This full-page illumination depicts Saint Matthew the Evangelist, identifiable by his symbol, the angel, as he writes his Gospel. Framed by a wooden architectural structure with lateral pilasters and surmounted by an arch flanked by two sculpted putti, the scene takes place in a paneled room enclosed by stone walls. One of these walls, adorned with three small columns, opens onto a landscape in the background. On the right, the Evangelist, clad in a flowing bright blue drapery, is seated on a bench before a desk covered with a pale-yellow cloth, on which a manuscript is placed. With his right hand, Saint Matthew raises his quill and carefully looks at it, ready to sharpen it with the penknife he holds in his left hand. On the opposite side of the desk stands the angel, dressed in a long white-and-blue robe. He clasps his hands and attentively watches the saint at work. In the foreground, before the feet of both figures and extending in front of the frame of the illumination, a parchment scroll bears the opening lines of the Gospel according to Matthew.

Extracted from a Book of Hours produced in Bourges around 1495–1500, this charming miniature is painted by the Master of the Rochereau Hours, a recently discovered figure in the field of late 15th-century Bourges manuscript illumination. The Master of the Rochereau Hours, a name recently given to the anonymous master by specialist Marie Mazzone (2025; see Published in) based on a small corpus of works previously attributed to the anonymous master by art historian Christine Seidel (2012), owes his nickname to the Book of Hours preserved in Tours (municipal library, ms. 2042), which, in the 16th century, belonged to a certain Denis Rochereau. Rooted in the artistic tradition of Bourges at the turn of the century, the Master of the Rochereau Hours was particularly influenced by Jean and François Colombe, from whom he borrowed iconographic motifs (notably in the composition of his Bathsheba at her Bath in the Book of Hours for the use of Bourges: Oxford, Bodleian Library, ms. Canon. Liturg. 99); by the Master of Spencer 6, with whom he collaborated on two occasions (Hours of Bérenger Bollioud: Lyon, municipal library, ms. 5141; Bouer Hours: Leeds, University Library, Brotherton Collection, ms. 8); and above all by Jean de Montluçon, whose art is known through the famous Hours of Chappes (Paris, Bibliothèque de l’Arsenal, ms. 438), which bears his signature. Jean de Montluçon, an important painter active in Bourges between 1460 and his death in 1494, is documented as a city painter who occupied a position of considerable prestige and influenced numerous artists, beginning with his son, Jacquelin de Montluçon. The fluid handling, rapid brushwork, and lively touches of gold highlighting or black linear accents that characterize the style of the Master of the Rochereau Hours recall the art of Jean de Montluçon, as do certain details such as the sketch-like treatment of landscapes. The Master of the Rochereau Hours nevertheless displays a more pronounced brushstroke, a broader treatment of light, and fuller, more substantial forms.

The Master of the Rochereau Hours belonged to the flourishing network of illuminators active in Bourges at the end of the 15th century. Drawing from both the stylistic and iconographic vocabulary of the city's finest artists, he succeeded in establishing himself as an important painter of considerable standing. His hand, for example, has been identified in the famous Comeau Hours (Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, ms. nouv. acq. lat. 3197), where he painted the Annunciation and, in part, the Visitation. It is also worth noting the hypothesis advanced by Marie Mazzone that the Master of the Rochereau Hours may have been the author of two painted wood panel fragments. The first fragment (private collection), mentioned in two publications (Laclotte & Thiébaut 1983; Elsig 2018), depicts the Trinity, while the second (recorded in 1970 at Samuel Nystad Oude Kunst B.V., The Hague; current whereabouts unknown) represents a Standing Angel and clearly originated from the same ensemble.

We thank Marie Mazzone for her expertise.

Sister leaves
Flight into Egypt (London, Sotheby’s, July 6, 2000, lot 32).
King David (Dallas, Heritage Auction, April 10, 2013, lot 36589).