Illuminated manuscript leaf – France, 16th + 19th Century
€7.500
RICHLY ILLUMINATED PARCHMENT MANUSCRIPT LEAF, FRANCE, 16TH CENTURY
Parchment manuscript leaf from a martyrology-obituary, very probably originating from the cathedral chapter of Rodez in southern France, 16th century. Latin text in Gothic script, with rubrics in red and simple initials in red and blue. The leaf was probably embellished in the 19th century with extensive pseudo-medieval illumination in gold and colours, including miniatures of the Crucifixion of Christ and the Ascension, angels, animals, scrolling foliage and geometric ornament. Size (leaf): approx. 49 × 35 cm.
This remarkable leaf combines two entirely different periods in the history of collecting medieval and early modern manuscripts. The text and parchment belong to an authentic 16th-century ecclesiastical manuscript; the strikingly rich figurative decoration was added several centuries later to give the leaf the appearance of a precious medieval illuminated manuscript.
The leaf originally formed part of a martyrology–obituary: an ecclesiastical book recording the saints and martyrs commemorated on each day of the year. The same volume was also used to record the names of deceased clergy, benefactors and others for whom an annual memorial service was held.
This leaf contains the texts for 16 and 17 July, commemorating, among others, Eustathius of Antioch and Hilarinus of Ostia. The text follows the Martyrology of Usuard, an influential medieval compilation of saints’ lives and feast days that remained in use in European churches and monasteries for centuries.
In addition to the carefully written principal text, smaller entries record the names of deceased individuals. The many blank but meticulously ruled lines on the reverse served a practical purpose: further names could be added over the years. The leaf was therefore not merely intended for reading aloud, but also formed part of a continuously updated record of the community for which the book was used.
The size, layout and text correspond very closely to a manuscript extensively studied by the French medievalist Jean-Loup Lemaître: the martyrology and obituary used in Rodez Cathedral. A number of leaves from this manuscript became dispersed over time.
Remarkably, several Rodez leaves appear to have been ‘enhanced’ in the 19th century with newly painted miniatures and border decoration. Lemaître demonstrated that these paintings did not originally form part of the 16th-century manuscript. On the present leaf, too, the distinction between the original manuscript and the later embellishment is clearly visible. The text, red rubrics, simple coloured initials and ruling belong to the earlier phase; the extensive figurative and ornamental illumination is of later date.
The largest miniature depicts the Crucifixion. Christ hangs upon the cross against a richly ornamented blue-and-gold background. At its foot kneels Mary Magdalene, while the Virgin Mary and the apostle John stand mourning nearby. At lower right is the Ascension of Christ: Christ rises above Mary and the apostles, surrounded by angels. The miniatures are complemented by an elaborate border with music-making angels, animals, flowers and gilded foliate ornament.
It is precisely this abundance of recognisably ‘medieval’ motifs that is characteristic of 19th-century taste. During this period, old parchment manuscripts and individual leaves were sometimes provided with newly painted decoration to make them more attractive to collectors. The paintings are moreover only loosely connected with the texts for 16 and 17 July: neither the Crucifixion nor the Ascension is specifically associated with the saints commemorated on those dates.
The method bears similarities to that of the mysterious artist known as the “Spanish Forger”, who in the late 19th and early 20th centuries used authentic old parchment leaves as supports for newly created pseudo-medieval miniatures. A direct attribution of the illumination on the present leaf to the Spanish Forger, however, cannot at present be substantiated.
Price: Euro 7.500,-
