MEDIEVAL ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT BOOK OF HOURS LEAF, c. 1475, LAST JUDGMENT

Description

Original Illuminated Medieval Flemish Manuscript Book of Hours Leaf,  circa 1475
Miniature of The LAST JUDGMENT
IM-13121: Original leaf from a medieval manuscript
Book of Hours
. 19 lines of text, ruled in red, and rubrics in red - written in Latin on both sides of animal vellum leaf.
Size: 175 x 125mm – 6 7/8 x 5 inches.
Flanders (Ghent or Bruges?), c. 1475.
One three-line illuminated initial in pink & white with a floral interior  on a gold ground; seven one-line illuminated initials
alternating in deep blue with red penwork and burnished bold with blue penwork.
Elaborate floral border
in in green, blue, orange, yellow and burnished gold, surrounding a dramatic
miniature painting of
The Last Judgment
: Christ is seated on an arc with right hands raised, feet resting on gold sphere; red mantle drapes around him in a manner which displays  his wounds. The Virgin Mary and St. John the Evangelist kneel on either side of arc with hands clasped.  Two trumpeting angels wearing red and green robes and with contrasting red and green wings are in the upper right and left. Four faces are seen rising from their earthly tombs. This image of Christ seated in judgment provided a meditational focus for the recitation of the psalms, urging sinners to repent before death.
Miniatures of the last judgment are scarce - not found in all Books of Hours since "the dread with which the late medieval mind anticipated death tolerated few images representing the possible turn of events that took place after burial" (Wieck, Book of Hours in Medieval Art & Life, p. 129).
The painting begins the reading of the
Seven Penitential Psalms
.
The
three-line illuminated “D” opens Psalm 6 1-10:
“
Domine…
” (O Lord, rebuke me not in thy indignation, nor chastise me in thy wrath…).
A very attractive and well-
executed miniature in a nice state of preservation, as seen in the photos.
The
areas of bold color enhanced by gold leaf heighten the visual impact of this uncommon scene.
The vellum is clean with some devotional wear. The text on recto isrubbed, but legible.
This Book of Hours leaf was illuminated in Flanders, C. 1475.
This is an original
, about 550 years old, not a reproduction.
It comes with a Certificate of Authenticity
.
We have been full-time dealers in Illuminated Manuscripts, Maps, Prints and Antiquities since 1980.