USE OF ROUEN by AN ELEGANT ILLUMINATED VELLUM BOOK OF HOURS IN LATIN AND FRENCH, WITH 12 HANDSOME MINIATURES BY ROBERT BOYVIN - ca. 1500

Rouen, ca. 1500. 190 x 126 mm. (7 1/2 x 5"). [106] leaves. Single column, 20 lines in an attractive gothic book hand. Contents: Calendar (f. 1r); Gospel Lessons (f. 13r); Obsecro te and O Intemerata (f. 17v); Hours of the Virgin (f. 34r) lacking first leaf of Prime (Nativity miniature) and first leaf of Compline (Coronation of the Virgin miniature); Hours of the Cross (f. 59r); Hours of the Holy Spirit (f. 62r); Seven Penitential Psalms (f. 65r); Litany (f. 74r); Office of the Dead (f. 79r); Additional prayers and invocations interspersed with Ave Maria and Dominus tecum (f. 101r).
Attractive 19th century diced calf by Hersent (stamp-signed in gilt on spine), covers with gilt-ruled border and panel, both with floral cornerpieces, raised bands, compartments with double gilt rules, scrolling border, and lacy centerpiece, gilt titling, gilt-rolled turn-ins, all edges gilt. Calendar in gold, blue, and red, rubrics in red, numerous one-line initials in liquid gold on blue or red ground, many two-line initials painted gray and white, outlined in red and inhabited with small flowers or baubles on dull gold ground, EVERY TEXT LEAF WITH A PANEL BORDER featuring gold and blue acanthus, flowers, and fruits on alternating compartments of bare vellum or dull gold ground in a variety of shapes and patterns, 12 FULL-PAGE MINIATURES WITH FULL BORDERS composed of colorful acanthus and flowers on dull gold ground, one of these borders with a bird and a beast incorporated into the design. The subjects of the miniatures: St. John on Patmos (f. 13r); Annunciation (f. 24r); Visitation (f. 33r); Annunciation to the Shepherds (f. 46r); Adoration of the Magi (f. 48v); Presentation in the Temple (f. 51r); Flight into Egypt (f. 53v); Crucifixion (f. 59r); Pentecost (f. 62r); Funeral Mass (f. 79r); Patron portrait with Virgin and Child Enthroned (f. 101r). Front pastedown with armorial bookplate bearing the initials "C. B." See: Isabelle Delauney, "Le manuscrit enluminé à Rouen au temps du cardinal Georges d'Amboise: l'œuvre de Robert Boyvin et de Jean Serpin," Annales de Normandie, 3 (1995); Elliot Adam, "Retour sur l'œuvre de Robert Boyvin, enlumineur à Rouen vers 1500" in "Peindre à Rouen au XVIe siècle" (2017); Avril and Reynaud, "Les Manuscrits à Peintures en France," pp. 211-14. ◆Joints cracked and with evidence of glue previously applied to add strength, though the covers still securely attached, other small signs of wear, but the binding still pleasing. Light smudging in margins here and there, other insignificant imperfections, but THE TEXT, DECORATION, AND MINIATURES IN BEAUTIFUL CONDITION, the paint especially rich and the margins very comfortable.

This is an exceptionally pretty Book of Hours resulting from a happy collaboration between two master artists: Robert Boyvin, who executed the miniatures, and Jean Serpin, who was responsible for the unusually fine borders. The manuscript is clearly the work of artists of considerable power and prowess, showing confident, practiced hands, smooth application of paint, and an attractive palette with colors that appear as fresh and bright as the day they were first applied. The manuscript contains 12 arresting miniatures by Boyvin, each carefully executed to create for the viewer fully realized scenes that offer balanced compositions, strong lines, and backgrounds that demonstrate depth and detail. The miniature accompanying the Office of the Dead is a particularly fine example of Boyvin's work, depicting an elaborate funeral Mass inside a church and featuring a convincing representation of space with more than a dozen clerics and mourners packed inside--many of whom hold books--interacting with each other and performing various tasks associated with the ritual. Another miniature that stands out is the Flight into Egypt, depicting the Holy Family escaping the massacre ordered by King Herod. Whereas most miniatures simply show the Virgin and Child upon an ass, with Joseph on foot, ours also shows the Virgin picking a date from a palm tree--a reference to an apocryphal tale from Pseudo-Matthew, also known as "The Miracle of the Palm Tree," which describes how a date palm tree bent itself down to provide nourishment for the Blessed Mother. To our knowledge, this iconography is very rarely encountered in Books of Hours (we can find only a couple other obvious examples, one being in Walters MS W.211, a Flemish Book of Hours created ca. 1440). More intriguing still, the date picked by the Virgin in this scene seems to make a reappearance in the final miniature--the patron portrait--showing the Virgin and Child enthroned, with an angel on the left and a kneeling woman in pink on the right. The Virgin looks down upon her with softness in her eyes, holding a fruit in her right hand and the Child in her left. The Christ child motions toward the fruit with one hand, and reaches out to the petitioner with the other, acting as a conduit between the two. Although the identity of this woman is unknown, it is tempting to speculate that this detail may have held special meaning for the user of the manuscript--perhaps the date represents grace, or wealth; or could it perhaps symbolize a prayer for fertility? The miniature painter, Robert Boyvin (fl. 1480-1536) was a follower of the so-called Master of the Echevinage de Rouen, a highly successful artist who took his name from several commissions he illuminated for the Echevinage, i.e., the council of city aldermen, of Rouen. Boyvin's mature hand is distinguishable, as here, by figures with large noses and rounded eyelids, females with very pale skin, and garments, which are often burgundy or blue in color, displaying noticeably flat folds. The artist reached the height of his career--both in terms of the development of his style and his success as an illuminator--in the early years of the 16th century, around the time the present work was produced. This manuscript benefits greatly from the talents of border artist Jean Serpin, whose meticulous hand is an excellent match for Boyvin's style. Although Serpin is especially known for the naturalistic birds and creatures he often incorporated into his borders (see, for example, the Annunciation miniature in the present work), he also delights us with a different pattern on every leaf, making each turn of the page a source of pleasure. Boyvin and Serpin were frequent collaborators, and their work attracted the notice and patronage of wealthy clients such as Georges d'Amboise, Bishop of Rouen (whose fastidious account records give us the names of these two artists). Both painters were highly sought after in their own day, and Boyvin's work in particular is now represented in some of the finest institutions in the world, including the Bibliothèque Nationale, the Walters Art Gallery, and the Morgan Library..