Richly illuminated ensemble associated with the Master of the Rouen Échevinage and his circle.

163 × 117 mm. A bifolium and two single leaves, ruled in red ink for a single column of seventeen lines (justification: 101 × 63 mm), written in a fine gothic book hand in dark brown ink, with rubrics in red, decorated with one large three-line floriated initial ‘D,’ four two-line initials, and sixteen one-line initials, all in raised gold on alternating blue and burgundy grounds with white penwork. Margins enriched with three-quarter borders of acanthus, sprays of gold bezants, and a wide variety of naturalistic flowers and foliage in vibrant tones, ONE FULL-PAGE MINIATURE of the Four Evangelists, each depicted seated at their desks beneath an arched architectural frame, accompanied by their symbols, set within a gold panel border of scrolling acanthus, red carnations, and curling ivy. Minor smudging and slight pigment transfer on a few borders; overall in excellent condition with brilliant gold and color retention.

These leaves from a Book of Hours for the Use of Rouen are associated with the so-called Playfair Group, a circle of artists active in Rouen in the third quarter of the fifteenth century and closely related to the Master of the Rouen Échevinage. Characterized by luminous color, finely modeled figures, and delicate gold highlighting, their work reflects both native Norman traditions and Parisian influence, especially that of the Boucicaut and Bedford circles. The Master of the Rouen Échevinage (also known as the Master of the Geneva Latini), takes his name from the splendid manuscripts, mostly chronicles, he painted for the Bibliothèque des Echevins in Rouen, the public library assembled by the aldermen of the city. Largely responsible for Books of Hours, the related Playfair Group of illuminators was dubbed by Watson (1984), after the artist responsible for a Book of Hours in London (Victoria and Albert Museum, MS L. 475-1918). These illuminators dominated production in Rouen after the departure of the English in 1449 through the 1480s.

The inclusion of an Evangelist miniature divided into four panels – typical of Rouennais production – reveals a manuscript of high quality, likely produced for a wealthy urban patron. This miniature announces the beginning of the Gospel readings with an illuminated initial ‘I’ beginning the Gospel of John: In principio erat Verbum. The second leaf contains portions from Matins in the Hours of the Virgin while the bifolium contains portions of Compline. The extensive marginal decoration of two of the text leaves signals the beginning of the prayers for the hours of Matins and Compline.

Provenance
(1) Dealer inventory numbers: TG16550 and TG16587/94

(2) Private Collection, California, USA.

LITERATURE
Unpublished; On Rouen illumination, the Échevinage atelier, and the Playfair Group, see Rowan Watson, The Playfair Hours. A Late Fifteenth Century Illuminated Manuscript from Rouen (V & A, L. 475-1918). London, 1984: François Avril and Nicole Reynaud, Les Manuscrits à peintures en France 1440–1520, Paris, 1993, pp. 218–227; Kathleen Scott, Later Gothic Manuscripts: 1390–1490, London, 1996, vol. 2, pp. 244–248; Claudia Rabel in Les enluminures du Louvre, moyen âge et Renaissance, ed. François Avril, Nicole Reynaud and Dominique Cordellier, with Laura Angelucci and Roberta Serra, Paris, 2011, p. 208.

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