TEXT FROM THE HOURS OF THE CROSS

France, late 15th century. 180 x 130 mm. (7 x 5 1/8"). Single column, verso with 20 lines in an attractive bâtarde hand.
Rubrics in dark pink, four one-line initials in painted gold on blue or dark pink ground, two two-line initials, on in blue on dark pink ground and one in black on blue ground, both with painted gold embellishments, one three-line initial resembling unfurling scrolls, painted in gold on a blue ground with gold pointillation and filled with a large flower, A LARGE MINIATURE OF THE CRUCIFIXION in a plain red frame surrounded by a three-quarter border filled with blue flowers with long protruding pistils, with numerous hairline vines and gilt bezants, and triangular sections painted gold and filled with strawberries and white flowers. Faint foxing and soiling to margins, light chipping to red frame and one initial, minor fading to painted gold in border, negligible imperfections to miniature (one of Christ's arms slightly rubbed, a couple tiny scuffs), but with strong colors and well-preserved details.

Opening the Hours of the Cross (a shorter text sometimes accompanying the Hours of the Virgin), this miniature of the Crucifixion is attractively painted and features a touching depiction of Christ's final moments at the same time that it provides exuberance in an elaborately botanic border. Besides the crucified Christ, there are only two other figures in this intimate and lonely--perhaps even bleak--miniature: the Virgin Mary stands at the left of the composition in a blue dress and long pink veil, while St. John stands at the right, dressed in pink and purple and holding a green book. Blood flows freely from Christ's wounds, including small rivulets from his hands that fall on the heads of the Virgin and St. John, as if to anoint them. Although St. John's attention is focused on Christ, the Virgin fixes her gaze not on her son, but at St. John. Perhaps she is taking in Christ's words as recorded in John 19:26-27: "When Jesus therefore had seen his mother and the disciple standing whom he loved, he saith to his mother: Woman, behold thy son. After that, he saith to the disciple: Behold thy mother." This miniature was probably executed in a provincial atelier, but the work is very competent, and it contains some quietly excellent details: the body of Christ looks natural and well-proportioned, the features of the Virgin and St. John are quite strong, and St. John's hand, raised in the sign of benediction, shows a high level of detail. Despite the somber content of the scene, the artist chose a surprisingly cheerful palette that favors pastel pink, lilac, and light blue. This type of Crucifixion image is quite common iconographically, but the coloring and spirited border give the content freshness that modulates the deep sorrow of the scene, lending it a sense of hope..