The Mass for the Dead. A Leaf from a Book of Hours
Artist/Maker
DatesMade: Made ca 1415
Dimensionsh x w x d: Ram 60 x 45 x 4 cm h x w: Mått [pappersyta] 16,8 x 12,3 cm h x w: Mått [bildyta] 7,4 x 6,8 cm
Inventory numberNMB 2340
Other titlesTitle (sv): Mässa för döda. Blad ur tidebok Title (en): The Mass for the Dead. A Leaf from a Book of Hours
DescriptionDescription: NMB 2340 A leaf from a Book of Hours illuminated by the workshop of the Boucicaut Master. [Paris, c. 1415] Catalogue raisonné: NMB 2340 A leaf from a Book of Hours illuminated by the workshop of the Boucicaut Master. [Paris, c. 1415] Physical Description MATERIAL: Gouache and gold on parchment. DIMENSIONS: 168 x 123 mm. NUMBER OF LEAVES: 1. FOLIATION: Unknown RULING: 16 lines of text, ruled in light red. LANGUAGE: Latin. SCRIPT: Gothic textura. RUBRICATION: Illuminated rubrics. Text Office of the Dead Recto: Psalm 116:1, (D)ilexi quoniam exaudiet Dominus vocem orationis meae I have loved, because the Lord will hear the voice of my prayer. Verso: Psalm 116:2, (Q)uia inclinavit aurem suam mihi et in diebus meis invocabo te Because he hath inclined his ear unto me: and in my days I will call upon him. Psalm 116:3, (C)ircumdederunt me dolores mortis pericula inferni invenerunt me The sorrows of death have compassed me: and the perils of hell have found me. Psalm 116:3-4, (T)ribulationem et dolorem inveni et nomen Domini invocavi I met with trouble and sorrow: And I called upon the name of the Lord. Psalm 116:4-5, (O) Domine libera animam meam misericors Dominus et iustus et Deus noster miseretur O Lord, deliver my soul. The Lord is merciful and just, and our God sheweth mercy. Psalm 116:6, (C)ustodiens parvulos Dominus humiliatus sum et liberavit me The Lord is the keeper of little ones: I was humbled, and he delivered me. Psalm 116:7, (C)onvertere anima mea in requiem tuam quia Dominus benefecit tibi Turn, O my soul, into thy rest: for the Lord hath been bountiful to thee. Sister leaves 1. Cleveland, Museum of Fine Arts, 1953.366. 2. Cleveland, Museum of Fine Arts, 1955.79. 3. Three more leaves were sold at the Sotheby sale in 1990, but their current location is unknown. Decoration This is a depiction of the Mass of the Dead. Two priests stand to the left in front of a lectern with a book open on the Mass of the Dead. The foremost priest wears a black and gold cope over blue, white, and burgundy robes. His grey headpiece would seem to indicate that he is a canon of a cathedral. The canon holds the lectern in his left hand and points with his right. The other priest wears a black robe and has a tonsure. On the right stand two mourners wearing black hooded robes. In the middle of the scene is a coffin one which is draped a black fabric with a large red cross. Surrounding the coffin are three green candles in golden candlesticks. The background of the miniature is a pattern of gold leaves on an orange background. Provenance Parent volume 1. Written in Paris, c. 1415 by the workshop of the Boucicaut Master. Present leaf 1. Folios from the same original book of hours now in Museum of Fine Arts in Cleveland, three more leaves were sold at the Sotheby sale on the 19th of June 1990, but their current location is unknown. 2. Purchased for the Nationalmuseum at auction on the 19th of June of 1990 from Sotheby’s, London. Exhibited Not exhibited. Commentary Written in France, in Paris, c.1415 by the workshop of the Boucicaut Master. In the first decades of the 15th century the Boucicaut Master was one of the leading illuminators in Paris. The Boucicaut Master has a workshop of talented artists who produced manuscripts commissioned by the French king, aristocrats, and wealthy burghers. The name Boucicaut derives from the manuscript he illuminated for Jean le Meingre II, Maréchal de Boucicaut. Bibliography Andrews, Christine Geisler, ‘The Boucicaut Masters’ in Gesta, Vol. 41, No. 1, (2002), pp. 29-38. Nordenfalk, Carl, ‘Tre nyförvärvade bokmålningar’ in Nationalmuseum Bulletin, Vol. 15, no. 1, (1991), pp. 66-74. Sandgren, Eva Lindqvist, Illuminated Manuscripts in Swedish Collections, https://www.alvin-portal.org/alvin/resultList.jsf?dswid=7830&p=1&searchType=EXTENDED&sortString=creationYear_sort_asc&noOfRows=10&af=%5B%22ARCHIVE_ORG_ID_facet%3A67%22%5D&query=&aq=%5B%5B%7B%22HOST%22%3A%22alvin-record%3A471052%22%7D%5D%5D&aqe=%5B%5D Research project 2022-2023, Illuminated Manuscript, Christian Etheridge, Art Historian
Collection
Geographical origin
MaterialParchment