Guiraut Salas stands out as one of the few French illuminators whose name is known to us as well as one of the only artists active in Toulouse whose works have survived to this day. Indeed, artworks produced in the city of Toulouse during the 15th and the 16th centuries are very little known. this is due to the tumultuous history of the city, which caused the disappearance of many works. Art historian Charles Sterling (1901-1991) thus defines the region of the Southwest and Languedoc as a "désert pictural, ou presque" (i. e.: "a pictorial desert, or almost").
Guiraut Salas' name appears in archival documents related to his payment for the illuminations he realized in the Livre des Histoires de Toulouse (from 1437 to 1441) for the Capitouls of the city. Other than these remaining documented illuminations, only a few artworks are attributed to him, mainly by French manuscripts specialist François Avril. These manuscripts are now held in collections around the world, but only in public or institutional collections (notable manuscripts by Guiraut Salas are: Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum, ms. XIV 9; Madrid, Biblioteca national de Espana, ms. 20 and 9569; Toulouse, Bibliothèque municipale, ms. 747 and 2882). Guiraut Salas is therefore one of the only documented artists working in Toulouse during the first half of the 15th century for whom art historians were able to attributed manuscripts, based on a documented work.
Guiraut Salas remains an intriguing artist with a prestigious position in Toulouse. His style is defined by elegant figures and graceful draperies, that recall the Parisian illumination, and by a warm palette, that shows the influence of the artistic scene of Avignon. The present collection of four illuminated leaves depicts the Annunciation to the Shepherds, the Flight into Egypt, the Pietà and the Entombment. They originate from the same Book of Hours, made around 1435-1445 in Toulouse for an unknown patron. The manuscript was broken-up before the mid-1950s, and its leaves were then dispersed: we were happy to have been able to bring back together the only known leaves in private hands from this Book of Hours, and we are thrilled that these illuminated leaves are now preserved in the library of the city were Guiraut Salas worked. As the only "monuments of lost art" of what must have been a magnificent Book of Hours and as a very rare witness of Toulouse art from the first half of the 15th century, these four illuminations are particularly precious for both their artistic and historical value.
Guiraut Salas
(active in Toulouse, France, first half of the 15th century)
A collection of four illuminated leaves originating from the same Book of Hours: Annunciation to the Shepherds, Flight into Egypt, Pietà and Entombment. Toulouse, c. 1435-1445.
Tempera, ink and gold on parchment, 170/173 x 115/118 mm
Sold to the Bibliothèque d'Étude et du Patrimoine, Toulouse.
November 26, 2025