 |
| Master of Claude de France, Angels Holding the Crown of Thorns and the Eucharistic Host From Prayer Book of Claude de France Frencg, ca. 1517 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M1166, fol. 51v-52r Photo: Schecter Lee |
Among the amazing feats of human endeavor two things have
always fascinated me. One is the fine
detail frequently found in ancient jewelry, as for instance in Greek and Roman
gold jewelry. Another is the staggering
detail that can be found in illuminated manuscripts, details that must be
painted with brushes no bigger than a single hair. And some of the most astounding documents of
the miniature painter’s art that I have ever seen are currently on display at
the Morgan Library. I visited the
exhibition, called appropriately “Miracles in Miniature: The Art of the Master of Claude de France”,
some time ago, but have not been able to prepare this review till now. Unfortunately, the exhibition closes on
September 14, so there are just a couple of weeks left for you to see it, if
you are in the New York area.
If you are not able to make it the Morgan Library website
does provide digital facsimiles of two of the primary volumes in the exhibition. However, I urge you to get to the Library if
you can. Digital images are great; they
allow you to get very close to the page, closer than you could possibly get in
person. But, like all photographs, they
can also be deceptive. Unless you see
the actual book on display you will not believe it.
The works on display are primarily the work of a miniature painter currently known as the Master of Claude de France, as his or her name is as yet unknown to us. Indeed, it is not such a long time since the hand of this master was identified by the manuscript specialist, Charles Sterling. Two of the works on display were commissioned by Claude, who was the daughter of King Louis XII and Queen Anne of Brittany. She was Duchess of Brittany by inheritance from her mother and was married, at the age of 14, to her cousin, Francois de Valois, count of Angouleme and heir to her father's crown, thus succeeding her mother as Queen of France and uniting the Duchy of Brittany to the crown of France. She died at the age of 24, in 1524.
The primary manuscript, the Prayer Book
of Claude de France, is displayed along
with two other books.
The works on display are primarily the work of a miniature painter currently known as the Master of Claude de France, as his or her name is as yet unknown to us. Indeed, it is not such a long time since the hand of this master was identified by the manuscript specialist, Charles Sterling. Two of the works on display were commissioned by Claude, who was the daughter of King Louis XII and Queen Anne of Brittany. She was Duchess of Brittany by inheritance from her mother and was married, at the age of 14, to her cousin, Francois de Valois, count of Angouleme and heir to her father's crown, thus succeeding her mother as Queen of France and uniting the Duchy of Brittany to the crown of France. She died at the age of 24, in 1524.
The primary manuscript, the Prayer Book
of Claude de France, is displayed along
 |
| This photo, taken at the exhibition, offers some scale for the size of the books. However, they are even smaller than they appear to be. The book seen in this photo is the Book of Hours of Claude de France. Photo: Emon Hassan for The New York Times |
All
three books fit into a case that is approximately 6 inches square! The Prayer Book of Claude de France is, in
fact, only 2-3/4 inches by 2 inches, smaller than a credit card, and the other books are only slightly
bigger.
A sense of the scale can be gained from the image of the book being held in someone’s hands that appeared on the Morgan’s website. Yet, within these extremely small pages, the Claude Master managed to paint scenes that rival full scale panel painting. Truly these are miraculous miniatures!
A sense of the scale can be gained from the image of the book being held in someone’s hands that appeared on the Morgan’s website. Yet, within these extremely small pages, the Claude Master managed to paint scenes that rival full scale panel painting. Truly these are miraculous miniatures!
 |
| Photo of the Prayer Book of Claude de France being held. Photo: Schecter Lee |
All but one of the illuminations in the Prayer Book are contained within the borders of one leaf. One image, of the Trinity, spreads over two pages, one of which it fills completely.
The images surround the text on each page and
the text is so small that it is amazing that the Queen of France was able to
read the text of the prayers at all.
Surely, the painter did not do this work with the unaided eye! He must have had access to artificial
magnification. One tends to forget that,
although the microscope and the telescope were perfected during the seventeenth
century, the simple magnifying lens was already known as early as the
thirteenth century. Magnifying spectacles must have been as
essential to the Claude Master as were his brushes.
 |
| Master of Claude de France Angels Adoring the Trinity From Prayer Book of Claude de France French, ca. 1517 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M1166, fol. 25r Photo: Schecter Lee |
The incredible detail is best seen on the
Morgan’s own website, where there is an online exhibition that permits you to
zoom to the highest resolution possible.
Check out the detail in the angels at the top right corner of page 25,
for instance here.
Although the three tiny books at the heart of this show may
look like charming toys for a queen they were intended, as was every
illuminated book of hours or prayer book, as aids to prayer.
 |
| Master of Claude de France, Jesus Purges the Temple and the Agony in the Garden From Prayer Book of Claude de France French, ca. 1517 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M1166, fol. 6v-7r Photo: Schecter Lee |
They were a means of focusing the attention
of the viewer on the stories they tell, whether from the Bible or from the
lives of the saints. The smallest book,
the Prayer Book of Claude de France contains a complete illustration cycle for the
Life of Christ and of the Life of the Virgin, including the tales of her
conception and childhood, as well as illustrations from the lives of several of
the Apostles.
 |
| Master of Claude de France, Assumption and Coronation of the Blessed Virgin From Prayer Book of Claude de France French, ca. 1517 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M1166, fol. 23v-24r Photo: Schecter Lee |
Some of the saints whose stories were included were of special importance to France and to the royal house of France. These included: St. Denis, St. Martin of Tours, St. Genevieve, St. Claude, St. Rene, St. Hubert and St. Louis.
 |
| Master of Claude de France, St. Francis Receiving the Stigmata and St. Martin Preparing to St. Martin Preparing to Divide His Cloak From Prayer Book of Claude de France French, ca. 1517 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M1166, fol. 37v-38r Photo: Schecter Lee |
In addition, there are such popular saints as: Francis, Anthony of Padua, Anthony of Egypt, Gregory, Mary Magdalene, Veronica, Barbara, Catherine of Alexandria, Margaret of Alexandria, Helena and Ursula.
 |
| Master of Claude de France, St. Catherine of Alexandria and St. Margaret of Alexandria From Prayer Book of Claude de France French, ca. 1517 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M1166, fol. 43v-44r Photo: Schecter Lee |
There are images of the mysteries of the Faith such as the Trinity and the Eucharist and the Communion of the Saints.
 |
| Master of Claude de France, All Saints From Prayer Book of Claude de France French, ca. 1517 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M1166, fol. 48v-49r Photo: Schecter Lee |
In spite of its amazingly small size it is a powerhouse of assistance in prayerful meditation.
The other books on display are also small masterpieces, though none are quite as tiny as the Prayer Book of Claude de France. However, some of them are also intimately connected with her.
 |
| Master of Claude de France, Annunciation From Hours of Claude de France French, ca. 1517 Bibermuehle (Switzerland), Collection of Heribert Tenschert Fol. 14v Photo: Ina Kettlehoven |
Her Book of Hours, on loan from a private collection, is on view, as is the prayer book of her mother, Anne de Bretagne, also Queen of France twice over, as the wife of first Charles VIII and then Louis XII.
 |
| Jean Poyer, Penitance From Prayer Book of Anne de Bretagne French, 1492-1495 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M50, fol. 10v Here the penitent is Queen Anne herself. |
 |
| Master of Claude de France, Pages from a Book of Hours French, ca. 1515-17 Private Collection Fol. 26v-27 It is suggested that this book may have been commissioned for Renee de France, Claude's younger sister. |
The books in this exhibition stand at the very end of the great tradition of manuscript illumination that developed during the middle ages. Beginning with occasional full page illustrations and smaller illustrations, sometimes single figures, sometimes whole scenes, in the capital letters and/or the margins, illumination had evolved by this time into a form that presented the natural world in very tiny scale.
 |
| Master of Claude de France, Agony in the Garden Single Leaf from a Book of Hours French, ca. 1505-1520 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M1143.001r |
 |
| Master of Claude de France, Exposition of the Eucharist From Prayer Book of Claude de France French, 1517 New York, Pierpont Morgan Library MS M1166, fol. 52v Photo: Schecter Lee |
© M. Duffy, 2014
No comments:
Post a Comment