SOLD: One of the Earliest known Manuscripts by the Master of the Mazarine Hours: A Masterpiece of Outstanding Quality and Preservation

Book of Hours. Horae B. M. V. for the use of Paris. Illuminated manuscript on vellum with 12 large squarish miniatures by the young Master of the Mazarine Hours (one miniature from another painter). Paris, c. 1405/06. 158 leaves (one leaf missing). Octavo (167 x 127 mm). Bound in French red morocco of the 18th century, gilt.

This Book of Hours by one of the leading manuscript artists is one of the many astonishing new discoveries of striking works of French book illumination from the first decade after 1400, as it is a remarkable early work by the Mazarine Master, whose style is clearly distinguished from that of the Boucicaut Master by his greater liking for pattern, his softer modelling of draperies and by his more elegant, graceful figures.
In terms of the book decoration and the layout of the square miniatures, this manuscript belongs to the period before the appearance of the acanthus, which was documented from 1407/08 onwards. With their unsophisticated and convincing pictorial language in miniatures that still largely dispense with architecture and landscape, but instead feature precious chequered backgrounds in gold and colours, works such as this pave the way for the great innovations that the second decade was to bring. The lavish colouring and impressive modelling of the miniatures already reveal the technical innovations which, as we know today, were not only the work of the Boucicaut Master, but above all of the Master of the Mazarine Hours and the Bedford Master, neither of whom was born in Paris. The collaboration of a book illuminator who probably came from the Rhine region could lend weight to influences from the German-speaking area, especially as the Master of the Mazarine Hours himself, as has recently been recognised, notated colours in German or Dutch.

The Master of the Mazarine Hours:
One of the Founding Figures of Book Illumination

The Master of the Mazarine Hours was one of the foremost illuminators working in Paris in the first two decades of the 15th century and is named after one of his finest works, a Book of Hours (Paris, Bibliothèque Mazarine, MS 469), which was - as some of his other most impressive works - previously attributed to the famous Boucicaut Master. The two masters had a decisive influence on French illumination at one of his most resplendent periods, particular through their interest in depicting three-dimensional space, and worked for the greatest collectors of their time, like the Duc de Berry.

Some Remarkable Comparisons…

The only serious and safely attributed works by the Mazarine Master in the market in the last years were two miniatures of St. Peter and St. Martin, from the 1408 dated manuscript ex-Edward Arnold and Chester Beatty: they were of approx. the same size as ours: 176 x 130 mm. They came from the Jarman collection (lot 47 in his sale 1864) and were both seriously water damaged throughout (= very heavily darkened margins). These made £ 47.500 (St. Peter) at Christie’s, 1 December 2015 (= c. CHF 69.000) and £ 43.750 (St. Martin) also at Christie’s, 15 July 2015 (= c. CHF 64.000).

Two more miniatures from the Beatty Hours were at the Arcana Sale in 2010 (Christie’s London): lots 22, St. Michael and 23, Virgin and Child in a garden, the last one heavily, maybe entirely retouched by Caleb Wing: they brought £ 34.850 (= CHF 58.000) and £ 32.450 (= CHF 54.000)!

The two colour illustrations in the Beatty catalogue 1969 (58C and 58F, without the blackened borders) and in the Arcana sale catalague 2010 show the hand of the Mazarine Master, but not as distinct and genuine as in our manuscript, no doubt due to the flood damage that occurred in 1847 to all of Jarman’s manuscripts. Nevertheless, the prices at the Beatty sale were already high, ranging up to £ 2.400 (= c. CHF 25.000), although the Arnold catalogue of 1929 states: “… at the beginning and end the manuscript is badly water stained and defaced causing holes in some leaves and the margins are affected throughout, the miniatures in some cases have been retouched.”

A single leaf from the Chester Beatty Book of Hours. St Peter painted by the Mazarine Master.
Sold at Christie’s, 1 December 2015, lot 11.

From the Chester Beatty Book of Hours, illuminated by the Mazarine Master, Sale catalogue, 24 June 1969, lot 58F.

Would you like to learn more about this Book of Hours by the Master of the Mazarine Hours? It has been described in detail in our catalogue Paris mon Amour Vol. I, lot 5. You can view the digital version here or order your printed copy in our online shop.

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