted application of paint with a vivid palette dominated by cool tones, and his figures display calm expressions. The three small illuminations of our two leaves faithfully reflect this artist's style, including amusing elements like the domesticated pig alongside Saint Anthony, echoing his nickname "Saint Anthony of the Pigs", and an atypical depiction of Saint Nicholas as a bishop rather than a pope.
Our two illuminated leaves come from a Book of Hours, from which we have been able to locate other leaves: one is held at the University of Florida, and three others are in private hands in the United States. We have identified the six calendar pages from the same Book of Hours, formerly in the collection of Ernst Boehlen (Switzerland). These leaves, recently put on the market, reveal a stamped coat of arms on the January folio, thus indicating a previous owner of our leaves, and of the Book of Hours still complete.
Sister leaves:
Six calendar leaves (Switzerland, collection Ernst Boehlen, MS 1425; his sale, London, Sotheby's, July 2, 2024, lot 56; three leaves with Maggs Bros. LTD., London).
Saint John, the Christ Blessing (Florida, University of South Florida).
The Christ Blessing (New York, the Manhattan Rare Book Company).
Job on the dunghill with his friends (New York, Bloomsbury Auction, April 4, 2009, lot 62).
Saint Barbara, saint Marguerite (McMinnville, Phillip J. Pirages, private collection).
Provenance
Part of a Book of Hours made in Lyons circa 1490 by Jean Pingault (The Master of the Entry of Francis the 1st) for an unknown patron.ess.In the 19th century, the Book of Hours (certainly complete) was property of the owner of the armorial ink seal which appears on the January leaf (former Ernst Boehlen collection).
Broken-up at an unknown date, probably before 1929 (this date is inscribed on the illuminated leaf preserved int the University of South Florida). Our leaves appeared separately on the German art market:
Saint Anthony:
Königstein im Taunus, Reiss & Sohn, May 5, 2020, lot 75 (as "France, Bourges or Tours, circa 1490").
European private collection.
Saint Nicholas, saint Claudio:
Leipzig, Antiquariat und Kunsthandel Edith Neumann e.K (as “Paris, circa 1490”).
European private collection.
Literature
UnpublishedFurther literature on Jean Pingault (The Master of the Entry of Francis the 1st)
F. Avril & N. Reynaud, Les manuscrits à peintures en France, 1440-1520, Paris, 1993.
E. Burin, Manuscript Illumination in Lyons, 1473-1530, Turnhout, 2001.
Lyon Renaissance: art et humanisme, exhibition catalogue (Lyon, Musée des beaux-arts de Lyon, 23 October 2015-25 January 2016), dir. L. Virassamynaïken, Paris, 2015.
M. D. Orth, Renaissance manuscripts: the sixteenth century, 2 vol., London, 2015.
T. Lévy, Les peintres de Lyon autour de 1500, Rennes, 2017.