Medieval & Renaissance: Fragments of an Enchanting Past

JOHANNES FRANCIGENA (SCRIBE)
Very rare Book of Hours, signed and dated by the scribe
Italy (Rome?), March 5, 1494

Complete, in remarkable condition, and with a beautiful binding à la dentelle, this Book of Hours is a little gem for several reasons. First, and which is extremely rare, the Book of Hours bears the signature of its scribe as well as the date when he finished writing the present Book of Hours. In an elegant red Italian Rotunda, the scribe left the following words, on fol. 140v: "Deo gracias Amen. Officium beate Marie Virginis et Septem Psalmis Penitentialibus et Officium Defunctorum, Sancti Spiritis et Sancte Crucis cum pluribus orationibus. Acuratissime scriptum per fratrem Johannem Francigenis ordinis minorum. Anno domini M.cccc Lxxxxiiij Die V Martij" [Thanks be to God, Amen. The Office of the Blessed Virgin Mary and the Seven Penitential Psalms, and the Office of the Dead, of the Holy Spirit, and of the Holy Cross, with many prayers. Most accurately written by Brother John of France of the Order of Friars Minor. In the year of our Lord 1494, on the 5th day of March]. Additionally, the Book of Hours features a series of prayers in Italian, reflecting its highly personalized nature. Undoubtedly, this Book of Hours was created for a patron.ess with a particular attachment to the Franciscan movement, which is aligning with a general trend in late 15th century. Finally, the choice of simple and effective, yet richly decorated ornamentations, notably through the generous use of liquid gold, showcases the remarkable scribe’s work that focuses almost more on calligraphy than illumination. This was undoubtedly a choice, illustrating that the manuscript was more precious for its spiritual value rather than its material value.

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LIÉNARD DE LACHIEZE
The Crucifixion
Toulouse, c. 1490-1500

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.

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MASTER OF THE ROCHEREAU HOURS
Saint Matthew the Evangelist
Bourges, 1495-1500

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 based on a small corpus of works previously attributed to the anonymous master by art historian Christine Seidel, 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; by the Master of Spencer 6, with whom he collaborated on two occasions; 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.

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FRENCH SCULPTOR
Bust of a young man (Philip III the Bold?)
Paris, c. 1304 (?)

Shortly after the canonization of his grandfather Louis IX in 1297, King Philip IV the Fair undertook the construction of a Dominican priory in Poissy, the birthplace and baptismal site of the future Saint Louis. The Priory of Saint Louis of Poissy was erected under the supervision of the master sculptors Pierre d’Hérouville and Guillaume de Berry. Archival sources attest that construction advanced rapidly: payments are recorded as early as 1298, a clock was installed by 1301, and several major buildings were completed by 1304, the year in which the foundation was officially ratified. In the following decades, the priory became one of the most important religious establishments in France, richly endowed and lavishly decorated, notably with monumental stained glass windows commissioned in the 1320s and installed in 1331. Its treasury contained prestigious objects, including the Royal Breviary of Saint Louis of Poissy, illuminated by Richard de Verdun at the king’s request. The church of the priory, the only space accessible to the public, was conceived as a vast and imposing structure with a wide nave, side aisles reserved for nuns, a transept, and a choir surrounded by radiating chapels. It also housed an ambitious sculptural program intended to glorify the royal lineage: a drawing by François Roger de Gaignières, preserved in Paris, records a series of six life-size statues installed on the wall at the back of the nave, near the choir. These sculptures represented the six children of Louis IX and Margaret of Provence - Louis, Philip, John, Isabella, Peter, and Robert -and were arranged, according to François Roger de Gaignières, from the tallest to the smallest. With the exception of Robert, who died in 1317, all were already deceased when the statues were commissioned, likely around 1304. Through this ensemble, Philip IV the Fair affirmed his direct filiation from the sainted king and celebrated the memory of his ancestors.

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