The Master of Raoul d’Ailly is an important illuminator active in Amiens, France, during the first half of the 15th century. Art historian John Plummer (1919–2019) named him after his most significant work: the Book of Hours of Raoul d’Ailly, Vidame of Amiens, Baron of Picquigny, and advisor and chamberlain to the Dukes of Burgundy (United States, private collection). The Master of Raoul d’Ailly is characterized by a distinctive and legible style, a diluted, liquid-like palette, a pronounced Flemish influence (particularly echoing the works of Robert Campin) in his compositions, and convincing anatomies enveloped in imposing draperies. This talented illuminator is thought to have been trained by two artists active in Amiens: the Master of Morgan 453, possibly from Flanders, active in Paris around 1420 and then in Amiens, and the Master of Walters 281, a highly talented artist active in Amiens, to whom Prof. Frédéric Elsig recently hypothetically attributed the famous painting of the Virgin and Child with two saints and a donor, c. 1430, held in the Louvre (inv. 2018.51.1). From Amiens and certainly active only in that city, the Master of Raoul d’Ailly strongly influenced his contemporaries, notably the Master of Waddesdon 6, named after a Book of Hours for the use of Amiens (Waddesdon Manor, ms. 6), who disseminated the Master of Raoul d’Ailly’s formulas in Amiens with a rougher and more schematic style.

The body of works attributed to the Master of Raoul d’Ailly remains small today. In addition to the Book of Hours of Raoul d’Ailly, likely dating from around 1435, the Master of Raoul d’Ailly is responsible for most of the illuminations in a Book of Hours for the use of Rome produced around 1430 for Jacques II de Chastillon, Grand Panetier of France in 1427, now held in Paris (Bibliothèque nationale de France, ms. nouv. acq. lat. 3231). In the same years, the artist realized a Book of Hours for the use of Rome preserved in Cambridge (Fitzwilliam Museum, ms. 66) as well as a painting of Saint Matthew in a Book of Hours for the use of Amiens, in collaboration with the Master of Morgan 453, now in London (British Library, ms. 31835). In 2021, we proposed to attribute to the Master of Raoul d’Ailly, during his early phase, around 1420-1430, a miniature of Jude and Simon in a Book of Hours for the use of Paris executed in collaboration with his presumed mentor, the Master of Morgan 453 (New York, Pierpont Morgan Library, ms. M. 1000, fol. 213v). Furthermore, based on stylistic analysis and comparisons, it seems very likely that the anonymous illuminator named by art historian Susie Nash the “London Master” (referring to London, British Library, ms. 31835) is actually the Master of Raoul d’Ailly himself. If this is the case, the Master of Raoul d’Ailly would have painted several illuminations in the London Book of Hours (rather than just the Saint Matthew), as well as a Book of Hours, certainly made around 1440, now preserved in Brussels (Bibliothèque royale, ms. IV 264). The Master of Raoul d’Ailly, or his workshop, is certainly responsible for some paintings in the Book of Hours of Philippotte de Nanterre (private collection), an illuminated manuscript realized by at least two artists.

While we initially considered the miniature of the Annunciation at hand to be a work of an anonymous illuminator influenced by the Master of the Collins Hours (see Published in), a direct examination now allows us to attribute it to the Master of Raoul d’Ailly or his immediate circle. The illumination is stylistically extremely close to two manuscripts attributed to the London Master by Susie Nash, but that we consider works from the later career of the Master of Raoul d’Ailly himself (c. 1430-1440: London, British Library, ms. 31835; c. 1440: Brussels, Bibliothèque royale, ms. IV 264): the miniature at hand can easily be attributed to the painter of these two manuscripts, whether he is the London Master or the Master of Raoul d’Ailly. The quick, light brushwork and the liquid appearance of the pastel-toned paint directly recall the Book of Hours preserved in Brussels, particularly the painting of the Trinity. The draperies of the Virgin and the angel are perfectly comparable to those of Saint Anthony in the British Library Book of Hours: one finds the same sinuous lines that delineate the forms, as well as the multitude of broken folds on the ground, where the weight of the drapery seems to accumulate. The borders are typical of Amiens illuminated manuscripts from the first half of the 15th century and similar ornaments and forms are found in several manuscripts, although the present illuminated leaf shows particularly richly illuminated borders.