Description
This book, made by an artist of the Ghent-Bruges school of illumination, represents the culmination of Flemish book painting. Its main features were the use of rich colors, decorative and illusionistic effects, a love of landscape, and a strong sense of visual narrative. Its most distinctive innovation was the development of a new style of border decoration featuring realistic motifs which cast shadows onto colored grounds to create an effect of spaciousness. These motifs included a diverse assortment of flowers, butterflies, insects, birds, and sprays of acanthus foliage.
Provenance
[Sotheby's, London, 25 June 1985, lot 17]; [Sam Fogg, London]; [Bruce Ferrini, Akron]
Leaf Excised from a Book of Hours: The Nativity
c. 1480
Accession Number
2011.64
Medium
ink, tempera and liquid gold on vellum
Dimensions
Leaf: 10.8 x 8.2 cm (4 1/4 x 3 1/4 in.)
Classification
Manuscript
Credit Line
The Jeanne Miles Blackburn Collection
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