C 1445 (5 results)

Condition: Very Good. Publisher's original illustrated laminated card covers. 8vo 6½'' x 5'' 60 pp. Full-page monochrome illustrations throughout. In Very Good condition with light rubbing to covers, no dust wrapper as published. Member of the P.B.F.A. ART [Italian].

Condition: Fine. Publisher's original colour illustrated card wrap covers [softback], French flaps. Folio 11½'' x 9½''. Contains 215 printed pages of text with colour illustrations throughout. Minimal rubs to the cover and in Fine clean condition, no dust wrapper as published. Member of the P.B.F.A. ART [Italian].

Condition: Fine. From the most important and prolific Venetian illuminator of the early fifteenth century, this leaf preserves the Introit for the Feast of Saints Philip and James, celebrated at Mass on May 3. The large historiated initial 'E' for Exclamaverunt ad te Domine in tempore afflictionis suae depicts the two apostles at half-length, their faces individualized with subtle brushwork, expressive yet distinct. The text "They cried out to you, O Lord, in the time of their affliction" (Psalm 77:34 Vulgate) is particularly apt: the apostles are remembered as having turned to Christ in their trials, and the chant underscores their steadfastness in the face of suffering. Philip and James are venerated together because their relics were enshrined in the Church of the Holy Apostles in Rome in the sixth century, leading to their joint feast throughout the medieval liturgy. The leaf retains its original foliation 'CXIII' in red ink at the head of the border, placing it firmly within the Sanctoral of a monumental Gradual. The recto preserves cues for feasts from St. Tiburtius and Valerian (April 14) to St. Vitalis (April 28), with the celebration of Philip and James given in full, beginning with the Introit and Psalm. The refined modeling of the faces, the brisk treatment of draperies, and the restrained yet luminous palette, pink, yellow, green, and blue enlivened with white tracery are hallmarks of Cristoforo Cortese in his early career. The frequent use of pink and yellow grounds is a diagnostic feature of Cortese's production before 1420, situating this miniature among his formative works. Cortese was the first great illuminator of fifteenth-century Venice, and his workshop supplied monumental Graduals and choirbooks to monastic orders and churches throughout northern Italy. His figures are marked by delicate hair and beard detailing, emotive expression, and a painterly fluidity that bridges manuscript illumination with contemporary Venetian panel painting. Major works by Cortese and his workshop survive in leading collections worldwide, including the Biblioteca Marciana in Venice, the British Library, the Bibliotheque nationale de France, the Fitzwilliam Museum, the Morgan Library & Museum, and the J. Paul Getty Museum, situating the present leaf within the artist's documented oeuvre. Our firm was also fortunate to identify a related leaf from the same long-dispersed Gradual: the Prophet in a Red Hat, introducing the Introit for the feast of the Many Common Martyrs. That leaf, now in a private collection in Italy, shares with the present example the same format, eight staves ruled with a 21 mm. rastrum, square notation, rounded gothic bookhand, Roman numeral foliation, and the Venetian palette of pink, yellow, green, and blue enlivened with white tracery confirming their common origin. Together, the two enrich our understanding of Cortese's early output, demonstrating his ability to invest monumental liturgical books with vivid humanity and devotional intensity. PROVENANCE Unknown American dealer, indication on the verso written in pencil with marking mb, 58-b, Italy c. 1450 Mr. Kenneth W. Rendell, Somerville, Massachusetts, USA.

Condition: Fine. This Crucifixion miniature is a masterpiece of mid-fifteenth-century French illumination and one of the most important surviving works by the Master of Jean Rolin II. It once formed part of a Missal commissioned by Cardinal Jean Rolin II (1408-1483), bishop of Autun and son of Nicolas Rolin, the powerful Burgundian chancellor and renowned patron of Rogier van der Weyden. Originally, this Crucifixion was paired with a God the Father miniature?now in the Musée Rolin, Autun?forming a canon diptych that introduced the Canon of the Mass. These leaves belonged to one of four luxury Missals made for the Cardinal, three preserved in Autun and one in Lyon, all illuminated by the same master. It is extremely likely that the present leaf, with its own remarkable survival, originated in Autun MS 108A (S.131), alongside the God the Father, St. Andrew, and Adoration of the Magi leaves in the Musée Rolin. The composition unfolds across three registers: the Virgin collapses in Saint John's embrace while Mary Magdalene kneels at the foot of the Cross. On either side, the thieves writhe in agony as Longinus raises his lance. A group of mounted nobles and soldiers occupies the middle ground, beneath a sky where a golden sun and silver moon bear cosmic witness to the Passion. In the distance lies a Burgundian landscape of hills, forests, and towers?perhaps Autun itself. Despite pigment loss, especially in the faces, the confident underdrawing remains visible, revealing the artist's preparatory hand. The miniature is framed by gilded rinceaux of acanthus, fruit, and insects?hallmarks of Parisian luxury illumination. A fragment of a bishop's crozier in the lower margin, identical to that in the God the Father miniature, serves as Cardinal Rolin's personal emblem, confirming the manuscript's illustrious origin. The Master of Jean Rolin II was among the finest illuminators of his generation. His art reflects the deep Flemish influence that defined Burgundian manuscript painting, absorbing the pathos and naturalism of Rogier van der Weyden and the Flemish Primitives. The spatial structure and sculptural modeling recall the work of André d'Ypres and Guillaume Spicre, situating the artist within the cosmopolitan current of Burgundian art where Flemish panel painting, Burgundian sculpture, and Parisian illumination converged. His hand appears in all four Missals for Cardinal Rolin and in deluxe manuscripts such as the Horloge de Sapience (Brussels, KBR IV.1114) and the Hours of Simon de Varie (Getty MS 7 & KB 74 G 37 +a). The Lyon Missal (MS 517) uniquely preserves a Crucifixion and God the Father diptych still in place, confirming the liturgical logic of facing images at the Canon of the Mass and providing a key comparison for the present leaf. Reunited conceptually with its pendant in Autun, this Crucifixion reclaims its place within one of the greatest liturgical projects of fifteenth-century Burgundy. As one of the finest surviving leaves by the Master of Jean Rolin II, it embodies both the grandeur of a princely Missal and the devotional intensity that defined the artistic spirit of its age. Provenance: Commissioned by Cardinal Jean Rolin II (1408-1483); Martin Brimmer (1829-1896), Boston, president of the Museum of Fine Arts; Charles Henry Parker (1860-1948), Boston; Sotheby's, London, 22 June 1982, lot 19; Sotheby's, London, 18 June 1991, lot 21; Les Enluminures, Catalogue 1, #25 (1992); Private Collection, USA.

Condition: Near Fine. This exquisite miniature is by Cristoforo Cortese, the most accomplished Venetian illuminator of the early fifteenth century. Executed during the formative stage of his career, it once formed part of a sumptuous Camaldolese Gradual. The bearded prophet, set within an initial I, is rendered with Cortese's hallmark precision: expressive features painted with delicate strokes, highlighted with red-rimmed haloes and radiant yellow tones. These qualities firmly align the work with Cortese's early output, before 1420. The stylistic vocabulary recalls both Florentine models and Venetian innovations. Cortese clearly drew upon the influence of Don Silvestro dei Gherarducci, whose Choir Books for San Michele in Murano (1392-1399) provided prototypes for half-length prophet figures. Yet Cortese's interpretation, more vibrant and emotive, shows the confident individuality that would earn him recognition as the pioneer of Venetian Renaissance illumination. The palette dominated by blues, reds, and yellows closely parallels related cuttings: a Bust Portrait of a Bearded Man in the Getty's Compendium moralium notabilium (MS Ludwig XIV 8, f. 34v); a Saint John the Evangelist in the Victoria and Albert Museum (inv. D.637B-1894); and the Entry into Jerusalem at the Fitzwilliam Museum, Cambridge (Marlay Cutting It. 20). The square notation on the verso, written on four-line red staves (rastrum 25 mm), confirms its liturgical function as part of a choirbook used in monastic chant. Provenance: 1. USA, private collection, (early 20th Century framing tag, S.Schwartz picture frames, 128 W 42nd Street, New York, with a note pasted in the back of the frame "This fragment is old German. The miniature is a perfect work of art. Age no less 500 years."). Sister Leaves Known To Exist In: Victoria and Albert Museum (Saint Peter, initial "C"); Free Library of Philadelphia (Saints with initials "G" and "S"); Additional leaves include the Apostle initial "T" and Standing Saint initial "E" (formerly F. G. Zeileis collection, sold at Sotheby's); Cambridge Fitzwilliam Museum (Entry into Jerusalem, initial "D"); Museo Civico Medievale, Bologna (a prophet, initial "C"); Softer sales?e.g., Prophet initial "V" (Sotheby"s; Robert Lehman Collection); Les Enluminures, Paris (Bearded Bishop initial "S"; Prophet and St. Paul). Literature: F. Todini in Una collezione di miniature Italiane, vol. II (1994), no. VII; M. Bollati, Dalla Bibbia di Corradino a Jacopo della Quercia, in Duecento (1997), pp. 128-29; G. Freuler, Tendencies of Gothic in Florence: Don Silvestro dei Gherarducci, Corpus of Florentine Painting IV.7.2 (1997); G. Zeileis, Più ridon le carte (2009), no. 11; S. Panayotova, "Cristoforo Cortese in Cambridge," in Miniatura. Lo sguardo e la parola (2012), pp. 186-89.