Walters Ms. W.443.A-F, Six Miniatures from a Book of Hours

W.443.A-F

Six Miniatures from a Book of Hours

These six full-page miniatures were originally part of a Book of Hours created in Bruges ca. 1480-90. It is unknown at what point the images were excised from the book, but at least four of them were mounted and framed ca. 1900 by the Parisian bookdealer and binder Léon Gruel. Although the book they were part of has not been identified, and may be lost, Roger Wieck has suggested a stylistic relationship between these miniatures and works by the Master of Edward IV, an artist working in Bruges ca. 1470-90. For another example of work by this artist and his circle, see Walters manuscript W.435. As there is no text remaining with the images, their original positions within the text of the manuscript they once illuminated are conjectural, and the text identifiers included here are those proposed by Lilian Randall in her catalog.

Ca. 1480-90 CE

Bruges

Leaves

Devotional

No linguistic content; Not applicable

Parchment

Quality uncertain as are attached to backing

Foliation: Six single miniatures cut from manuscript

0.0 cm wide by 0.0 cm high

1. Sizes vary slightly; images with/without frames are as follows: W.443.A-C, E: 17.8 x 23.3/6.9 x 11.7 cm; W.443.D: 11 x 15.8/6.9 x 12 cm; W.443.F: 13.7 x 17.3/69. x 11.3 cm

1. Title: Book of Hours cuttings
2. Decoration note: Six full-page miniatures cut from a Book of Hours, originating from the Hours of the Cross, the Hours of the Holy Spirit, and the Hours of the Virgin; the original textual relationships between the manuscript and the images, which are recorded here within the image cataloging, are conjectural, and are based on suppositions put forth by Lilian Randall in her catalog

W.443.Ar:

1. 
2. Title: Crucifixion
3. Form: Full-page miniature
4. Text: Hours of the Cross

W.443.Br:

1. 
2. Title: Pentecost
3. Form: Full-page miniature
4. Text: Hours of the Holy Spirit

W.443.Cr:

1. 
2. Title: Visitation
3. Form: Full-page miniature
4. Text: Hours of the Virgin: Lauds

W.443.Dr:

1. 
2. Title: Annunciation to the shepherds and a shepherdess
3. Form: Full-page miniature
4. Text: Hours of the Virgin: Terce

W.443.Er:

1. 
2. Title: Massacre of the Innocents
3. Form: Full-page miniature
4. Text: Hours of the Virgin: Vespers or Compline

W.443.Fr:

1. 
2. Title: Coronation of the Virgin before the Trinity
3. Form: Full-page miniature
4. Text: Hours of the Virgin: Compline or Advent Mass of the Virgin

Inapplicable.

Mounted on silk-covered card, with modern painted gold paper borders, in modern gilded frames; A, B, C, and E at least framed as a group ca. 1900 by Léon Gruel, Paris; framing of D and F possibly done separately

Originally part of a Book of Hours created in Bruges ca. 1480-90 in the style of the Master of Edward IV

Gruel and Engelmann collection, Paris, ca. 1900; their bookplates on backs of frames inscribed with "145/147/148/144" for W.443.A-C and E; W.443.D inscribed "2423" and "L.85-86," with note "ex. L. Gruel"; W.443.E also inscribed "2427 1/2x," "L./94.," and "vol. 12"; W.443.F re-backed but had previously carried inscription "[M134]s" (see note in file)

Henry Walters, Baltimore, purchased from Léon Gruel on June 9, 1903 (invoice in Walters archives)

Walters Art Museum, 1931, by Henry Walters' bequest

De Ricci, Seymour, and W. J. Wilson. Census of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in the United States and Canada. Vol. 1. New York: H. W. Wilson Company, 1935; p. 808, cat. no. 323.

Bowles, Edmund A. "A Checklist of Musical Instruments in Fifteenth-Century Illuminated Manuscripts at the Walters Art Gallery." Quarterly Journal of the Music Library Association, 32/4 (1976): 719-726, p. 722.

Wieck, Roger S. "Masters and Manuscripts or How to Distinguish One Illuminator from Another". 42 No.4. The Walters. 04/1989:2-4.

Randall, Lilian M. C. Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in the Walters Art Gallery. Vol. 3, Part 2, Belgium, 1250-1530. Baltimore and London: Johns Hopkins University Press in association with the Walters Art Gallery, 1997; pp. 436-438, cat. no. 282.

Kren, Thomas and Maryan W. Ainsworth. “Illuminators and Painters: Artistic Exchanges and Interelationships.” In Illuminating the Renaissance: The Triumph of Flemish Manuscript Painting in Europe. Edited by Thomas Kren and Scot McKendrick, 39-58. Los Angeles: J. Paul Getty Museum, 2003; pp. 50-51.

Principal cataloger: Randall, Lilian M.C.

Cataloger: Herbert, Lynley

Editor: Herbert, Lynley

Copy editor: Dibble, Charles

Conservators: Huber, Terra; Quandt, Abigail

Contributors: Emery, Doug; Herbert, Lynley; Noel, William; Tabritha, Ariel; Toth, Michael B.; Wiegand, Kimber

The Walters Art Museum

Licensed for use under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported Access Rights, http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0/legalcode. It is requested that copies of any published articles based on the information in this data set be sent to the curator of manuscripts, The Walters Art Museum, 600 North Charles Street, Baltimore MD 21201.