MASTER OF THE ENTRY OF FRANCIS I (active Lyon, c. 1485-1515)
A leaf from a Book of Hours, with a miniature of the Mass of Saint Gregory, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment [France, Lyon, c. 1500–1510]

By the Master of the Entry of Francis I, a key figure in Lyon, bridging late medieval piety with Renaissance formal innovation.

203 × 138 mm. Single leaf, ruled in brown ink for a single column of twenty lines (justification: 124 × 70 mm), written in a Lettre bâtarde script in dark brown ink, rubrics in red, one- and two-line initials in liquid gold on blue, red, and brown grounds, line-fillers in blue and red with liquid gold highlights. ONE QUARTER-PAGE MINIATURE depicts the Mass of Saint Gregory, full diagonal banded border on both recto and verso filled with colorful acanthus, scrolling foliate bands, tulips, and roses on gold ground, all outlined in red and black. Margins clean and ample; gold and pigments exceptionally fresh and sparkling; minor thumbing to lower border, verso equally well preserved.

This leaf originates from a dispersed Book of Hours attributed to the Master of the Entry of Francis I, an anonymous illuminator active in Lyon between about 1485 and 1515. The illuminator is named after a manuscript now in Wolfenbüttel, Germany which contains fascinating illustrations of temporary “tableaux vivants” set up by the citizens of Lyon throughout the city to greet the French King in July of 1515 as he embarked on his first military campaign to Italy (Herzog August Bibliothek, Cod. Guelf. 86.4 Extrav.). While the artist remains anonymous, Elizabeth Burin suggested that he may be identifiable with the documented scribe and illuminator Antoine Pingaud (2001, pp. 31-33). Tania Lévy, on the other hand, posited that he might be one and the same with the glass painter Jean Ramel (2017, p. 81). Some twenty-five manuscripts containing his work have been identified, including thirteen Books of Hours. His work synthesizes elements from both Parisian elegance and Netherlandish naturalism, blending crisp figural modeling, luminous colors, and finely articulated architectural space.

This present miniature is characteristic of his style and must have once formed a deluxe manuscript. It opens the first of the seven prayers of Saint Gregory, beginning: O Domine Iesu Christe, adoro te in cruce pendentem. The facial construction with a dark straight line for the eyebrow and single black line for the nose, the small hands, and the relatively somber palette of blue, dark green, and deep red are similar to his other figures; see, for example, a newly discovered manuscript at Lehigh University published by Nicolas Herman (Linderman Library, Codex 18; https://bibliophilly.pacscl.org/30-a-book-of-hours-from-renaissance-lyon-with-ornately-framed-miniatures-by-the-master-of-the-entries-of-francis-i/). The miniature highlights the emergence of Lyon at the beginning of the sixteenth century as a thriving commercial hub as well as a major center of manuscript production and early printing, supported by powerful ecclesiastical and merchant patronage. The Master of the Entry of Francis I stands as a key figure in Lyon, bridging late medieval piety with Renaissance formal innovation.

Provenance
(1) Numbered “1932” on lower right margin from unknown dealer or auction.

(2) Private Collection, California, USA.

Sister leaves
Several sister leaves have been identified: Maggs Brothers, Catalogue 1340, no. 29: Descent from the Cross; Maggs Brothers. Bulletin 23 (2004–2005), no. 46: Saint Stephen and Saint Lawrence; Maggs Brothers, Bulletin 23, no. 122: text leaf; Philip J. Pirages, Catalogue 74, nos. 43–44: Saint Margaret, Saint Barbara, and Saint Apollonia; Sotheby’s, London, 5 July 2016, lot 44: All Saints and the Wound of Christ.

LITERATURE
Unpublished; for the Master of the Entry and illumination in Lyon, see: François Avril and Nicole Reynaud, Les Manuscrits à peintures en France, 1440–1520, Paris, 1993, pp. 233–51; Nicole Reynaud, “Les manuscrits enluminés à Lyon au XVe siècle,” in La Renaissance à Lyon, ed. P. Cayez et al., Paris, 1999, pp. 77–90; Elizabeth Burin, Manuscript Illumination in Lyons, 1473-1530, Turnhout, 2001; Philippe Delaunay, L'enluminure à Lyon au temps de la Renaissance: 1450–1550, Lyon, 2002; Tania Lévy, Les peintres de Lyon autour de 1500, Rennes, 2017.

We thank Senior Consultant Sandra Hindman and Peter Bovenmyer for their assistance in preparing this sale and Elliot Adam for consultation on this entry.

This lot is located in Chicago.

MASTER OF THE ENTRY OF FRANCIS I (active Lyon, c. 1485-1515)A leaf from a Book of Hours, with a miniature of the Mass of Saint Gregory, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment [France, Lyon, c. 1500–1510]

MASTER OF THE ENTRY OF FRANCIS I (active Lyon, c. 1485-1515)
A leaf from a Book of Hours, with a miniature of the Mass of Saint Gregory, in Latin, illuminated manuscript on parchment [France, Lyon, c. 1500–1510]