Les Enluminures

Richly illuminated, this elegant manuscript is adorned with two remarkable donor portraits.

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Richly illuminated, this elegant manuscript is adorned with two remarkable donor portraits that witness to the early interest of the elites of Lyons in the genre of portraiture. The patrons, likely named Jean and Catherine, most probably come from the Le Saunier family whose arms are reproduced three times in the manuscript.  Two major painters active in the last quarter of the fifteenth century participated in the illumination of these Horae, now identified as The “Le Saunier” Hours after its patrons.  The resurfacing of this manuscript, published but in a private collection for nearly three decades, prompts a re-examination of the styles of its collaborating artists and their importance for development of Lyonnais painting at the dawn of the Renaissance.

In her important study, E. Burin, Manuscript Illumination in Lyons 1473–1530 (2002) retraces the development of a school of painting in Lyons, parallel to the local flourishing printing press with the first book printed in the city in 1473. The author maps out manuscript production in Lyons according to different workshops, sometimes collaborating in a same manuscript, as is the case here. This manuscript was known to Burin (see her cat. 17) and was referred to as “H.P. Kraus, catalogue no. 24.”  However, at the time of her study Burin did not have access to the codex, which has been inaccessible in a private collection for nearly three decades.  Burin signals the modernity of one of the artists, The Lambert Master (the “new, more modern approach to his compositions”).  F. Avril characterizes his successor, the Master of the Alarmes de Mars, as an “excellent artist” known for his bold coloring and harmonious compositions.  Hence the resurfacing of these Horae, now identified as The “Le Saunier” Hours after its patrons, prompts a re-examination of the styles of its collaborating artists and their importance for development of Lyonnais painting at the dawn of the Renaissance.