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A MASTERPIECE RECONSTRUCTED
A MASTERPIECE R E C O N S T R U C T E D
THE HOURS of LOUIS XII
Edited by THOMAS KREN with MARK EVANS
Essays by JANET BACKHOUSE, THOMAS KREN, NANCY TURNER, and MARK EVANS
The J. Paul Getty Museum

and
The British Library
in association with the Victoria and Albert Museum
This publication is issued in conjunction with the exhibi-
tion A Masterpiece Reconstructed: The Hours of Louis XII,
held at the J. Paul Getty Museum, October 18, 2005, to
January 8, 2006, and at the Victoria and Albert Museum,
February 2 to May i, 2006.
© 2005 J. Paul Getty Trust
Getty Publications
1200 Getty Center Drive, Suite 500 Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Los Angeles, California 90049-1682
www.getty.edu A masterpiece reconstructed : the Hours of Louis XII /
Thomas Kren ... [et al.] ; edited by Thomas Kren, with
Published in Europe by Mark Evans,
The British Library p. cm.
96 Euston Road Catalog of an exhibition held at the J. Paul Getty
London NWi 2DB Museum, Oct. 18, 2005-Jan. 8, 2006, and at the
ISBN 0-7123-4908-1 Victoria and Albert Museum, Feb. 2-May i, 2006.
Includes bibliographical references and index.
At Getty Publications ISBN-I3: 978-0-89236-829-7 (pbk.)
Christopher Hudson, Publisher ISBN-io: 0-89236-829-2 (pbk.)
Mark Greenberg, Editor in Chief i. Hours of Louis XII—Illustrations. 2. Books of
hours—France—Illustrations. 3. Bourdichon, Jean,
Patrick Pardo, Editor 1457?-1521? 4. Illumination of books and manuscripts,
Markus Brilling, Designer French. 5. Illumination of books and manuscripts,
Amita Molloy, Production Coordinator Renaissance—France. 6. Louis XII, King of France,
1462-1515—Books and reading. I. Kren, Thomas, 1950-
Typesetting by Diane Franco II. Evans, Mark L. III. Bourdichon, Jean, 1457?-1521?
Color separations by Professional Graphics, Inc., ND3363.L597M36 2005
Rockford, Illinois 745.6Yo944-dc22
Printed in Singapore by CS Graphics Pte. Ltd. 2005008308
Unless otherwise specified, all photographs are Front cover: Detail of Louis XII of France Kneeling in
courtesy of the institution owning the work illustrated. Prayer, Accompanied by Saints Michael, Charlemagne,
Every effort has been made to contact the copyright Louis, and Denis (PL. i), 1498/99, JPGM
holders of the works of art in this book to obtain Frontispiece: Detail of The Nativity (PL. n), 1498/99,
permission to publish. Any omissions will be corrected London, Victoria and Albert Museum
in future editions. Page vi: Detail of Calendar for September (PL. 6),
1498/99, Free Library of Philadelphia
In the figure and plate captions for this book, the abbre- Back cover: Detail of Bathsheba Bathing (PL. 18),
viation JPGM stands for the J. Paul Getty Museum. 1498/99, JPGM
CONTENTS
viii Foreword WILLIAM GRISWOLD and MARK JONES
xi Preface THOMAS KREN and MARK EVANS
i Jean Bourdichon and the Hours of Louis XII JANET BACKHOUSE
21 Plates
43 Looking at Louis XIFs Bathsheba THOMAS KREN
63 The Manuscript Painting Techniques of Jean Bourdichon NANCY TURNER
81 The Rediscovery of a Royal Manuscript MARK EVANS
91 Appendix: A Reconstruction of the Hours of Louis XII

THOMAS KREN Und PETER KID.D
95 Suggestions for Further Reading
96 Index
98 About the Authors

In memory of MYRA ORTH and JANET BACKHOUSE
Foreword
Tb e Hours of Louis XII was one of the

greatest French manuscripts of its time, painted by Jean Bourdichon around
1500, during the period when the court of France regained its position as an
influential center of art and culture within Europe. This exhibition celebrates
the separate purchases by the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Victoria and
Albert Museum (V&A) of important miniatures from this masterpiece that,
notwithstanding the dismemberment of their host manuscript, have survived
the ravages of time with remarkable freshness. By coincidence both our pur-
chases occurred in 2003, the same year that several other miniatures from the
book appeared on the market, and not long after the rediscovery of other
leaves from it. Most of the components of the Hours of Louis XII exhibited in
Los Angeles and London are being reunited for the first time since the book
was broken up more than three hundred years ago.
Today the Hours of Louis XII survives principally as a series of sixteen
large and imposing miniatures. Fifteen of these have been assembled here,
along with a portion of the manuscript's text, for the enjoyment and edifi-
cation of our visitors. This display offers the opportunity to experience the
book and enjoy its illumination largely in its original sequence. Several other
manuscripts by Bourdichon from the British Library and the Getty are included
to provide some art historical context. We are greatly indebted to the British
Library, which owns three miniatures from the book as well as its text block.
Accordingly, we would like to thank Lynne Brindley, the Library's Chief Exec-
utive, and Scot McKendrick, Head of Medieval and Earlier Manuscripts, for
their generous support of this project, the wonderful loans, and the copublica-
tion of this volume with the Getty.
We are also most grateful to the other lenders of miniatures from the
Hours of Louis XII. These include, at the Free Library of Philadelphia, Elliot
Shelkrot, President and Director, and William Lang, Head, Rare Book Depart-
ment; at the Musee du Louvre, Paris, Henri Loyrette, Director, Car el van
Tuyll van Serooskerken, Head, Departement des Arts Graphiques, and his col-
league Catherine Loisel; at the National Library of Scotland, Edinburgh, Mur-
ray Simpson, Manuscripts Collections Manager, and Olive M. Geddes, Senior
Curator; at the Bristol City Museums and Art Gallery, Sheena Stoddard, Cura-
tor of Fine Art; and, in London, Sam Fogg on behalf of a private collector.
Frances Hinchcliffe kindly conserved the Bristol miniature. We acknowledge
Vlll
additional loans to the Getty Museum and convey heartfelt thanks to David
Zeidberg, Director of the Huntington Library, and Mary Robertson, Curator
of Manuscripts; as well as Andrea Rich, Chief Executive, the Los Angeles
County Museum of Art, Nancy Thomas, Deputy Director for Curatorial
Administration, and Mary Levkoff, Curator of European Sculpture.
The miniature of The Nativity was purchased by the V&A with the assis-
tance of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, the Art Fund, and the Friends
of the V&A. We gratefully acknowledge the generosity of Sam Fogg and
Robert McCarthy in supporting the London showing of this exhibition.
Finally we thank Thomas Kren, Curator of Manuscripts at the Getty
Museum, and Mark Evans, Senior Curator of Paintings at the V&A, for
organizing the exhibition. Along with the late Janet Backhouse, former
Curator of Illuminated Manuscripts at the British Library, and Nancy Turner,
Associate Conservator of Manuscripts at the Getty Museum, they have made
important contributions to this catalogue and to the field of French manu-
script illumination.
It is our privilege to introduce this rare and precious book to a wider public.
WILLIAM GRISWOLD MARK JONES

Acting Director Director
TkeJ. Paul Getty Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum
IX
Preface
I. n 1973 the late Janet Backhouse, the

distinguished scholar and Curator of Illuminated Manuscripts at the British
Library, published an essay identifying a group of three full-page miniatures
and an incomplete and disorganized text manuscript in the British Library,
together with another four miniatures, as elements of a major French book of
hours. The text had been given to the British Library in 1757, and its three
miniatures purchased in 1895, while the additional miniatures had appeared
quite recently. This book, probably executed in 1498 and/or 1499, is now
known as the Hours of Louis XII. With its large-scale miniatures and innova-
tive three-quarter-length format, this work signaled a new direction in the art
of Jean Bourdichon, the painter to four successive French kings. It represents a
key monument in manuscript illumination from the last years of one of the
most fertile centuries in the history of European art. In her persistent and per-
ceptive manner, Janet had rediscovered a manuscript that had disappeared
from history more than three hundred years before.
Two more miniatures from this manuscript surfaced a year after the
appearance of Janet's article, and she remained alert for evidence of further
leaves. An additional six had been identified by 2001. When the miniature of
Louis XII, previously known only in a photograph, appeared on the art market
in 2003, she was convinced it came from the same source. Following the
Getty's and the V&A's recent acquisition of leaves from the book, we both
agreed that the time was ripe to introduce this great treasure to a wider pub-
lic and to publish all that is known about it in an associated volume. We also
felt it would be marvelous to have Janet offer her reflections on the now con-
siderably enlarged group of miniatures. She happily accepted. Yet, even as she
completed her research, illness struck. While in and out of the hospital, Janet
managed to hammer out a nearly complete draft of her essay on an old, bor-
rowed typewriter, with the active collaboration of her devoted partner of many
years, Shelley Jones. The draft arrived in the mail the day before Janet's unex-
pected and tragic death.
This volume owes an incalculable debt to Janet. We also thank Shelley
Jones for enabling Janet's writing. Nancy Turner, Associate Conservator of
Manuscripts at the Getty, undertook extensive new research on a number of
OPPOSITE: the leaves from the Hours of Louis XII, as well as some related works by Bour-
Detail from Plate 9 dichon and by Jean Fouquet, to provide a groundbreaking introduction to
xi
B o u r d i c h o n ' s technique as an illuminator. We thank her for her timely and
original essay and also wish to acknowledge Peter K i d d , the British Library's
Curator o f Medieval and Earlier Manuscripts, for providing valuable informa
tion and refining Thomas Kren's hypothetical reconstruction o f the H o u r s o f
Louis X I I .
Finally we wish to acknowledge the contributions o f those who helped
to make possible the e x h i b i t i o n and its handsome catalogue. A t the Getty
M u s e u m : Quincy H o u g h t o n , Assistant Director for Exhibitions, Amber Keller,
Senior Exhibitions Coordinator; Sally H i b b a r d , C h i e f Registrar, A m y Linker,
Assistant Registrar for Exhibitions; and Elizabeth M o r r i s o n , Associate Curator
o f Manuscripts; and at the V & A , L i n d a L l o y d Jones, H e a d o f Exhibitions, Sue
T h o m p s o n , E x h i b i t i o n Organizer; and David Wright, Registrar. Christopher
H u d s o n , the Getty's Publisher, and D a v i d Way, H e a d o f Publications at the
British Library, joined forces for a copublication that w i l l make the volume
widely available in both the U n i t e d States and the U n i t e d K i n g d o m . We express
our further gratitude to Getty Publications, i n particular M a r k Greenberg,
E d i t o r i n Chief, Karen Schmidt, P r o d u c t i o n Manager, Patrick Pardo, the
ever-patient editor, Markus Brilling, the talented designer, A m i t a M o l l o y , pro
duction coordinator, and Cecily Gardner, senior staff assistant. The Getty
manuscripts were newly photographed for this publication by Christopher
Foster, w o r k i n g w i t h M i c h a e l J. S m i t h , I m a g i n g Services L a b , w h o also
labored to ensure the consistency o f the images from the H o u r s o f Louis X I I .
N e w digital images o f the British Library leaves and manuscripts, along w i t h
the leaves from the V & A and a L o n d o n private collection, were made by
British Library photographers Laurence Pordes and Chris M c G l a s h o n . We
thank Scot M c K e n d r i c k , Peter K i d d , and the photographers for their coopera
tion i n photographing some o f the material outside o f their own collection i n
order to help the printers achieve consistency across a significant portion o f the
illumination i n the H o u r s o f Louis X I I . The beautiful installation at the Getty
is due to T i m M c N e i l and M i c h a e l L i r a , supported by Bruce M e t r o and the
preparation staff; and at the V 8 c A to its Design Department.
The catalogue incorporates insights and suggestions generously shared by

many experts: A n n Jensen A d a m s , François A v r i l , K u r t Barstow, G r e g o r y
Clark, Stephen C o p p e l , Marianne Delafond, Isabelle Delaunay, Kenneth D u n n ,
Christopher H u g h e s , E r i k Inglis, M a r t i n Kauffmann, Peter K i d d , Sophie
xii
Lee, Scot McKendrick, Marissa Moss, William N o e l , Camilla Previte, Stephanie
Schrader, Patricia Stirnemann, Rachel Stockdale, William Voelkle, and R o g e r
W i e c k . Patricia Stirnemann, Margarita L o g u t o v a , and Alexandre Huyghes-
Despointes generously helped us obtain some o f the illustrations i n a timely
manner. Georgi Parpulov kindly provided research assistance to Thomas Kren.
W i t h advice from M a r k Evans, Thomas K r e n completed Janet's essay, provid
ing footnotes and a conclusion, while also completing a few sections that were
sketched or proposed by the author.
The curators, directors, and trustees o f the lending institutions, as well as
a p u b l i c - m i n d e d private collector, are all owed our most sincere thanks for
allowing their works to be reunited with the parent manuscript o n this unique
occasion. We thank them and hope that they will be pleased with this perma
nent record o f the event.
Finally we thank Bruce Robertson and Reinhild Weiss for continuing to
laugh at our jokes even when they ceased to be funny, and for supporting us i n
this endeavor.
W h e n Janet initially agreed to contribute to this catalogue, she recalled

with pleasure h o w the three o f us had collaborated over twenty years earlier o n
the catalogue for the exhibition Renaissance Painting in Manuscripts: Trea
sures from the British Library. O u r fourth coauthor o n that catalogue was M y r a
O r t h , a witty and intrepid colleague, whose life was also cut short i n the prime
o f her scholarly career. Myra's research o n sixteenth-century French manu
script illumination opened up new avenues o f investigation and fostered the
current lively interest in French book arts o f the Renaissance. Janet and M y r a
shared scholarly interests and a close friendship for many years. Janet proposed
that this publication be dedicated to M y r a . It is n o w dedicated to the fond
memory o f them both. We hope the final product is consistent w i t h their
exacting standards.
THOMAS KREN M A R K EVANS
Curator of Manuscripts Senior Curator of Paintings

The J. Paul Getty Museum The Victoria and Albert Museum
xiii
Jean Eourdickon and the
Hours of Louis XII
JANET BACKHOUSE
In the year 2003 the striking image of

King Louis XII of France (1462-1515) attended by his patron saints Michael,
Charlemagne, Louis, and Denis—long lost to sight but familiar to devotees of
French Renaissance book painting from a number of old black-and-white
reproductions—appeared on the market and was acquired by the J. Paul Getty
Museum (PL. i). 1 Almost simultaneously, miniatures of The Adoration of the
Magi, The Presentation in the Temple, The Flight into Egypt, and Bathsheba
Bathing that are believed to come from the same large-scale book of hours
were dispersed from the Bernard H. Breslauer collection in New York, where
they had been treasured for some thirty years (PLS. 12-14).2 A sixth, the ravish-
ing nocturnal The Nativity, never previously published or seen by the public,
was sold to the Victoria and Albert Museum from a private source in London
(PL. ii ).3 The scale and quality of these leaves ensured that all but one quickly
found homes in public collections, with The Presentation in the Temple and
Bathsheba Bathing joining the aforementioned Louis XII miniature, titled
Louis XII of Prance Kneeling in Prayer, Accompanied by Saints Michael,
Charlemagne, Louis, and Denis, at the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. By coin-
cidence, the four Breslauer miniatures had been briefly reunited with three sis-
ter leaves from the British Library during the course of the exhibition
Renaissance Painting in Manuscripts at the Getty Museum, exactly twenty
years before (PLS. 9, 15, 19).4 Eleven full-page miniatures, four calendar pages
(PLS. 2-6), and fifty-three text leaves (including PLS. 16, 17) have now been
identified as coming from this manuscript, the style and design of which iden-
tify it as by Jean Bourdichon of Tours, court painter to four successive kings of
France, including Louis XII, during the late fifteenth and early sixteenth cen-
turies.5 About thirteen additional full-page miniatures remain to be found,
together with eight more calendar pages and further leaves of the text.
According to his own testimony, Jean Bourdichon was born at Tours in
1457/58, in the valley of the Loire, which was to remain the center for his activ-
ities throughout his long career.6 The Loire valley was a principal center of the
French court and a focus of its patronage, home to the great court book
painter Jean Fouquet (ca. 1420-1478/81) and his circle. Bourdichon's career
OPPOSITE: spanned some four decades. He had served Louis XI (1423-1483) and Charles
Detail from Plate 4 VIII (1470-1498) as court painter before Louis XII and was last heard of
I
in 1521 (the year he died), contributing to preparations for the legendary meet- F I G U R E i.i
ing between Francis I of France (1494-1547) and Henry VIII of England Jean Bourdichon, Virgin find
Child Enthroned with Saint
(1491-1547) at the Field of the Cloth of Gold. Surviving documents refer to John the Baptist and Saint
payments for a wide variety of decorative works and paraphernalia typical of John the Evangelist, triptych,
such a post: banners, standards, furniture, and rolls; designs for coinage, 1495. Tempera on panel.
Central panel: 114 x 74 cm
stained glass, jewelry, and gold work; maps, countless portraits, and a number
(44% x 29Vs in.); side panels:
of paintings on panel.7 Most of this work, often by its very nature ephemeral, 114 x 32 cm (44% x i25/s in.)
has disappeared. A triptych is the single work on panel by his hand to survive each. Naples, Museo di
Capodimonte (on deposit at
(FIG. i.i). Today, however, he is principally known as one of the leading illumi-
the Museo Nazionale di San
nators of his time, responsible for some of its most spectacular manuscripts, Martino ai Monti)
largely commissioned by members of the royal family and the court. Ironically,
this aspect of his art does not feature prominently in the written records.
In 1880 a document of payment was published, which revealed that in
1508 Jean Bourdichon was assigned the enormous sum of 1,050 livres tournois
by Anne of Brittany (1477-1514), second wife of Louis XII, for having "richly
and sumptuously historiated and illuminated a large book of hours for our use
and service where he had invested a great deal of time."8 A second document,
issued ten years later by Francis I, showed that the painter had in fact devoted
more than four years to the project, suggesting that the work had begun in
1503 or I5O4.9 Indeed the payment of 1508 was rather more than four times the
average annual salary (240 livres) of members of the royal household in
149 9.10 Anne of Brittany was a noted book lover, and her collection included a
2
FIGURE 1.2 number of books of hours of various sizes. There was, however, no difficulty in
Jean Bourdichon, Lamentation identifying the manuscript in question as the lavish volume now in the Biblio-
and Anne of Brittany Kneeling
in Prayer with Saints Anne, theque nationale de France (FIGS. 1.2,1.4,1.12). Prefaced by a portrait of Anne
Ursula, and Helena. Hours supported by saints Anne, Ursula, and Helena, this book has been well known
of Anne of Brittany, ca. for several centuries and was reproduced in one of Henri Leon Curmer's
1503-8. Paris, Bibliotheque
nationale de France, Ms. lat.
flamboyant chromolithographic facsimiles in i86i.n Since 1880 the Hours of
9474, fols. 2v-3 Anne of Brittany has been a touchstone for Bourdichon's style and the basis for
all further attributions.
Bourdichon's career as an illuminator remains to be exhaustively
explored, although attributions of manuscripts to him are abundant.12 While
he was a major figure in his day, he is conspicuously absent from sixteenth-
century tributes to artists that otherwise include such French masters, also
popular at court, as Jean Perreal and Jean Poyet.13 His early dependence upon
the art of Fouquet is generally acknowledged, and he inherited the elder
painter's position at court (though not his studio, which seems to have been
continued by Fouquet's sons) after his death sometime between 1478 and
1481. Of particular interest is recent research linking Bourdichon with the
activities of the Parisian scribe Jean Dubreuil, active roughly between 1475 and
1485, whose written work was distributed for illumination among a number of
leading artists of the day, including the Parisian Maitre Francois.14 The lovely
Katherine Hours is among these books, one of Bourdichon's earliest works
(FIGS. 1.3, 3.19). Instantly identifiable as by Bourdichon, it was commissioned
JEAN BOURDICHON AND THE HOURS OF LOUIS

JANET BACKHOUSE
XII 3
FIGURE 1.3
Jean Bourdichon, The
Nativity. Katherine Hours,
ca. 1480-85. JPGM, Ms. 6,
fol. 51
FIGURE 1.4
Jean Bourdichon, The Nativity
and facing text page. Hours
of Anne of Brittany, ca.
1503-8. Paris, Bibliotheque
nationale de France, Ms. lat.
9474, fols. 5IV-52
4
for a couple with the common initials J and K, and its borders incorporate
provision for coats of arms, most unfortunately never supplied.15 Its clear
resemblance to the very much later Hours of Anne of Brittany underlines the
essential conservatism of Bourdichon's illumination, although his later manu-
scripts use a very different type of decorated borders from his work of the early
14805 or eschew them altogether (FIGS. 1.2, 1.3, 1.4, 1.12).
Bourdichon's early position at court must have ensured his exposure to
the influence of artistic treasures from other European centers. During the
14805, he was certainly in contact with the court of the young Charles VIII,
then still under the tutelage of the king's elder sister, Anne of Beaujeu,
Duchess of Bourbon (1461-1522). Other young nobles included the king's
FIGURE 1.5 child-bride, Margaret of Austria (1480-1530), daughter of Maximilian of Aus-
Simon Marmion, Ascension of
Christ. Book of hours known
tria (1459-1519) and Mary of Burgundy (1457-1482), and thus heir to the illu-
as "La Flora," before 1489. minated treasures of the Burgundian ducal library. Also of this group was the
Naples, Biblioteca Nazionale, daughter of Frederick III of Aragon (1451-1504), Charlotte of Taranto (niece
Ms. I B 51, fol. 253V
of Louis XI's Savoyard queen), whose likeness is among those known to have
FIGURE 1.6 been commissioned from Bourdichon.16 Before his death Charles acquired a
Flemish illuminator, text page major Flemish book of hours, known as "La Flora" (FIGS. 1.5, 1.6), which
with bar border. Book of hours
Bourdichon probably knew, as he seems to have added to the book the king's
known as "La Flora," before
1489. Naples, Biblioteca arms, framed by the type of blocklike gold border also found around the
Nazionale, Ms. I B 51, fol. iciv miniatures in the Hours of Louis XII.17
JEAN BOURDICHON AND THE HOURS OF LOUIS XII 5

JANET BACKHOUSE
The Hours of Louis XII dates from the midpoint of Bourdichon's career, F I G U R E 1.7
shortly before 1500. Louis XII succeeded his cousin, Charles VTII, on the Jean Fouquet, The Virgin fond
Child Enthroned and Simon de
throne of France in April 1498 and was crowned at Reims at the end of the Yurie Kneeling in Prayer.
following month. Son and heir of the poet-prince Charles of Orleans (1394- Hours of Simon de Varie, 1455.
1465), Louis was born when his father was almost seventy years of age. After JPGM, Ms. 7, fols. iv-2
many years as a prisoner of the English, in 1441 Charles married the niece of
the Burgundian duke Philip the Good, Mary of Cleves (1426-1487), to whom
Louis was born in June 1462. After his father's death, Louis was brought up in
the cultured atmosphere of the Orleans court at Blois, where links with the
rival Burgundian and French courts remained strong. Louis' godfather and
second cousin was Louis XI, who in 1476 married him off to Jeanne of France
(1464-1505), the king's crippled younger daughter. During the latter part of
the reign of Charles VIII, as it became increasingly likely that Louis would suc-
ceed him as king, he was closely allied with Charles in his Italian and imperial
ambitions. One of Louis' first acts upon his accession to the throne was to con-
trive the annulment of his childless marriage to Jeanne so that he could marry
Anne of Brittany, the widow of his predecessor, and thus retain Brittany under
French control.18
It seems likely that the miniature of Louis XII and his patron saints (PL. i)
originally stood at the beginning of his book of hours, in an arrangement par-
allel to that found in the Hours of Anne of Brittany (FIG. 1.2). Since Anne is
shown kneeling in prayer before the Pieta, it is certainly the case that the com-
6
FIGURE 1.8 parably grand miniature with.Louis in prayer also faced a devotional image. It
The Master of Jacques de may have been The Pieta or, as likely, The Virgin cind Child. (The latter
Besancon, Charlemagne
Presenting Charles VIII (letter
appeared, for example, in the frontispiece diptychs of the Hours of Simon de
overprinted with the features of Varie [FIG. 1.7] and the Hours of Etienne Chevalier, both by Bourdichon's
Louis XII). Hours of Charles mentor, Fouquet.19) The dimensions of the Louis XII miniature (though
VIII, before 1498. Madrid,
trimmed at the top) are compatible with those of the other leaves identified as
Biblioteca Nacional, Ms. Vit.
24-1, fol. 3 coming from the same volume.20 But its reverse side is blank, lacking the dis-
tinctive border decoration, which characterizes all the other dispersed minia-
tures of the manuscript that have been discovered so far. The diptych with the
Getty Museum's Louis XII was likely added as part of a separate bifolium, as
would be appropriate for a frontispiece. The composition, centered on a kneel-
ing patron formally supported by one or more appropriate saints, is a conven-
tional one, which is found in manuscripts and panel paintings throughout the
fifteenth century. Bourdichon himself had previously been paid for at least one
similar composition depicting Charles VIII, which included both Saint Charle-
magne and Saint Louis, the latter presumably Louis IX of France (1214-
1270 ).21 By another hand of the period is the image in the Hours of Charles
VIII in Madrid, subsequently adapted for Louis XII, which has the French
king presented by Saint Charlemagne (FIG. i.8). 22 Nor is this format confined
to royal patrons. Bourdichon had also represented Charles de Martigny,
Bishop of Elne, kneeling in prayer, surrounded by four saints, opposite a sepa-
rate miniature of the Virgin and Child (FIG. i.p). 23

JANET BACKHOUSE
-OfeSECRO^T'e+'t>OIVi IM FV
Two inscriptions appear below the miniature of Louis XII, and the four FIGURE 1.9
saints are all identified by name (PL. i). On the surface of the illusionistic golden Jean Bourdichon, Charles de
Martigny, Bishop ofElne,
frame enclosing the composition is inscribed: "* LOYS * XII * DE * CE * NOM +"
Kneeling in Prayer before the
and on the burgundy-colored parchment below the frame in a similar but Virgin and Child, diptych
squatter script: % IL * LEST * FAIT * EN LEAGE * DE * XXXVI * ANS «" Louis composed of two detached
had been thirty-five years of age at the time of his accession, his thirty-sixth miniatures (shown prior to
water damage), ca. 1490.
birthday falling on June 27,1498. The image in the miniature very closely cor- Lisbon, Calouste Gulbenkian
responds to the account of his appearance at his state entry into Paris on July 2, Museum, Ms. M 2 A and B
1498: clad in sumptuous armor covered by a jeweled tabard embellished with
his sun emblem, and preceded by his royal helm and crown, surmounted by a
"fleur de lys d'or comme empereur."24 The helmet in Charles VIII's Madrid
Hours is comparable (FIG. 1.8). Louis is also wearing the collar of the Order of
St. Michel.25 Bourdichon's Louis XII has every appearance of being based on a
formal, official image of the new Icing. Indeed it is used almost identically, but
in reverse (and by a different hand), in the revised introductory miniature in
the copy of Ptolemy's Cosmography acquired by the king for his library at Blois
from Louis of Gruuthuse (1422-1492), the great patron of Flemish Burgun-
dian illuminated manuscripts (FIG. i.io). The inclusion of the crowned L on
the hanging behind the royal figure in the Ptolemy indicates that the book was
adapted after Louis came to the throne (unfortunately the date when the Gru-
uthuse manuscripts were acquired is not known). The reference to Louis' age
on the frame of the Getty miniature probably applies to the date of the image
8
FIGURE 1.10 rather than the date of the manuscript, though these were probably the same
Louis de Gruuthuse (over- or nearly so.
painted with the features of
Louis XII) in Prayer before
The burgundy parchment, which is faintly marbled, just outside the
an Altar (detail). In Jacobus painted frame, reflects the desire to give the leaves carrying the miniatures an
Angelas, Cosmographia overall burgundy, and hence royal, character. In this manuscript most of the
Ptolewaei, last quarter of the
miniatures have been severely trimmed down at the painted frame so that little
fifteenth century. Paris,
Bibliotheque nationale de of this coloring has survived, but where it does, the coloring is always wine
France, Ms. lat. 4804, fol. iv red (e.g., PLS. 9, 13, 18, 19). The burgundy parchment fits with a long-stand-
ing tradition in books for royal patrons. However, the hours of Louis' queen,
FIGURE i.ii
Jean Bourdichon, Christ Anne of Brittany, the illusionistic golden frames of the miniatures are set off
Carrying the Cross. Book of against a deep shiny black (FIGS. 1.2, 1.4). In a small book of hours from
hours, Tours, late fifteenth around the same date, which is similarly arranged, but made for an unknown
century. London, British
Library, Ms. Harley 2877,
patron, Bourdichon marbled the grounds with a variety of colors, some very
fol. 44v delicate (FIG. i.n). By the end of the century he clearly developed a predilec-
tion for colored margins.
Fifty-one complete pages of text from the manuscript, representing eleven
portions of its original devotions but now bound up in some disorder, survive
among the manuscripts transferred to the newly founded British Museum
by George II in 1757 (for example, PLS. 16, 17). Two further leaves, trimmed
down to the edges of the text, had previously come to light at the end of the
seventeenth century in the collections of script specimens of Samuel Pepys and
John Bagford.26 The leaves in the royal volume, apparently untrimmed, are

JANET BACKHOUSE
spaciously laid out, with wide margins on all sides, giving the original dimen-
sions of the book, io3/4 by jlA inches. The vellum is of fine quality, the script
elegant, and the initials and line endings delicately executed. On each page a
wide panel of crisply painted decoration of flowers and colored acanthus rises
to the full height of the text block. Apparently distinctive to this particular
manuscript, these border panels display a wide range of realistically painted
flowers and fruits, often accompanied by less realistically rendered insects,
combined with exuberant and fleshy sprays of formalized foliage in a variety of
soft, bright colors. They have also, however, been considered Flemish, due to
their similarity to marginal decoration in Ghent-Bruges manuscripts produced
from the late 14705 onwards.27 The Flemish book of hours called "La Flora,"
which belonged to Charles VIII, had similar bar borders throughout the text,
with flowers and insects painted illusionistically on gold grounds (FIG. 1.6). As
noted earlier, Bourdichon probably knew this manuscript.28 The decorated bar
borders on the reverse of fifteen of the sixteen leaves with miniatures (e.g.,
PL. 6) in the Hours of Louis XII provide certain proof that they belong
together with the aforementioned text block with its Flemish-style borders
(PLS. 16, I7).29
In its original state, the text of the Hours of Louis XII opened to the cal-
endar, written out over twelve leaves. Four of these, representing February,
June, August and September, have recently come to light (PLS. 2-5). 30 Each
month occupies the recto and verso of a single folio, with a saint's feast allo-
cated to every day of the month. The names are decoratively entered alter-
nately in blue and red, with major feasts in gold letters. Headings are
elaborated in gold with cadelles and pen flourishes to give a richer effect. The
text panels are confined to the upper left-hand portion of the page on each
recto and to the upper right-hand portion on each verso, to allow for wide illu-
minated borders below and to the right of each month on the rectos and to the
left on the versos. The borders of the rectos are filled with representations of
the appropriate labors of the months and their accompanying zodiac signs.
Elaborately illuminated calendar leaves, a tradition popular in the southern
Netherlands, are new in Bourdichon's art up to this time. Subsequently, in the
Hours of Anne of Brittany, the text panels would be positioned more centrally,
allowing for the historiated borders to surround the text completely (FIG. 1.12).
February is represented by the three-quarter-length figure of a well-to-do
citizen, warming himself before a blazing fire in a solid, stone-built house with
glazed windows (PL. 2). The front of his gown is heightened with gold; his
back reflects the red of the flames, demonstrating Bourdichon's skill in repre-
senting effects of light. Details of the floor, furniture, and beamed ceiling are
lovingly represented. The bench and table behind which the man stands are
prepared for a meal. The general impression is one of bourgeois comfort. In
the deep blue and gold sky above the roof, the twin fishes of Pisces hover
against a background of stars.
In June a haymaker, a figure of a distinctly lower class, is seen setting out
for work across a flowery meadow (PL. 3). In the distance rise the towers and
spires of a small town. The quality of light may be intended to suggest the early
10
FIGURE 1.12 morning. Dressed in a simple white tunic and a wide-brimmed straw hat, the
Jean Bourdichon, September. man is carrying his scythe and has a whetstone at his belt. A small flask is hang-
Hours of Anne of Brittany,
ca. 1503-8. Paris, Bibliotheque
ing from his right arm. Trees link the figure to the sign of Cancer in the sky of
nationale de France, Ms. lat. the marginal panel.
9474, fol. 12 Representing August, a second worker is seen inside a barn, winnowing
grain after threshing (PL. 4). His clothing suggests that he belongs to a higher
class of laborer than the haymaker. Two large sacks of grain are awaiting his
attention, and further tools required for his work stand around on the floor
beside him. His face, which was crudely repainted well after the book was com-
pleted, appears to be turned away from the dust raised by his efforts. As in the
February picture, the line of the building's roof divides it from the deep blue
and gold sky containing the stately figure of Virgo, which is flanked by sheaves
of wheat.
The wine harvest provides the inspiration for September, with a third
workman energetically treading grapes in a large vat alongside a row of hooped
barrels, stained with traces of juice (PL. 5). A wooden beam separates the inte-
rior of the building from the elegant figure of Libra, within the now-familiar
blue and gold sky.
On the verso of each calendar leaf, the entries for the second half of the
month are accompanied to the height of the text by a bar border of the afore-
mentioned flower and acanthus decoration (PL. 6). These bar borders, seen on
text pages throughout this manuscript (as noted above) and apparently unique
JEAN BOURDICHON AND THE HOURS OF LOUIS XII II

JANET BACKHOUSE
to it, confirm that the calendar belongs to the Hours of Louis XII. Illuminated
calendar miniatures for the eight months that are currently missing would
undoubtedly have followed the same format as February, June, August, and
September.
Of the surviving full-page miniatures, the first to appear in the book was
probably the one of Saint Luke writing (PL. 7), which introduced the extract
from his Gospel. Selections from the Gospels routinely appear among the pre-
liminary texts in books of hours. The fact that the miniature occupies a com-
plete page indicates that all four Gospel extracts were here originally preceded
by full-page miniatures.31 The saint is shown as a scribe, a pen in his right hand
and a penknife in his left hand; his pen case and inkwell lie to his right. His
symbol, the ox, occupies the lower right-hand corner of the composition.
Unique among the figures in the miniatures from this book, the amiable ox
breaks the barrier of the enclosing frame by resting his hoof upon it.
The Betrayal of Christ^ introducing the Passion according to Saint John, is
likely to have come next among the surviving miniatures (PL. 8). Generally this
text does not have a fixed position within a book of hours but is more com-
monly found toward the front rather than towards the end, where it appears
in the Hours of Anne of Brittany. The version seen here was used many times
by Bourdichon, with slight variations, and is comparable to the similar minia-
ture in the Hours of Ippolita of Aragon, which has an inscription dated 1498
(FIG. i.i3).32 It is painted with great delicacy, in a range of subdued tones
FIGURE 1.13
Jean Bourdichon, The Betrayal
of Christ. Hours of Ippolita
d'Aragon, before I4p8(?).
Benedictine Abbey of
Montserrat, Ms. 66, p. 35
12
intended to reflect the semidarkness in which the event took place. Once again,
direct sources of light have exerted their fascination on the artist, and the rays
of torches and lamps play variously upon the figures in the scene.
Six of the nine miniatures from the cycle of the Infancy of Christ have so
far come to light. This cycle originally would have introduced the eight indi-
vidual hours of the Virgin in this manuscript. The sequence began at Matins
with a two-page Annunciation, of which only the right-hand page survives
(PL. 9). It was not uncommon for the Annunciation to be presented as a dou-
ble opening in French manuscripts of the later fifteenth century (FIG. 1.14).
Bourdichon's very simple but sensitive representation of the golden-haired
young Virgin Annunciate must surely rank among the finest book paintings
of its generation. A gentle light from the tiny Holy Dove casts Mary's shadow
on the colored marble behind her. The facing illumination of the Archangel
Gabriel remains to be found.
The Visitation, at Lauds, has more pathos (PL. 10). Both Mary and her
cousin Elizabeth are visibly pregnant. Elizabeth has a gentle, elderly face and
the dark veil of an older woman. Her clothing is discreetly rich, perhaps reflect-
FIGURE 1.14 ing a higher social status for her husband, Zacharias, who observes the meeting
Jean Colombe, The alongside Joseph from the porch behind the women. The finely detailed, beau-
Annunciation. Hours of Anne tifully lit vista demonstrates Bourdichon's skill as a landscape painter.
of France, ca. 1473. New York,
Pierpont Morgan Library, The Infancy cycle resumes with The Nativity at Prime of the Hours of
M. 677, fols. 42V-43 the Virgin, which, along with the exquisite Virgin Annunciate, is artistically

JANET BACKHOUSE
outstanding among the miniatures created for this book (PL. n). Like other
northern European artists, Bourdichon was preoccupied with nocturnal
themes and with the play of light within them. Here he gives free rein to his
imagination (and demonstrates his technical mastery) by depicting no less than
three light sources. The invisible Star of Bethlehem exchanges its golden rays
with the radiance emanating from the recumbent Christ child, flooding the
Virgin's robes and highlighting the faces of the ox and the ass and of the
onlooking shepherds. To the right Joseph holds up a lantern, the artificial
white light from which spills down the back of the Virgin's robe. The minia-
ture gives palpable form to the vision of Saint Bridget of Sweden, in which the
newly born Christ child "radiated such an ineffable light and splendor" that it
rendered superfluous the light from Joseph's candle.33
In The Adoration of the Magi at Sext, the star is shown, its rays specifically
directed towards individual characters in the scene (PL. 12). The Three Kings
are arrayed from front to back in the spacious manger in order of seniority. The
Child, firmly supported by his mother's protective hands, reaches out to the
gold offered by the eldest of the Three Kings.
The Presentation in the Temple at None offers no direct light sources and is
set within a cavernous church interior that is notable for its classical, rather
than Gothic, character (PL. 13). A crowd spills through a doorway that opens
onto a distant townscape. The contrast between this noble setting and the
humble environment of the stable is dramatic and moving. Joseph, beside the
altar, is charged with the offerings. Both he and the two female attendants con-
centrate their gaze upon the priest Simeon, who holds the Child. The
exchange of glances between Mary and her son perhaps reflects her acceptance
of his destiny, "set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel."34 The "IHS"
monogram of the name of Christ runs along the border of the altar cloth.
The last surviving miniature from the Hours cycle, The Flight into Egypt at
Vespers, presents the Holy Family with an unusual degree of tenderness, as
Joseph protectively guides his sturdy donkey through an extensive wilderness
(PL. 14). The Child, no longer a baby, is sleeping in a position of complete
relaxation, leaning against his mother's shoulder while she supports his feet
with her right hand and his body with her left. Along with the aforementioned
miniature of Gabriel, still lacking from the Hours of the Virgin are a miniature
of The Annunciation to the Shepherds at Terce and probably a Coronation of the
Virgin or an Assumption of the Virgin at Compline.
Although it is difficult to know precisely where the Short Hours of the
Cross and the Short Hours of the Holy Spirit appeared originally, in French
books of hours at this time they often came after the Hours of the Virgin. The
miniature introducing the first of these has not been found but probably
reflected the image of Christ Carrying the Cross in the aforementioned book of
hours by Bourdichon from around the same time (FIG. i.n) or a related subject
such as The Crucifixion. The resplendent Pentecost, which would have illus-
trated the Short Hours of the Holy Spirit, offers a sea of devout faces, gently lit
from above by the golden rays of light from the Holy Dove (PL. 15).
Two further surviving miniatures originally introduced major portions
14
of the text towards the end of the manuscript. The very naked Bathsheba, with
the roguish David in the background, was chosen to open the Penitential
Psalms, while Job on the Dungheap preceded the Office of the Dead (PLS. 18,
19). Much of the text relating to these two images can be located among the
book's surviving text leaves. Other text fragments suggest that at least three
further introductory miniatures remain to be found. They would have accom-
panied the Hours of the Conception of the Virgin (PLS. 16, 17), the Hours of
All Saints, and the Hours of the Holy Sacrament. As mentioned before, also
lacking are eight calendar miniatures, three Evangelist portraits, Christ Curry-
ing the Cross (or The Crucifixion), three miniatures from the Hours of the Vir-
gin, and The Virgin and Child (or another devotional subject), which
originally faced Louis' portrait (PL. i). In its original state, the Hours of Louis
XII thus contained twelve large calendar miniatures and about twenty-four
full-page ones, rather less than half the number in the celebrated Hours of
Anne of Brittany.35 What is surprising in such a large and luxurious book of
hours is the lack of illustrations to the suffrages of saints, of which six text pages
survive. The way they are written, continuously on the page and without a
break between them, suggests that this section, which was originally quite
extensive, was only illuminated by one or a few miniatures, if at all. In the
Hours of Anne of Brittany, the suffrages were copiously decorated with a spec-
tacular series of twenty-seven full-page miniatures. Thus the queen's book of
hours was ultimately much more lavish than the king's.
The Hours of Louis XII, even in its incomplete state, represents a mile-
stone in the long career of Jean Bourdichon. By virtue of its large size, coupled
with the systematic use of three-quarter-length figural compositions, it inau-
gurates a new and enduring phase in the artist's career.36 From now until the
end of his life, large dimensions (i.e., books of eleven inches or more in height)
dominate his production, including books of hours.37 The dramatic close-up,
showing figures in half-length or three-quarter-length format, became popular
in Flemish book art during the 14705 and 14805.38 Simon Marmion popular-
ized it during the 14705, and a French example from the circle of Fouquet
dates to the late 14705.39 Bourdichon probably was aware of this development,
since he also likely had access to a great Flemish cycle of half-length devotional
miniatures in Charles VTH's "Flora" hours (FIGS. 1.5,1.6). That book may have
spurred him to explore the wonderfully expressive and intimate qualities of
monumental figures in dramatic close-up.40 Further, in the Hours of Louis XII
Bourdichon first employed the Flemish-style illusionistic borders to which the
artist would often return. Finally, it is the book that most fully anticipates the
best known and loved example of Bourdichon's manuscript production, the
opulent Hours of Anne of Brittany.
In some respects Louis' second wife's book of hours represents a culmina-
tion of themes introduced in the king's prayer book. It develops and refines a
number of the ideas expressed in the latter, in some cases even correcting

JANET BACKHOUSE
XII 15
them. For example, the layout of the Hours of Louis XII seems somewhat F I G U R E 1.15
eccentric (see Appendix), with most of the full-page miniatures appearing on Simulated two-page opening
in the Hours of Louis XII:
the recto of the leaf, or on the right side of an opening, so that only the incipit, Explicit page from the Hours
or first words, of the pertinent devotion appears inscribed on the frame (FIG. of All Saints and Jean
1.15). One has to turn the page to read the rest. On the left side of the opening, Bourdichon, Pentecost (PL. 15).
Hours of Louis XII, 1498/99.
the text page facing the miniature would have contained only a single bar bor-
London, British Library, Royal
der and represented the concluding lines of the preceding section of devo- Ms. 2 D XL, fol. 42v and Ms.
tions.41 As a result, within an opening with a full-page miniature, an aesthetic Add. 35254, fol. U.
imbalance between the large miniature and the facing page, itself modestly
FIGURE 1.16
decorated and often relatively empty, would have been the result.42 In the The Master of the Dresden
queen's hours the full-page miniatures appear for the most part on the left Prayer Book, David and
side, and much more of the associated devotional text is visible on the facing Goliath. Crohin-La Fontaine
Hours, ca. 1480-85. JPGM,
page, striking a happier balance between word and image (FIG. 1.4). Interest- Ms. 23, fols. I2IV-I22
ingly, this change also reveals how Bourdichon designs a miniature within the
context of a book's opening, for in the queen's hours the composition of a
given subject is often reversed vis-a-vis the king's hours, as for example in The
Nativity (compare PL. n and FIG. 1.4). Bourdichon seems to have done this in
order to redirect the gazes of the main figures in the miniatures toward the
center of the book rather than outside it, a choice that shows his sensitivity to
the aesthetics and psychological character of visual storytelling as well as to the
dynamics of book illustration.
Related to this is the limited use of decorative borders in the Hours of
Louis XII where they appear only as modest bar borders on text pages (indeed
they show up on every text page). In contrast, conventional Flemish books of
hours, the likely inspiration for these decorative borders, featured full illusion-
istic borders on the text pages opposite the miniature and sometimes even
around the miniatures themselves (FIG. 1.16). It may be that Bourdichon felt
that a facing full border opposite the full-page miniature made no didactic
sense where the facing text page completed, rather than began, a devotion. In
the Hours of Anne of Brittany, with the full-page miniatures mostly on the left-
hand side of the page, he was free to introduce full decorated borders on the
facing pages (in addition to bar borders elsewhere). Thus the full-page minia-
tures stand face to face with text pages completely surrounded by elaborate
floral decoration, very much in the tradition of the commercially highly suc-
cessful Flemish devotional books (compare, for example, FIGS. 1.4 and 1.16).
He further elaborated the manuscript's bar borders by clearly labeling the
flora, a feature rarely found in Flemish illuminated books and probably
inspired by woodcut illustrations in German printed herbals, which appeared
in the I48os.43 The result, moreover, is a more aesthetically pleasing two-page
opening than the king's hours seems to have had.
Finally, the calendar miniatures of the king's hours are less ambitious and
accomplished than those in the queen's hours. In the former they occupy only
two sides of the border (see, for example, PL. 2) while in the latter they fill a full,
four-sided border (see FIG. 1.12), a format also widely popular in Flemish devo-
tional books by the first decade of the sixteenth century. Still, it is clear that the
innovations and sheer ambition of the Hours of Louis XII opened up new
16
JANET BACKHOUSE
XII 17
aesthetic avenues for the king's painter and announced significant new
directions in his art. The Hours of Louis XII also includes some of the most
beautiful and memorable miniatures in Bourdichon's remarkable oeuvre: from
the exquisite Virgin of the Annunciation to the bold combination of natural,
artificial, and spiritual light sources of the nocturnal Nativity^ from the seduc-
tive charms of the temptress Bathsheba to the majesty of the royal portrait.
One can only await with keen anticipation the discovery of further miniatures
from this great manuscript, which may shed further light upon it and upon this
court painter's enduring creativity.
NOTES
1. Since its sale in London in 1920 (Sotheby, Wilkinson, and Hodge, July 14, 1920, lot 67), it has
been illustrated in A. de Laborde, Le roi chevauchant le bouef (Paris, 1923), pi. vii; Charles Maumene
and Louis d'Harcourt, "Iconographie des rois de France," Archives de I3art francais, 2nd ser., 15
(1927-28), ill. 103, opp. p. 104; R. W. Scheller, "Ensigns of Authority: French Royal Symbolism in
the Age of Louis XII," Simiolusi^ (1982),p. 93, fig. 14; and Janet Backhouse, "Hours of Henry VII"
in Thomas Kren, ed., Renaissance Painting in Manuscripts: Treasures from the British Library, exh.
cat. (Malibu, 1983), p. 167, fig. 2if.
2. William Voelkle and Roger Wieck, The Bernard H. Breslauer Collection of Manuscript Illumi-
nations, exh. cat. (New York, 1992), pp. 76-81, nos. 8-n.
3. Purchased with the assistance of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, the Art Fund, and the
Friends of the V&A.
4. Kren 1983. The Breslauer leaves were exhibited in Los Angeles but not published in the exhibi-
tion catalogue.
5. Backhouse was the first to ascertain that seven of the full-page miniatures, including potentially
the Louis XII miniature, belonged with the surviving text of fifty-three leaves. See her article "Bour-
dichon's 'Hours of Henry VII,'" British Museum Quarterly 37 (Autumn 1973), pp- 95-102. Subse-
quently Backhouse added to this list The Adoration of the Magi (pi. 12) and The Presentation in the
Temple (pi. 13) (Kren 1983, p. 168, n. 8); Reynaud identified The Visitation (pi. 10) and The Betrayal
of Christ (pi. 8) as belonging to it (Franfois Avril and Nicole Reynaud, Les Manuscrits a peintures en
France, 1440-1520, exh. cat. [Paris, 1993], p. 295); and Wieck identified the four calendar leaves (pis.
2-5) in James R. Tanis, ed., Leaves of Gold: Manuscript Illumination from Philadelphia Collections,
exh. cat. (Philadelphia, 2001), pp. 70-74, no. 16.
6. In testimony offered on July 19, 1513, Bourdichon gave his age as fifty-six (David MacGibbon,
Jean Bourdichon: A Court Painter of the Fifteenth Century [Glasgow, 1933], pp. 52,150-51).
7. The documentation for much of this is cited by MacGibbon 1933, pp. 35-47.
8. "... richment et sumptueusement historie et enlumyne unesgrans heurespour nostre usaige et serv-
ice ou il a mys et employe grant temps... (MacGibbon 1933, PP- 51? 144)- See also A. Steyert, "Jean
Bourdichon. Prix et quittance du livre d'heures d'Anne de Bretagne, 14 mars 1508," Nouvelles
archives de lârtfrancais, 2nd ser., 2 (1880-81), pp. i-n.
9. MacGibbon 1933, p. 146.
10. Frederic Baumgartner, Louis XII (Scrznton, Pa., 1994), pp. 59-60.
11. L'Abbe Delaunay, Le livre d'heures de la Reine Anne de Bretagne (Paris, [1861]). The manu-
script was already a favorite of Louis XIV's at Versailles in the seventeenth century.
12. As studies of the artist's illuminations, the monographs by MacGibbon 1933 and Raymond
Limousin (Jean Bourdichon: Peintre & enlumineur son atelier et son ecole [Lyon, 1954]) are largely
out-of-date.
13. Reynaud in Avril and Reynaud 1993^.293.
18
14- Thomas Kren, "Seven Books of Hours Illuminated by the Parisian Scribe Jean Dubreuil," in
Reading Texts and Images: Essays on Medieval and Renaissance Art and Patronage in Honour of Mar-
garet Manion (Exeter, U.K., 2002), pp. 157-200.
15. Reynaud in Avril and Reynaud 1993, PP- 293-94, no. 161.
16. MacGibbon 1933, pp. 49, 141.
17. Thomas Kren in Kren and Scot McKendrick, eds., Illuminating the Renaissance: The Triumph
of Flemish Manuscript Painting in Europe, exh. cat. (Los Angeles, 2003), pp. 330-34, no. 93.
18. On this event, see the essay by Kren in this volume, p. 57.
19. For the latter, see Francois Avril, Jean Fouquet: Peintre et enlumineur du XVe siecle, exh. cat.
(Paris, 2003), pp. 196-97.
20. For example, the dimensions of the Louis XII miniature (pi. i) are 24.3 x 15.7 cm (99/i6 x 63/i6
in.), while those of The Presentation in the Temple (pi. 13) and Bathsheba Bathing (pi. 18) are 24 x 17
cm (97/i6 x 6n/i6 in.) and 24.3 x 17 cm (99/i6 x 6n/i6 in.), respectively. The Louis XII miniature is
more trimmed at the top but has a wider margin below the lower frame, which explains the compara-
ble height dimensions given here.
21. In 1490 or 1491 Bourdichon depicted Charles VIII presented by Saints Louis and Charle-
magne, but the image is lost. (MacGibbon 1933, pp. 48,139-40).
22. On the importance of Charlemagne within the self-presentation and propaganda of Charles
VIII, see R. W. Scheller, "Imperial Themes in the Art and Literature of the Early French Renaissance:
The Period of Charles VIII," Simiolusiz (1981-82), pp. 5-69; and Scheller 19 82, pp. 92-93,107-08.
23. Francois Avril, "Un nouveau manuscript de Jean Bourdichon: Les heures de Charles de Mar-
tigny, eveque d'Elne" (forthcoming).
24. Bernard Guenee and Francoise Lehoux, Les entrees royales fran$aises de 1328 a 1515 (Paris,
1968), p. 128; Scheller 1982, p. io3c; and Baumgartner 1994, pp. 63-65.
25. Cf. the more detailed depiction of the collar by Jean Fouquet in Avril 2003, p. 261.
26. On these specimens, see Mark Evans's essay in this volume, pp. 81-82.
27. George F. Warner and Julius P. Gilson, Catalogue of Western Manuscripts in the Old Royal and
Kingys Collections (London, 1921), p. 62.
28. Kren in Kren and McKendrick 2003^.333.
29. The justification of the leaves in Royal Ms. 2 D XL is 133/134 x 81/82 mm, while those, for exam-
ple, in The Presentation in the Temple (pi. 13) and Bathsheba Bathing (pi. 18) are both 132 x 81 mm.
30. Tanis 2001, pp. 70-74, no. 16.
31. Sometimes in French books of hours, the Gospel extracts are introduced by a single full-page
miniature, representing either Saint John the Evangelist or all four evangelists together. It is the sur-
vival of an evangelist miniature other than Saint John that suggests the existence of the three others.
32. Dom Anselm M. Albareda, "Els Manuscrits de la biblioteca del Monestir de Montserrat"
Analecta Montserratensia, vol. i (1917), pp. 71-76, cat. 53.
33. Mark Evans, "Bourdichon's Nativity" National Art Collections Fund 2003 Review (London,
2004), p. 135.
34. Luke 2:34 (King James Version): "And Simeon blessed them, and said unto Mary his mother,
Behold, this child is set for the fall and rising again of many in Israel; and for a sign which shall be spo-
ken against."
35. The Hours of Anne of Brittany has forty-nine full-page miniatures plus twelve full historiated
calendar borders along with several leaves with illuminated armorials and heraldry. In the tally of
twenty-four full-page miniatures proposed here for the Hours of Louis XII, the two miniatures that
would have made up the frontispiece diptych and The Annunciation are each counted as two rather
than one.

JANET BACKHOUSE
36. It bears noting that one other book of hours by Bourdichon does use the three-quarter-length
format systematically and also predates the Hours of Louis XII. It is the rather eccentric Hours of
Charles VIII (Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France, Ms. Lat. 1370), where the figures are mostly
painted in brown and white monochrome against a painted textile background that the miniature
shares with the border, so that the impact of the "dramatic close-up" is diminished (Limousin 1954,
pp. 64-65, figs. 94-96).
37. This monumental format seems the antithesis of Bourdichon's most delicate work, such as the
Hours of Frederick of Aragon, painted only a few years later, around 1501-04, where the miniatures
measure a mere 43/4 x 23/4 inches (Avril and Reynaud 1993, pp. 296-97, no. 163). For some of the
large books from the last two decades of the illuminator's career, see also pp. 297-305, nos. 164-68.
38. Sixten Ringbom, Icon to Narrative: The Rise of the Dramatic Close-up in Fifteenth Century
Devotional Painting, 2nd ed. (Doornspijk, 1984), esp. chapters. 3-6.
39. The Bourbon-Vendome Hours (Paris, Bibliotheque de PArsenal, Ms. 417; Avril 2003, pp.
345-49). Avril believes that Bourdichon may have painted one of the book's lesser half-length
illuminations, an initial (fol. 9v; see Avril 2003, P- 346). Ringbom mistakenly attributed the large
half-length miniatures in the book to Bourdichon (1984, pp. 209-10).
40. Ringbom 1984, pp. 195-204.
41. As Peter Kidd pointed out in his examination of Royal Ms. 2 D XL, some of the explicit pages
of individual devotions are blank on the versos—the text concludes on the rectos—so that a number
of the full-page miniatures would have faced pages with only a bar border and ruled lines, but no text
at all, and there are also some versos lacking both text and bar borders (though in these instances bar
borders still appear on the rectos).
42. The reader should bear in mind that figure 1.15 only simulates a typical opening. It does not
represent an actual opening. By an accident of fate, none of the surviving leaves that might qualify as
facing pages for any of the surviving full-page miniatures can be identified with certainty as such, so
that this example juxtaposes a representative explicit page with a full-page miniature to show how
such an opening would have appeared.
43. David Landau and Peter Parshall, The Renaissance Print (New Haven and London, 1994),
pp. 245-48.
OPPOSITE:
Detail from Plate 13
20
THE HOURS of LOUIS XII PLATES
This section presents the surviving miniatures of the Hours of Louis XII,
along with examples of several text pages, in the order in which they originally appeared in the king's book.
The miniatures were made with tempera colors and gold and silver paint on parchment.
PLATE I
Louis XII of France Kneeling in Prayer, Accompanied by Saints Michael, Charlemagne, Louis, and Denis
JPGM, Ms. 79a
PLATE 2
February
Free Library of Philadelphia, Lewis E. M. 11.19
PLATE 3
June
PLATE 4
August
PLATE 5
September
PLATE 6
Calendar for September
Free Library of Philadelphia, Lewis E. M. U.22V
PLATE 7
Saint Luke Writing
Edinburgh, National Library of Scotland, Ms. 8999
PLATE 8
The Betrayal of Christ
Paris, Musee Marmottan (Wildenstein Collection)
PLATE 9
The Virgin of the Annunciation
London, British Library, Ms. Add. 35254, fol. V
PLATE 10
The Visitation
Bristol City Museums and Art Gallery, No. K 2407
PLATE II
The Nativity
London, Victoria and Albert Museum, No. E. 949-2003
PLATE 12
T/7£ Adoration of the Magi
Paris, Musee du Louvre, No. RF 53030
PLATE 13
The Presentation in the Temple
JPGM, Ms. 796
PLATE 14
T^^ Flight into Egypt
London, Private Collection, Loan Courtesy of Sam Fogg
PLATE 15
Pentecost
London, British Library, Ms. Add. 35254, fol. U
PLATES 16 and 17
Text opening from Hours of the Conception of the Virgin and decorated bar borders
British Library, Royal Ms. 2 D XL, fols. 37V-38
PLATE 18
Bathsheba Bathing
JPGM, Ms. 79
PLATE 19
Job on the Dungketzp
London, British Library, Ms. Add. 35254, fol. T
Looking ttt Louis XIPs Bathsbeba
THOMAS KREN
I n February 1498, King Charles VIII of

France was reading a manual of confession that contained a chapter on the sins
of the flesh. He drew its teachings to the attention of his cousin, Louis, Duke
of Orleans, the future Louis XII, "My brother, this book speaks to you."1
Louis responded defensively to the king's remark, saying that had he a differ-
ent wife, this would not be the case.2 In 1476, King Louis XI, Charles's father,
had forced Louis of Orleans, then at the tender age of fourteen, to marry
Charles's crippled sister Jeanne of France. The duke soon gained a reputation
for avoiding his wife as well as for his enjoyment of other women. Indeed, in
November 1498, seven months after he succeeded his cousin on the throne,
becoming King Louis XII of France, the papal nuncio commented on the new
king's "lascivious" pursuits.3
It was probably during the same year, 1498, that Jean Bourdichon, who
had been court painter to Charles VIII, began work on the large and very
grand book of hours intended for the new king. The inscription on Louis' por-
trait in the book states that he was thirty-six years old, indicating that the
inscription must have been written between his successive birthdays on June 27
in 1498 and 1499 (PL. i). Thus, presumably, the illumination of the book was
underway, and perhaps even completed, within this period. Bourdichon main-
tained under Louis his position as court painter, the third of four successive
kings he served in this capacity.
While the iconography of the surviving miniatures in the Hours of Louis
XII is not especially innovative, one miniature stands out: Bathsheba Bathing
(PL. 18). The well-known moment depicted is related in 2 Samuel, 11:2-27,
when King David, from his palace in Jerusalem, spies the beautiful Bathsheba,
the wife of the Hittite Uriah, bathing below. David subsequently summoned
her to his palace, committed adultery with her, and sent her husband into
harm's way, resulting in his death on the battlefield. He then took Bathsheba
for his own wife.
Both for its time and to modern eyes, Bourdichon's depiction of
Bathsheba bathing within the pages of a pious prayer book is provocative.
Using the half-length format to extraordinary effect here, the artist pushes the
OPPOSITE:
Digitally enhanced detail proportionately large figure of Bathsheba to the front of the image. She is
from Plate 18 monumental and displayed plainly for the viewer, exquisitely and seductively
43
naked, from the top o f her head to just below her pubic area. W i t h its golden
highlights, her abundant b l o n d hair, fanning out behind her buttocks, seems
to glow on the page. H e r pearly white skin is smooth and unblemished. H e r
small breasts are placed high and wide o n her chest, her hips broad; these fea
tures shape a voluptuous figure that accords w i t h the highest standards o f
feminine beauty i n fifteenth-century northern Europe. Bathsheba's l o n g arms
curve gracefully at the wrist, as i f boneless, their movement echoing the ample
curves o f her body. M o r e tantalizing still, while Bathsheba is immersed i n her
bath at the hips, her body below that point is still visible through the cool, blue
water. Indeed her genitalia are precisely rendered, showing the labia, and orig
inally they must have seemed even more strongly a focus o f the miniature than
today, because B o u r d i c h o n used silver paint, n o w tarnished, to convey the
shimmer o f light across the surface o f the water ( F I G . 2.1 and page 4 2 ) . T h e
water around Bathsheba's pudenda must have once, like her hair even now,
sparkled as w e l l . 4
I n relation to the biblical narrative, this depiction takes liberties. I n the

miniature, Bathsheba is clearly, happily aware o f D a v i d at the w i n d o w o f the F I G U R E 2.1
palace beyond the garden wall, whereas the O l d Testament passage states only Detail from Plate 18. Digitally
restored (using Photoshop CS)
that she was bathing, not that she noticed h i m (2 Samuel, 11:2). She coyly cocks
by Michael J. Smith, Imaging
her head, displaying her charms for h i m as well as the viewer, indeed even more Services Lab, the J. Paul Getty
brazenly for the latter, who was, initially, Louis himself. Bathsheba is alone, and Museum.
w i t h D a v i d well
wel l i n th
thee distance
distance.. It
I t is
is difficul
difficultt tto
o avoid
avoi d a conclusio
conclusionn that
tha t thi
thiss
Bathsheb
Bathshebaa was
was intende
intendedd tto
o appea
appeall to
t o th
thee book'
book'ss owner
owne r o n a viscera
viscerall level
level..
Th
Thee Bathsheba
Bathsheb a i n th
thee H o u r s o f Louis
Loui s X I I deserves
deserves our
ou r attentio
attentionn because
because
shee iiss suc
sh suchh aan
n imposing
imposin g an
andd origina
originall figure an
andd sso
o overtly
overtl y seductive
seductive.. This
Thi s essa
essay
y
wil
willl conside
considerr the
th e possibl
possiblee meanings
meaning s o f this
thi s imag
imagee fo
forr th
thee king.
king . Representations
Representation s
o f D a v i d and
an d Bathsheb
Bathshebaa hav
havee a l o n g histor
historyy i n medieva
medievall art,
art , and
an d the
th e subject
subjec t
had
ha d a particula
particularr h o l d o n th
thee ruler
rulerss o f France
France,, thei
theirr families,
families , an
andd member
memberss o f
theirr courts,
thei courts , i n part
par t because
becaus e D a v i d wa
wass th
thee preeminen
preeminentt m o d e l o f Christian
Christia n
kingship
kingship.. A t the
th e same
same tim
timee th
thee fifteenth century
centur y witnesse
witnessedd greater
greater sensuality
sensualit y in
in
art
art an
andd the
th e emergence
emergenc e o f the
th e female
female nud
nudee as
as a theme
theme,, especially,
especially, bu
butt no
nott only,
only ,
i n manuscrip
manuscriptt illumination,
illumination , an
andd particularly
particularl y aatt the
the courts
court s o f th
thee Valoi
Valoiss rulers.
rulers .
Th
Thee increasingly
increasingl y privat
privatee and
an d intimate
intimat e ac
actt o f reading
readin g iin
n th
thee late
laterr M i d d l e Ages,
Ages ,
which
whic h included
include d privat
privatee devotiona
devotionall books,
books , may
ma y have
have encourage
encouragedd th
thee produc
produc
tion
tio n o f more
mor e explicitly
explicitl y sexual
sexua l and
an d titillating
titillatin g imagery. IIn
n books
book s o f hours
5
hour s th
thee
subjectt o f Bathsheba
subjec Bathsheb a bathing
bathin g becam
becamee one
on e o f th
thee mos
mostt important
importan t vehicle
vehicless for
fo r
thee female
th female nude,
nude , and
an d Bourdichon'
Bourdichon'ss Bathsheba
Bathsheb a wil
willl b
bee shown
show n her
heree to
t o represent
represen t
a dramatic
dramati c high
hig h point
poin t i n depicting
depictin g it,
it , a tradition
traditio n tha
thatt flourished durin
duringg the
th e sec
sec
o n d hal
halff o f th
thee fifteenth century
centur y and
an d int
intoo the
th e sixteenth
sixteent h century
century.. A t th
thee sam
samee
time
time,, Bathsheba
Bathsheb a wa
wass interprete
interpretedd differentl
differentlyy throughout
throughou t th
thee M i d d l e Ages,
Ages , and
an d
i t iiss possibl
possiblee tha
thatt th
thee figure also
also carried
carrie d some
som e levels
levels o f association
association,, such
suc h aass warn
warn
in
ingg against
against the
th e seductiv
seductivee charm
charmss o f women
wome n eve
evenn as
as it
i t seems
seems to
t o celebrate
celebrat e them
them,,
that
tha t were
wer e clea
clearr to
t o Loui
Louiss but
bu t ar
aree no
nott immediatel
immediatelyy obviou
obviouss today.
today . Finally,
Finally , th
thee fol
fol
lowin g page
lowing pagess will
wil l consider
conside r ho
howw th
thee turbulent
turbulen t sexual
sexua l politic
politicss at
at the
th e royal
roya l cour
courtt
i n 1498
149 8 ma
mayy hav
havee shaped
shape d both
bot h th
thee characte
characterr an
andd reception
receptio n o f L o u i s ' Bathsheba.
Bathsheba .
D A V I D A N D B A T H S H E B A A T T H E C O U R T O F F R A N C E
Whil
Whilee no
nott restricted
restricte d to
t o th
thee ruling
rulin g households
household s i n France
France,, th
thee story
stor y o f David
Davi d and
an d
Bathsheb
Bathshebaa enjoyed
enjoye d particular
particula r favor
favo r w i t h i n them
them.. Loui
Louiss X I I was
was not
no t th
thee first
Frenc
Frenchh k i n g whose
whos e devotiona
devotionall book
boo k featured
feature d such
suc h a prominen
prominentt image
imag e o f
Bathsheb
Bathshebaa bathing.
bathing . Thi
Thiss wa
wass aan
n importan
importantt them
themee i n medieval
medieva l iconography
iconography,,
especiall y from
especially fro m th
thee thirteenth
thirteent h century.
century . One
On e o f th
thee earlies
earliestt prominent
prominen t example
exampless
o f Bathsheba
Bathsheb a i n conjunctio
conjunctionn wit
withh the
the psalms
psalms appear
appearss i n the
th e Beatus
Beatu s initial
initial,, the
th e
opening
openin g illustratio
illustrationn tto
o the
the collectio
collectionn o f 150
150 psalms
psalms,, i n a psalte
psalterr mad
madee fo
forr K i n g
Loui
Louiss I X , know
knownn as
as Saint
Sain t Louis
Loui s ( F I G . 2 . 2 ) . Th
Thee psalte
psalterr was
was the
the predecessor
predecesso r to
to
th
thee boo
bookk o f hours
hour s as
as th
thee preeminent
preeminen t privat
privatee devotiona
devotionall book,
book , which
whic h enjoye
enjoyedd
its
its greates
greatestt flowering i n the
th e H i g h Gothi
Gothicc er
eraa o f th
thee thirteenth
thirteent h century
century.. Her
Heree
th
thee Bathsheba
Bathsheb a iiss comparably
comparabl y voluptuous
voluptuou s tto
o late
laterr images
images,, but
bu t more
mor e modest
modest..
She
Sh e covers
covers her
he r privat
privatee are
areaa an
andd par
partt o f her
he r bosom
boso m while
whil e averting
avertin g he
herr gaz
gazee from
fro m
th
thee viewer.
viewer .
Louis
Loui s X I P s Bathsheba Bathing illustrate
illustratedd the
th e Penitentia
Penitentiall Psalms
Psalm s i n hi
hiss
boo
bookk o f hours
hours.. A standar
standardd featur
featuree o f books
book s o f hours
hours,, the
theyy represent
represen t a selection
selectio n
o f seve
sevenn psalm
psalmss fro
fromm the
th e O l d Testament'
Testament'ss group
grou p o f 150
15 0 psalms
psalms.. Th
Thee Activ
Activee
painte
paintedd frame
frame o f the
th e miniature
miniatur e contain
containss th
thee opening
openin g word
wordss o f the
the first Peniten
Peniten
tia
tiall Psalm,
Psalm , Domine ne in furore in tuo arguas me ( " O L o r d , rebuke
rebuk e m
mee not
no t
i n th
thyy indignation";
indignation" ; Psalm
Psal m 6 iin
n th
thee O l d Testament)
Testament).. David's
David' s adultery
adulter y with
wit h
Bathsheb
Bathshebaa was
was one
on e o f th
thee transgression
transgressionss fo
forr whic
whichh he
h e sought
sough t forgiveness
forgiveness from
fro m
LOOKING AT LOUIS XII'S BATHSHEBA 45

THOMAS KREN ;
God. While the story itself is told in the second book of Samuel, as noted FIGURE 2.2
above, the fourth Penitential Psalm, Miserere mei Dens ("Have mercy upon Beatus Initial. Psalter of Saint
Louis, Paris, ca. 1260. Paris,
me, O Lord"; Psalm 50 in the Old Testament), is David's response when the Bibliotheque nationale de
prophet Nathan came to him after the king had sinned with Bathsheba. France, Ms. 10525, fol. 85V
The most common subject to illustrate the Penitential Psalms, especially
FIGURE 2.3
in fifteenth-century France, is King David himself, shown kneeling in prayer
Workshop of Bourdichon,
beseeching the forgiveness of the Lord (FIG. 2.3). David in Penance is appro- King David in Prayer. Book
priate to all the Penitential Psalms, not just Psalm 50, since David is also con- of hours, Provence and Tours,
I48os. JPGM, Ms. 48, fol. 98
sidered to be the author of the Psalms. Despite the popularity of miniatures of
Bathsheba bathing from the middle of the century, it remained but one of a
range of subjects chosen to illustrate these devotions.
One of its earliest elaborate treatments as a frontispiece to the Penitential
Psalms appears in a sumptuous court manuscript, the Hours of John, Duke of
Bedford, and Anne of Burgundy, known as the Bedford Hours, illuminated
shortly after Bedford became regent of France in 1422 (FIG. 2./j-).6 It avoids the
erotic in the story of Bathsheba, omitting the incident of the bath, and leaps
ahead to the moment where Bathsheba, summoned by David (but already
dressed in a royal gown), is received in the palace. Also shown prominently, to
the left of this scene, is David giving to the unsuspecting Uriah the letter that
instructs his military leader Joab to send him into the forefront of the hardest
fighting, where he will meet his death. The narrative culminates in the back-
ground of the image with David's penance before God. It is thus a wholly dis-
creet telling of the tale, focusing upon the events that would cause Bathsheba
to become David's queen rather than upon her infidelity. This is particularly
46
FIGURE 2.4 suitable to a book created for a regent, in this case the brother of the recently
The Bedford Master, Tfc*
deceased king and uncle of the heir, Henry VI (1421-1471), at the time of
Story of David and Bathsheba
(detail). Hours of John, Henry VFs succession. It is also coincident with the regent's marriage to Anne
Duke of Bedford, and Anne of Burgundy the following year, a union that strengthened England's
of Burgundy, ca. 1422. alliance with Burgundy and may have occasioned the commissioning of this
London, British Library, Add.
Ms 18850, fol. 96
volume. Other aspects of the book's iconography show a self-conscious aware-
ness of the political dynamics of the historical moment.7 Thus it was possible to
FIGURE 2.5 tell the story of David and Bathsheba persuasively with no nudity at all. In this
Follower of Fouquet, David
Giving the Letter to Uriah.
miniature, where David is represented looking at Bathsheba, she is fully clothed.
Hours of Francois de Another book of hours illuminated by the Bedford Master, the painter of
Vendome, ca. 1475-80. Paris, the Bedford Hours, and his workshop, features a very close variant of this
Bibliotheque de PArsenal, Ms.
miniature of David and Bathsheba and is considered by some scholars to have
417, fol. 60
been made for King Charles VII (1403-1461) around the same time.8 The par-
ticular episode showing David giving the letter to Uriah continued to enjoy
popularity for generations. A gifted follower of Jean Fouquet painted an impos-
ing version in the Hours of Francois de Vendome, ca. 1475-80 (FIG. 2.5).9
Francois de Bourbon, Count of Vendome (1470-1495), was a cousin of King
Charles VIII's and the same age. They were close companions from child-
hood, and Francois accompanied the king on the Naples campaign in 1494-95,
which resulted in Francois' death. Only a few years after illuminating the
LOOKING AT LOUIS XII'S BATHSHEBA

THOMAS KREN
47
Hours of Louis XII, Bourdichon painted a related composition of the Uriah FIGURE 2.6
letter for Frederick III, the final Aragonese king of Naples, who spent his last Jean Colombe, David and
Bathsheba. Hours of Anne of
years in exile at the French royal residence at Plessis.10 France, ca. 1473. New York,
When the subject of Bathsheba bathing emerges as an important theme in Pierpont Morgan Library, M.
the second half of the fifteenth century, the story is related in a variety of ways. 677, fol. 211
It appears not only in books for men in the royal family and for officials close to
the king but also in books for women of the royal household. A book of hours,
made for Anne of France, the future Anne of Beaujeu, Louis XI's daughter and
regent during her brother Charles's minority, features at the Penitential Psalms
an entire cycle of seven miniatures from the story of David and Bathsheba.
Probably made for her around 1473, when she had just reached puberty, the
book opens with the story of Bathsheba at her bath (FIG. 2.6). Bathsheba is
fully dressed, but the hem of her skirt is drawn up to reveal her legs, with only
her feet in the water. Her discreet, sidelong glance suggests she is aware of
David's approach and of her own physical charms. He is not shown, as is usual,
catching a glimpse of her from an upper floor of his palace, but at the gate to
her garden, hurrying to see her. This is a striking departure from the biblical
narrative, which indicates rather, as noted above, that he had sent for her. Yet
the depiction of Bathsheba's flirtatiousness, however discreetly, shows that it
was an issue for women as well as for men. In the second miniature, when they
are together in the palace, she kneels humbly (and fully clothed) before him
while he firmly seizes her wrist.11 No less than three miniatures in this series
deal with Uriah and his terrible fate, underscoring his heroism and the impor-
48
tance of his example for the court. The sixth miniature deals with the prophet
Nathan admonishing David, and the seventh with David's penitence. Thus the
cycle decidedly favors the chivalric — and, arguably, the dynastic—over the
erotic in the narrative of David and Bathsheba. The miniatures were painted by
Jean Colombe, a favorite illuminator of Anne's mother, Queen Charlotte of
Savoy (1443-1483), who possibly commissioned the book for her daughter.
In summary, the story of David and Bathsheba was long popular at the
court of France, among both members of the ruling household and prominent
courtiers, in part for the dynastic implications of the story. Prior to Louis XII's
provocative Bathsheba, it would appear, the story was told or evoked in a vari-
ety of ways and through a range of incidents, some of which, such as David and
Uriah, omitted the representation of Bathsheba altogether. Others represented
Bathsheba prominently but fully clothed, gave her a more modest character, or
showed her as flirtatious but not brazen.
ASSOCIATIONS OF THE S U B J E C T OF BATHSHEBA BATHING

During the High Middle Ages, the practice was to imbue the story of
Bathsheba bathing with typological significance, with Bathsheba, who purifies
herself in her bath, representing Ecclesia, and David as Christ.12 This is the
case, for example, in the aforementioned Saint Louis Psalter (FIG. 2.2): through
imagery the Old Testament is unified with the New. Within this context, in the
Saint Louis Psalter the treatment of the naked but modest Bathsheba in the act
of bathing gives the story a profound spiritual significance.13 Thus Bathsheba
was an anti-type of Ecclesia, as was Eve, and since Bathsheba and Eve were the
only two biblical women commonly represented nude in the Middle Ages,
they also came to be linked with each other. Like Bathsheba, Eve was pure
before she succumbed to temptation,14 and the association of nudity with
Eve's sin reinforced their connection.
During the fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, Bathsheba became a nega-
tive stereotype, yet different interpretations apparently coexisted. Bathsheba
was such a significant figure in the medieval imagination and at court that she
bore the weight of multiple readings, just as Eve did. Louis XII, while still duke
of Orleans, acquired a remarkable book of hours, probably made around 1490,
which features a comparably naked Bathsheba in the Penitential Psalms.15 In
this miniature she is full length, and her pubic area is fully exposed, not even
submerged in water (FIG. 2.7).
More striking is the fact that the Hours of the Virgin of this extensively
illustrated book of hours features a cycle of miniatures from the Creation of
Eve to the story of Noah. Eve appears in five of the miniatures, and as a physi-
cal type she strongly recalls the Bathsheba figure in the same book. In two sep-
arate miniatures (fols. i2v and I3v), both representing The Temptation of Eve,
she is shown full length in the matter-of-fact pose of Bathsheba later in the
book (FIG. 2.8). While the picture cycle does not set up an overt comparison
between the two, the interchangeability of the naked female types suggests
that an awareness of the implicit equation of Bathsheba with Eve continued
into the fifteenth century. Indeed the garden with the fountain, a standard fea-

THOMAS KREN
ture of the iconography of both subjects, underscores the visual connection FIGURE 2.7
between the Temptation of Eve and the Bathsheba bathing miniatures. In Bathsheba at Her Bath (detail).
Hours of Louis of Orleans,
both miniatures of The Temptation of Eve (FIG. 2.8), even as Eve's pubic area is ca. 1490-95. St. Petersburg,
exposed, Adam's is omitted either by his pose or by the cropping of the com- National Library of Russia,
position. In both, Adam seems to be departing the scene just as Eve takes the Ms. Lat. O. v. I.N. 126, fol. 58
fruit from the serpent, so that the body of Eve, alone with Satan, seems more
FIGURE 2.8
explicitly sinful. Eve's own role as temptress assumes such weight during the The Temptation of Eve (detail).
Renaissance that in German art, only a decade after Louis XII 's Bathsheba Hours of Louis of Orleans,
ca. 1490-95. St. Petersburg,
Bathing (PL. 18), she seems to beckon the viewer directly.16 Thus, Bourdichon
National Library of Russia,
and Louis XII probably had some consciousness of the association of Ms. Lat. O. v. I.N. 126, fol.
Bathsheba with Eve on several levels, including as a temptress. I2V
This conception of Bathsheba as seductress already is evident in literature

from the thirteenth century. In the writings of Brunetto Latini (1220-1294),
David is identified as one of the illustrious men who succumbs to folly and mis-
deeds through feminine wiles: "David showed bad judgment [with a woman]
. . . there is nothing that women will not reduce to foolishness."17 Here the
woman to whom Latini refers is clearly Bathsheba. In the late fourteenth cen-
tury, in a popular manual advising his daughters, the Chevalier Geoffroy de la
Tour Landry condemned what he perceived as Bathsheba's coquettishness,
which led David to acts of adultery and murder. Interestingly for Bourdichon's
conception of Bathsheba, de la Tour Landry specifically cites Bathsheba's
"very beautiful and blonde hair" as part of her allure. His remarks appear in a
section of the text on combing one's hair in front of others:
She washed and combed her hair [standing] before a window where the king could see
her clearly; she had very beautiful and blonde hair. And as a result the king was
tempted by this and sent for h e r . . . And so King David sinned doubly by lust and by
murder. .. And all his sinfulness came from her combing her beautiful hair and her
pride in it. Every woman should cover herself, and should not take pride in herself, nor
display herself so as to please the world with her beautiful hair, nor her neck, nor her
bosom, nor anything that should be kept covered.18
50
coir ^rrfabf 10nd0 mfVfttn* ijtift&ott
F I G U R E 2.9 This text remained popular into the late fifteenth and early sixteenth centuries
Bathsheba Bathing. In Geoffrey in northern Europe. Copies of it appeared in such Valois libraries as those of
de la Tour Landry, Der Kitter
Vom Turn von Den Exempeln
Charlotte of Savoy, consort of Louis XI; Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy
Der Gotsforcht von Erbekeit (1443-1477); and Louis XII's successor, Francis I.19 An illustrated printed edi-
(Basel, 1493). From a modern tion in German, published in Basel in 1493, includes an illustration of a cheer-
facsimile (unpaginated).
fully bare-breasted Bathsheba (FIG. 2.9). 20 By the fifteenth century, perhaps
inevitably and especially within the intimate context of the book, the image of
Bathsheba as seductress opened up possibilities for illustrating fetching and
unabashed young women in the nude.
THE SENSUAL FEMALE N U D E AND VALOIS PATRONAGE

While we have seen that the naked, albeit relatively modest, Bathsheba occu-
pied a prominent place in the Saint Louis Psalter, Bourdichon's nude, siren-
like Bathsheba belongs to a tradition of depictions of overtly sensual female
nudes that was still young in early-fifteenth-century French illumination.21
Tastes and preferences at the Valois courts helped to popularize them.22 Some
of these depictions illustrate literature, such as the writings of Giovanni
Boccaccio (1313-1375), which enjoyed tremendous favor at the French court.
Boccaccio wryly recorded marital infidelities and sexual relations in The
Decameron and also in his more sober, moralizing writings such as De easibus
virorum illustrium. The latter text, which recounts the invariably unfortunate
fates of illustrious men and women in history, was the most beloved of Boccac-
cio's books in France in the vernacular translation during the fifteenth century,
and many copies were illuminated. In the one owned by John, Duke of Berry
(1340-1416), probably illuminated in 1410, a miniature illustrates the story of
the King of Lydia showing the extraordinary beauty of his naked wife, while

THOMAS KREN
she is sleeping, to his favorite, Gyges. When the queen discovers what has tran-
spired, she is so enraged that she orders Gyges to murder her spouse. The story
is illustrated with a single miniature, which depicts the beautiful woman lying
full length in the nude on her bed, even as her hands discreetly cover her groin
and one breast (FIG. 2.10).
The taste of the Duke of Berry, a voracious patron of the arts, favored the
female nude along with diverse forms of eroticism. Notably, most of this
imagery resides in his devotional manuscripts. In the BellesHeuresofthc Duke
FIGURE 2.10
of Berry the narrative of the life of Saint Catherine focuses on her idealized The Lucon Master, The King
nude body (FIG. 2.11), revealing the same late medieval female type as rendered ofLydia Showing His Naked
Wife to Gyges (detail). In
subsequently by Bourdichon. In two miniatures, one showing Catherine's tor-
Boccaccio, De ens des nobles
ture (fol. 17), she is depicted nude from the waist up, with beautiful blonde hommes etfemmes, 1410.
hair, pale but supple flesh, high breasts, narrow shoulders, and wide hips: a Geneva, Bibliotheque publique
proudly statuesque body for a virginal and virtuous saint.23 More surprising is et universitaire, Ms. fir. 190,
fol. 74v
the predatory sexuality of a miniature showing Saint Peter the Hermit behold-
ing a courtly beauty sliding her hand under the gown and along the thigh of a FIGURE 2.n
handsome young Christian man, a rarely depicted episode from the saint's life The Limbourg Brothers,
Empress Faustina Watching
(fol. 191 ).24 The explicit depiction of the illicit act makes the scene at least as
Saint Catherine Healed by
titillating as it is potentially morally instructive.25 Angels (detail). Belles Heures of
Just as Jean Bourdichon was a long-standing and loyal painter to the the Duke of Berry, 1406-8 or
1409. New York, Metropolitan
French crown, it is important to keep in mind that the Limbourg Brothers, the
Museum of Art, The Cloisters
painters of both the Belles Heures and the Tres Riches Heures, obtained their Collection, Ace. no. 54.1.1,
greatest commissions from the Duke of Berry. All three brothers seem to have fol. iyv
52
FIGURE 2.12 worked for him for ten years, and in 1413 Pol de Limbourg became the ducal
Jean Fouquet, Virgin and valet de chambre. Their closeness was manifest by a certain amount of playfulness
Child, ca. 1452-55. Oil on
panel, 94.5 x 85.5 cm (37¥4 x
between them, and they shared other interests that were considered provoca-
335/s in.). Antwerp, Koninklijk tive even in their time.26 The duke's desire to take a twelve-year-old girl as his
Museum voor Schone Kunsten second wife aroused criticism among his peers, as did his efforts to arrange an
eight-year-old wife for Pol de Limbourg over the angry objections of the girl's
mother.27 Indeed the tremendous success that Pol and his brothers enjoyed
with the duke must have resulted not only from their talent but also from Pol's
understanding of the duke's personality and his tastes and infatuations. Thus
the roles of nudity and eroticism in the duke's books probably reflected larger
appetites of their celebrated patron. They show the intimate ways in which a
private devotional book might be personalized.
Related to this gallery of sensual female nudes in Valois manuscripts is a
devotional image of another sort, Jean Fouquet's celebrated painting of the
Virgin and Child in Antwerp (FIG. 2.12). It was intended for the tomb of
Etienne Chevalier, the treasurer and close advisor of King Charles VII, and of
his recently deceased wife, Catherine Bude, in the collegial church of Notre-
Dame in Melun, where it remained visible for several centuries. The Antwerp
Virgin belongs loosely to the genre of the Virgo lactans, in which the Virgin's
breast is partially exposed while she breast-feeds the Christ child. Here, how-
ever, the child looks away, ostensibly oblivious to the voluptuous Virgin's per-
fectly formed and sensually rendered breast. The erotic charge that this Mary
emits has long been remarked upon, and it is consistent with the seductiveness
of the new type of Bathsheba.28 Eroticism is likewise an undercurrent, if more
subdued, in some of the popular variations on the Virgo lactans at this time.
LOOKING AT LOUIS XII'S

THOMAS KREN
BATHSHEBA 53
Noteworthy is Saint Bernard's Vision of the Virgin and Child. According to FIGURE 2.13
legend, drops of milk from a statue of the Virgin miraculously landed on the Simon Marmion, Saint
Bernard^ Vision of the Virgin
saint's lips, which demonstrated that she truly is the Mother of God (FIG. 2.13). and Child. Detached leaf
The Antwerp Virgin is part of a diptych, with its pendant showing a portrait of from a devotional book,
Chevalier kneeling in prayer, much the way Saint Bernard was shown before Valenciennes, ca. 1475 — 80.
JPGM, Ms. 32
the Virgin in depictions of his vision.
Intriguing in the context of the present discussion is the long-standing
identification of the model for Fouquet's Virgin as Agnes Sorel (1422-1450),
La Dame-de-Beaute-sur-Marne. She was the mistress of King Charles VII, and
mother of four of his children.29 Perhaps equally significant for the cultural con-
text of Bourdichon's Bathsheba, the king caused a scandal because of the prop-
erty, riches, and public attention he lavished upon her, including her title. The
image would have been posthumous, since it was painted in the 14505, a few
years after SorePs death. If Sorel really was the model for the Antwerp Madonna,
as seems likely, then the connection between art and life becomes inseparable.
Thus the sensual female nude developed a following, especially in the con-
text of devotional art, among male patrons at the Valois courts in the fifteenth
century. In the case of the Duke of Berry, these components appear to reflect
larger personal tastes and predilections, while in Etienne Chevalier's devo-
tional image for his tomb, they memorialize a legendary beauty who obtained
a powerful position within the inner circle at the Valois court. (Chevalier was
also the executor of SorePs will, and a friend.) While Louis XII's Bathsheba
54
F I G U R E 2.14 does not necessarily represent an identifiable model, historical circumstances at
The Master of the Yale Missal, court may elucidate Bourdichon's conception of her.
Bathsheba Bathing (detail).
Book of hours, 14605. Saint
Petersburg, Russian Academy B A T H S H E B A B A T H I N G I N T H E S E C O N D HALF O F T H E
of Sciences, Ms. 0.104, fol. 118 FIFTEENTH CENTURY
None of the examples from the Duke of Berry's library cited here are as overtly
FIGURE 2.15
Jean Fouquet, Female Heraldic erotic as Bourdichon's Bathsheba, the latter painted more than eighty years
Figure. Hours of Simon de later. This type of Bathsheba, with her fully described genitalia, represents a
Varie, 1455. JPGM, Ms. 7, fol. i
further step in the presentation of the sensual female nude. Not surprisingly,
however, the type of three-quarter-length nude Bathsheba in Bourdichon's
large miniature was anticipated some decades earlier. The distinctive pose of
Bourdichon's Bathsheba is found in mirror image as early as the 14605 in a
book of hours illuminated by the Master of the Yale Missal, another follower of
Fouquet (FIG. 2.I4). 30 Although a transparent veil is draped over her groin, her
pudenda remain visible, and she is submerged in water only up to her thighs,
not to her hips. This Bathsheba is also more modest, with her head tilted down
and away from both David and the viewer. Her illuminator depended regularly
on Fouquet's workshop patterns, and it is very likely that here, too, he was
copying a design for a now-lost female nude, almost certainly representing
Bathsheba, by the great master. The turban worn by the Yale Master's graceful
Bathsheba crowns the figure dramatically, neatly counterbalancing the broad
curves of her hips in a manner lacking in Bourdichon's interpretation, but
wholly characteristic of Fouquet. Fouquet often crowned with turbans the
heads of the beautiful young women he depicted (FIG. 2.15).
Moreover, the figure's perfectly ovoid head and the resulting exquisite sil-
houette recall his art, too (see FIGS. 3.13, 3.14). Given the majestic beauty and

THOMAS KREN
erotic power of the Antwerp Virgin, it would not be surprising to find that F I G U R E 2.16
Fouquet himself had created an exquisitely sensual new type of bathing The Master of Jean
Charpentier, Bathsheba,
Bathsheba. The pose in figure 2.14. was repeated closely and often for the rest Bathing (detail). Book of
of the century, not exclusively, but especially, by followers of Fouquet, such as hours, Tours, ca. 1475. New
the Master of Jean Charpentier (FIG. 2.i6).31 The apparent source in Fouquet York Public Library, Ms. 150,
fol. 62
also helps to define what is so original about Louis XII's Bathsheba. She is not
only physically larger within the image (itself large) and still closer to the front FIGURE 2.17
of the space but also more self-conscious, coy, and seductive. With her radiant Follower of Fouquet,
Ba-thshebd Exposing Herself to
and abundant blonde hair, she embodies more fully the temptress and exhibi-
King David. Book of hours,
tionist described by de la Tour Landry. She has something of the quality of the 14608. Moscow, State
modern pinup. Historical Museum, Muz.
In the second half of the century, the bathing Bathsheba was depicted by 3688, fol. 14
a broad range of French illuminators in a variety of forms, but nearly all of

them share an interest in her sensual character and show her as a statuesque
figure. Many of these were made specifically for male patrons, while one that
was made for a woman represents an uncovered Bathsheba who, however, dis-
creetly drapes her crotch.32 (When Bourdichon turned to illuminating a sump-
tuous book of hours for Louis XII's second wife, Anne of Brittany, she deemed
the familiar subject of David in penance more appropriate to represent the
Penitential Psalms.) In one unusual, bawdy, and droll interpretation of the
story, David appears before Bathsheba at the fountain, and she opens her towel
to reveal her full nudity (FIG. 2.I7).33 His gaze is rapt, and his hand covers his
56
heart in response.34 He appears to fall to his knees, parodying the standard
pose of the penitent David. Bathsheba does not expose herself so much for us
as for him—and with a flourish. Significantly, this miniature derives from a fol-
lower of Fouquet, a reflection perhaps of the favor Fouquet and his followers
enjoyed with the court circle.
LOUIS XII'S BATHSHEBA AND THE DISSOLUTION

OF HIS M A R R I A G E
On April 7, 1498, King Charles VIII, who had been in frail health, died at the
age of twenty-seven without a male heir. Nine days later, his cousin, Louis of
Orleans, was proclaimed King of France and, on May 27, crowned at Reims.
Louis loathed his wife, Jeanne, for her physical disabilities and in order to
secure the prized duchy of Brittany, sought to marry Charles VIII's widow,
Anne of Brittany. In fact at the time of their marriage, Charles and Anne had
signed an agreement that, were Charles to die without a proper heir, Anne
would marry his successor. Louis had endeavored to have his own marriage
annulled repeatedly over the years without success. Now, in order to wed
Anne, Louis needed to try again and during the summer set about to obtain
the necessary papal dispensations. In the proceedings of the annulment, which
culminated successfully this time, on December 17, 1498, Louis XII repeatedly
swore that he had never had sexual relations with Jeanne, a vow that he reiter-
ated throughout the proceedings, in the face of her insistence that they had.35
Whether or not he enjoyed connubial relationships with his long-suffering
wife, he certainly had had many extramarital sexual adventures. These are con-
firmed by numerous reports, including records of payments to filles dejoie.36
Such behavior was typical in the Valois line, many members of whom were more
happily married than poor Louis.37 Indeed, Charles VIII was famously licen-
tious. Large groups of female servants, including prostitutes, accompanied
Charles's troops to Naples on his Italian campaign of 1494-95, a campaign in
which Louis played a significant role. Charles was known for picking up women
along the way, including well-born mistresses and favorites who would travel
with him. (Despite his many infidelities, Anne of Brittany, who bore him six
children, still expressed great sorrow at her husband's death.) Noteworthy for
Louis' infidelities is the aforementioned papal nuncio's report in November
1498 that appeared in the course of the annulment proceedings, of his contin-
ued indulgence in "lascivious" pursuits. While his marriage to Anne of Brittany,
solemnized on January 8, 1499, proved much happier for him and quite suc-
cessful, the reports of his extramarital affairs continued.38
Louis XII's seductive miniature, showing a voluptuous, blonde Bathsheba
at her bath, must have given him great pleasure. Its explicit titillation would
have flattered his love of women. Bathsheba presents herself even more openly
to Louis the viewer than she does to King David, who only sees her from
behind—in the distance—her long hair discreetly covering her posterior. In
Bathsheba Bathing Bourdichon may even have inserted some bawdy humor to
delight the king. The head of the feline creature that serves as a waterspout takes
a hard look at the resplendent bather. In sixteenth-century slang, chatte (cat)

THOMAS KREN
meant "prostitute," an allusion that is not likely to have escaped the book's
randy patron.39 In the art of previous centuries, Bathsheba had embodied dif-
ferent meanings and held a more profoundly spiritual significance, including
comparisons with Ecclesia and Eve. Louis may still have been aware of some of
these symbolic associations. Moreover, the larger narrative of David and
Bathsheba had long held significance for the ruling class, especially in France.
The book of hours made for the adolescent Anne of France—the future Anne
of Beaujeu—presents a more demure Bathsheba and emphasizes her future as
queen and the noble sacrifice of her husband, the loyal soldier Uriah. It seems
likely that Louis XII understood, too, the view evident in literature since the
thirteenth century that Bathsheba was not a passive agent, but the seducer of
David, capable of exercising her feminine wiles. By the later Middle Ages Eve
herself had come to be viewed ever more pointedly as a seductress. In the
fifteenth century, at least in courtly books of hours and other devotional court
art, the spiritual conflates with the sensual.
The type of the resplendently naked, voluptuous Bathsheba occupies a
significant place in the history of the nude in European art. In the second half
of the fifteenth century in France, it was the most popular manifestation of the
wider phenomenon of the sensual female nude. From the first years of the cen-
tury, the latter genre enjoyed particular favor with Valois court patrons. The
taste for titillating imagery among certain Valois, even within a spiritual con-
text, may be loosely correlated with their own sexual appetites. (Many Valois
rulers in the fifteenth century were notable for their libidos as well as their cul-
tivated artistic tastes.) That the female nude seemed to gain popularity first in
manuscripts may have resulted from the fact that books have a relatively inti-
mate and private character.
Clearly the sensual Bathsheba demonstrates one of the myriad ways a lux-
ury book of hours could be personalized to the taste of a patron, in this case a
male patron. Moreover, this type of David's celebrated consort was likely
invented at the French court, probably by Jean Fouquet, known for innovative
erotic imagery. Fouquet was the painter of Charles VII and subsequently of
Louis XI and was the one from whom Bourdichon both learned his art and
inherited his position at court, where the popularity of the sensual nude would
only grow. Soon the impact of the Italian High Renaissance in France would
further elevate the place of the female nude, as evidenced by the erotic (and
wholly secular) imagery of the frescoes at Francis I's Fontainebleau. Bourdi-
chon's playful Bathsheba anticipates the new attitude of overt sexuality. It is
the most beautiful and alluring illumination that survives of its genre, a
supreme example of his art that sheds light on a provocative aspect of the art
and court culture of its time.
58
NOTES
ABOVE: I am grateful to Ann Jensen Adams, Mark Evans, Christopher Hughes, and Erik Inglisfor reading a
Nicholas Leclerc and Jean draft of my essay and for their thoughtful and learned suggestions to improve it.
de Saint-Priest, Louis XII,
1. Y. Labande-Mailfert, Charles VIII: Le Vouloir et la destinee (Paris, 1986), p. 472.
King of France and His
Queen., Anne of'Brittany', 2. Ibid. See also R. Maulde la Claviere, Histoire de Louis XII, vol. 3 (Paris, 1885), pp. 341-42,
1499. Commemorative 378-80.
medallion. Bronze, diameter:
113 mm (47/6 in.). Los Angeles 3. Frederic Baumgartner, LouisXII(Scranton, Pa., 1994), p. 80.
County Museum of Art; pur-
4- William S. Voelkle and Roger Wieck, The Bernard H. Breslauer Collection of Manuscript Illu-
chased with funds provided
minations, exh. cat. (New York, 1992), p. 76.
by the Mira T. Hershey
Collection 5. Paul Saenger, "Silent Reading: Its Impact on Late Medieval Script and Society," Viator 13
(1982), pp. 412-13.
6. Janet Backhouse, The Bedford Hours (London, 1990), p. 5, see also color plate 22.
7. See, e.g., Benedicta J. H. Rowe, "Notes on the Clovis Miniature and the Bedford Portrait in
the Bedford Book of Hours," Journal of the British Archaeological Association, 3rd ser., 25, 1962,
pp. 56-65.
8. Ernst Trenkler, Livre d'heures: Handschrift 1855 der Osterreichischen Nationalbibliothek (Vienna,
[1948]), p. 7-
9. Francois Avril, Jean Fouquet: Peintre et enlumineur du XVe siecle, exh. cat. (Paris, 2003), pp.
345-48. Francois de Vendome was not the book's first owner, but he acquired it most likely within a
generation of its creation, probably from the first owner, almost certainly someone within his circle
close to the king.
10. Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France, Ms. lat. 10532; Nicole Reynaud in Francois Avril
and Reynaud, LesManuscrits apeintures en France, 1440-1520, exh. cat. (Paris, 1993), pp. 296-97,
no. 163.
11. Curiously, a tapestry in gold and blue is hung behind them with the initials A and Vbound in
the love knot associated with a married couple. The initials might be interpreted as those of Aha-
suerus and Vasthi, the former's queen before his marriage to Esther (Pierpont Morgan Library type-
script description of M. 677 available in their reading room), but such a subject seems inappropriate

T H O M A S KREN
in the context of the larger cycle of miniatures related to the David and Bathsheba narrative in the
Penitential Psalms.
12. Elizabeth Kunoth-Liefels, Uber die Darstellungen der KBathsheba im Bade": Studien zur
Gechichte des Bildthemas 4. bis iy. Jahrhundert (Essen, 1962), pp. 12-14; Eric Jan Sluijter, "Rem-
brandt's Bathsheba and the Conventions of a Seductive Theme," in Ann Jensen Adams, ed., Rem-
brandfs Bathsheba Reading King David3s Letter (Cambridge, U.K., 1996), p. 83; see Harvey Stahl,
"Bathsheba and the Kings: The Beatus Initial in the Psalter of Saint Louis," in F. O. Biittner, ed., The
Illuminated Psalter (Turnhout, Belgium [2005]), pp. 322-24, 326-27. I am grateful to Christopher
Hughes and Marissa Moss for providing me with a copy of the article in galleys.
13. Stahl 2005. See esp. his complex and carefully reasoned interpretation of the image in the
psalter, pp. 321-28.
14. Stahl (2005), p. 326.
15. Andrei Sterligov, Livre d^heures de Louis d'Orleans, facs. ed. (Paris, 1981); Francois Avril, Livre
d'keures enlumine par Pelerin Prison., peintre des Capitouls dans les annees 1500 (Toulouse, 2003),
pp. 59-62.
16. See, e.g., the woodcut of The Fall of Man by Hans Baldung Grien of 1511. See Joseph Leo
Koerner, "The Mortification of the Image: Death as a Hermeneutic in Hans Baldung Grien," Repre-
sentations 10 (1985), pp. 54, 85; and James Marrow, "Symbol and Meaning in Northern European
Art of the Late Middle Ages and the Early Renaissance," Simiolusi6 (1986), pp. 166-67.
17. "David en fist faulx jugement... II n'est rien que femme n'assote," quoted from Li Tresors by
Kunoth-Liefels 1962, p. 15.
18. "Si se lavoit et pingnoit a une fenestre dont le roy povoit bien veoir;,sy avoit moult bien chief et
blont. Et par cela le roy en fiit tempte et la manda... Et ainsi pecha le roy David doublement, en lux-
ure et en homicide... Et tout ce pechie vint pour soy pingniere et soy orgueillir de son beau chief. Sy
se doit toute femme cachier...ne ne se doit pas orguiller, ne monstrer, pour plaire au monde son bel
chef, ne sa gorge, ne sa poitrine, ne riens qui se doit tenir couvert." Anatole de Montaiglon, Le livre
du Chevalier de la Tour Landry pour lênseignement de sesfilles, publie d'apres les manuscrits de Paris et
de Londres (Paris, 1854), pp. 154-55. I am grateful to Gabrielle Spiegel for her help with my transla-
tion from the French.
19. M. Tuetey, "Inventaire des biens de Charlotte de Savoie," Bibliotheque de lÊcole des Chartes, 26
(1865), p. 361; Joseph Barrois, Bibliothequeprotypographique, ou librairiesdesfilsdu Roi Jean: Charles
V, Jean de Berri, Philippe de Boulogne, et les Siens (Paris, 1830), p. 156, no. 991; and H. Omont,
Anciens inventaires et catalogues de la Bibliotheque nationale, vol. i (Paris, 1908), p. 12, no. 83.
20. Kunoth-Liefels 1962, fig. 16.
21. Brigitte Buettner has argued that the female nude in France did not, as has sometimes been
assumed, emerge from the renewed interest in ancient sculpture that helped shape the interest in the
nude in Renaissance Italy as much as from other factors. "Dressing and Undressing Bodies in Late
Medieval Images," in Thomas Gaehtgens, ed., Kiinstlerischer Austausch; Akten desXXVIII. Interna-
tionalen Kongresses furKunstgeschichte, Berlin, July 15-20, 1992, vol. 2 [Berlin, 1993], pp. 383, 388).
22. The Valois line, a cadet branch of the Capetians to which Saint Louis belonged, ruled France
from the late fourteenth to the late sixteenth century. In the fifteenth century their members
included the Dukes of Burgundy and Berry.
23. See Buettner's acute analysis of these images in Buettner 1993, pp. 386-87.
24. Ibid., fig. 8.
25. A curious counterpart to the female sensuality in the duke's books is the male sensuality, with
its focus on the male erogenous zone, in the famous TresRichesHeures. On this, see Michael Camille,
"'For our Devotion and Pleasure': The Sexual Objects of Jean, Due de Berry," in M. Camille and A.
Rifkin, eds., Other Objects of Desire: Collectors and Collecting Queerly (Maiden, Ma., 2001), pp. 7-32.
In a provocative argument Camille relates this imagery to the duke's reputation for infatuations with
working-class men. He also shows that the erogenous zones of both men and women were repre-
sented both franldy and wittily in the duke's book of hours.
26. Camille 2001, pp. 18-19.
27. Ibid., pp. 9, 12, 18-19.
60
28. Johan Huizinga, The Autumn of the Middle Ages, trans, by Rodney J. Payton and Ulrich Mam-
mitzsch (Chicago, 1996), p. 182.
29. While the identification has never been proven and dates only to the early seventeenth century,
it has been widely accepted. See, most recently, Avril 2003, pp. 128, 130, 149.
30. Liudmila Kiseleva, "Neizvestmaia rukopis' iz masterskoi Zhana Fuke?" Pamiatniki kuVtury.
Novye otkrytiia (1978), pp. 233-41; and the forthcoming French edition of the catalogue of the Rus-
sian Academy of Sciences by Kiseleva. Patricia Stirnemann kindly showed me a copy of the entry on
that manuscript.
31. John Plummer, The Last Flowering: French Pointing in Manuscripts., 142 o -153 o, exh. cat. (New
York, 1982), p. 45, cat. no. 60, pi. 60. The group of artists associated with the Master of Guillaume
Lambert, who were not, strictly speaking, Fouquet followers but who had access to his workshop
models, also used it repeatedly, e.g., in books of hours in the Bibliotheque nationale de France, Ms.
n. a. lat. 3117, fol. 91, and in the Bibliotheque municipale, Rouen, Ms. 3027 (Leber 41), fol. 86; Eliz-
abeth Burin, Manuscript Illumination in Lyon, 1473-1530 (Turnhout, Belgium, 2001), color pi. IV
and fig. 56, resp.; and also by an anonymous illuminator in a Bible moralisee (Bibliotheque nationale
de France, Ms. 166, fol. 76v); Kunoth-Liefels 1962, fig. loa. The pattern also was employed in a book
of hours that, according to Francois Avril, may be one of Bourdichon's earliest works (sale, Drouot,
Paris, May 17, 1974, lot 37). I know it only in a reproduction from the catalogue that M. Avril kindly
drew to my attention.
32. Examples of the former are the Hours of Claude Mole, Lord of Villy-le-Marechal, near Troyes
(New York, Pierpont Morgan Library, M. 356, fol. 3ov), Plummer 1982, pp. 90-91, cat. no. 116; and
the Hours of Nicolas Seguier, Lord of l'Estand-la-Ville and Saint-Cyr (Chantilly, Musee Conde, Ms.
82 [1400], fol. 84), Kunoth-Liefels 1962, fig. n. An example of the latter is the Hours of Marguerite
de Coetivy (Chantilly, Musee Conde, Ms. 74 [1088], fol. 61), Edward Lucie-Smith, Sexuality in
Western Art (London, 1991), p. 41, fig. 38.1 am grateful to Isabelle Delaunay for her confirmation of
the identification of the patron of the Seguier hours.
33. Ekaterina Zolotova, Books of Hours: Fifteenth-Century French Illuminated Manuscripts in

Moscow Collections (Leningrad, 1991), p. [42].
34. The complementary theme of voyeurism in this miniature has a witty counterpart in a
Bathsheba miniature in another French book of hours, where in the bas-de-page the prone, defeated
Goliath is still alert enough to gaze up to Bathsheba, a long club in his hand rising suggestively (Wal-
ters Art Museum, W. 245, fol. 31). See Lilian M. C. Randall, Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts
in the Walters Art Gallery: France, 1420-1540, vol. 2 (Baltimore and London, 1992), p. 324, fig. 295.
35. Baumgartner 1994, p. 395.
36. His biographer, Claude de Seyssel, wrote "en son jeune et florissant aage nourry plutot en
lubricite et lascivite...." Histoire singuliere du roy Loys Xlle (Paris, 1558), fol. 45; see also Georges
Minois, Anne deBreta^ne (Paris, 1999), p. 391, and Baumgartner 1994, pp. 10-11, 22, 46, 50.
37. The Valois Duke of Burgundy, Philip the Good (r. 1419-67), had as many as fifteen illegitimate
children, a number of whom grew up to obtain positions in his government and that of his legitimate
son and heir, Charles the Bold. He probably had at least twenty mistresses (Richard Vaughn, Philip
the Good: The Apogee of Burgundy, rev. ed. [London and New York, 2002], pp. 132-33).
38. Minois 1999, p. 423, discusses a Genoese mistress that the king maintained in Lombardy
in 1502.
39. I am grateful to Mark Evans for drawing this to my attention along with the following refer-
ence: Edmond Huguet, Dictionnaire de la langue Franâis du seizieme siecle (Paris, 1932), vol. 2,
p. 223 as "Femme de mauvaise vie."
LOOKING AT LOUIS XII'S BATHSHEBA 6i

THOMAS KREN
The Manuscript Painting Techniques
of Jean Eourdichon
NANCY T U R N E R
Jcan Bourdichon ranks as one of the

major French illuminators of his generation and was a powerful influence on
book painting of his time. Yet his painting techniques have never been fully
described, nor have his works been the subject of a technical investigation.
Widely regarded as a conservative artist, Bourdichon employed a style that is
most frequently characterized by a predilection for gold highlighting upon
draperies, the use of half-length compositions, nocturnal scenes, and a prodi-
gious (yet often repetitious) workshop output.1
In this preliminary investigation, focusing largely on works from the
collection of the J. Paul Getty Museum, the painting techniques of Jean Bour-
dichon will be described by considering his mature work from the surviving
leaves of the Hours of Louis XII. Where appropriate, two other manuscripts
from the Getty's collection, one of Bourdichon's earliest manuscripts, the
Katherine Hours (ca. 1480-85; FIGS. 1.3, 3.19, 3.27); and the Hours of Simon
de Varie (1455; FIG. 1.7), by Bourdichon's mentor, Jean Fouquet; and several
other leaves from the Hours of Louis XII not in the Getty's collection will also
be brought into the discussion.2 Recent scientific analysis to characterize the
pigment palette and to investigate the underdrawing will augment the discus-
sion of the three leaves acquired by the Getty in 2003. 3 These three leaves,
Louis XII of France Kneeling in Prayer, Accompanied by Saints Michael,
Charlemagne, Louis, and Denis (PL. i), Eathsheba Bathing'(PL. 18), and The Pre-
sentation in the Temple (PL. 13) represent, respectively, Bourdichon's approach
to portraiture, his treatment of the female nude, and an example of a fairly typ-
ical devotional image. Thus, from these and a selection of other surviving leaves
from the Hours of Louis XII, Bourdichon's manuscript painting techniques
can begin to be characterized, including his use of underdrawing and pigment
mixtures, his methods for painting facial features and draperies, his interests in
lighting effects and color, and his techniques for conveying spatial recession.
P R E S E N C E OF U N D E R D R A W I N G
OPPOSITE: Bourdichon appears to have underdrawn his compositions in a liquid medium
Detail from Plate 13 (not a dry medium like a metalpoint or chalk) in the Hours of Louis XII.4 In all
63
three Getty leaves, some minor compositional changes have been detected FIGURES 3.IAAND 3.16
using infrared reflectography (IRR).5 For instance, in Bathsheba Bathing a few Details from Plate 18. Infrared
reflectograms. Courtesy of
irregular diagonal lines appear in the area to the left of Bathsheba's right arm Yvonne Szafran, Department
in the infrared reflectogram (FIG. S.IA), which are not reflected in the paint of Paintings Conservation, the
layer. Moreover, Bourdichon laid in fewer trees in the drawing stage: the nar- J. Paul Getty Museum.
rower, darker trees behind Bathsheba at upper right have a different appear-
ance in the reflectogram (FIG. 3.IB), suggesting that they were added at the
painting stage to make a denser group.6 Aspects of Bathsheba's form were
changed slightly in the paint layer; in particular her right shoulder was sloped a
bit more steeply, and her waist was slightly narrower at the arch of her back.
Additional underdrawn lines in the other two Getty miniatures, made
apparent by IRR, include adjustments to the position of the Christ child in The
Presentation in the Temple (FIG. 3.2). Also, the illuminator painted the image
before rendering the frame, for the uneven ends of the vertical strokes of the
architectural background at the upper right were covered by the painted
frame. In Louis XII of France Kneeling in Prayer^ slight changes in the position
of the miter of Saint Denis (figure at right) can be detected, and loose indica-
tions of a curlier beard and hair appear in the head of Charlemagne (third
standing figure from right). To indicate volume and shadow, hatching can be
seen in the neck of Saint Louis (second from right) and in the legs of the king
(kneeling figure). The shadow beneath the pillow on which Louis' knees rest
and the drapery of Saint Denis is laid in more broadly than what is visible
on the surface. Thus, the IRR reveals evidence that Bourdichon made slight
modifications to his designs as he worked.
THE PIGMENTS IDENTIFIED

In the Getty Museum's three leaves from the Hours of Louis XII, Bourdi-
chon's palette consisted of about a dozen pigments and colorants, as have been
identified thus far by recent technical analysis using X-ray fluorescence (XRF)
64
FIGURE 3.2 spectroscopy and Raman spectroscopy.7 No samples were removed from the
Detail from Plate 13. Infrared three miniatures during the course of the study; XKF and Raman spectroscopy
reflectogram. Courtesy of
Yvonne Szafran, Department
are noninvasive techniques used for the identification of pigments. From Louis
of Paintings Conservation, the XII of France Kneeling in Prayer, Bathsheba Bathing, and The Presentation in
J. Paul Getty Museum. the Temple, the following materials were identified: lead white, ultramarine
blue, malachite, azurite, vermilion, yellow ocher, lead tin yellow (type I),
FIGURE 3.3
Detail from Plate 18 painted gold, painted silver, carbonaceous black, and bismuth black. An
organic pink is evident, though it has not yet been positively identified, nor
could the binding media be determined with the present methods. What
became clear from the pigment analysis was that Bourdichon rarely used a pure
pigment but, rather, created pigment mixtures for every element within his
compositions.
Lead white was perhaps the most ubiquitous pigment found in the three
leaves, for Bourdichon appears to have added lead white to nearly all his
pigments as well as used it for areas of white. For flesh tones, he added vermil-
ion, ultramarine, and azurite to white, as in the shadows on the left side of
Bathsheba's torso (FIG. 3.3) and face (FIG. 3.16). It is no wonder that Bourdi-
chon's figures are often imbued with an overall coolness, for his flesh tones,
including facial tones, were found to have mineral blue added to them.
Bourdichon seems not to have reserved the use of ultramarine blue only
for areas of pure blue. In fact, even in the darkest blue robes, he mixed ultra-
marine with white and reserved the purest blue for the shadow lines within the
folds of the Virgin's robe in The Presentation in the Temple (see FIG. 3.21).
Ultramarine was also the blue pigment of choice for sky and landscape ele-
ments. It was even used in admixtures to create a brown ground-tone on
which King Louis XII and the saints stand, and in the dusky mauve-gray archi-
tectural background in The Presentation in the Temple (PL. 13). Thus, Bourdi-
chon does not treat ultramarine as a particularly precious or costly material; he
apparently used it in color mixtures of every sort.
THE MANUSCRIPT PAINTING TECHNIQUES OF JEAN BOURDICHON 65

NANCY TURNER
Azurite was detected in admixtures with lead white to depict Saint FIGURE 3.4
Denis' miter and with lead white and ultramarine for Charlemagne's beard Detail from Plate i
(FIG. 3.io).8 Malachite was identified as the green pigment, mixed with lead FIGURE 3.5
white, used for the wings of Saint Michael in Louis XII of France Kneeling in Jean Fouquet, Dcivid in Prayer
Prayer and the green altar front in The Presentation in the Temple. Vermilion (detail). Hours of Etienne
Chevalier, ca. 1452-61.
was used in areas of pure red, magenta (where it is mixed with lead white and
London, The British Library,
an organic pink), as well as in flesh tones (admixtures of lead white), and in Add. Ms. 37421
browns. Vermilion was also probably used to warm up the golden background
FIGURE 3.6
color of the brocaded fabrics. Lead tin yellow (type I) was positively identified
Detail from Plate i
by Raman spectroscopy in the hair of the Christ child and in the candles on the
altar from The Presentation in the Temple. Bourdichon apparently chose lead tin
yellow for its relatively cool tonality for selective details. An iron-containing
yellow, presumably yellow ocher, however, was used for its warm hue in such
mixtures as the golden brocades and in brown admixtures.
Bourdichon made strikingly effective use of painted gold in the brocaded
fabrics, using granulated gold, perhaps some amount of vermilion, probably
yellow ocher, and even ultramarine for the base layer. He then painted patterns
and details with an unadulterated, reflective granular gold, such as the sunburst
designs across King Louis' garment (FIG. 3.4). The contrast between the more
matte golden ocher undertone with the more reflective pure gold on top was
undoubtedly inspired by Jean Fouquet, as in, for example, the golden armor
and architectural details found in the Hours of Etienne Chevalier (FIG. 3.5).
Inspiration for this use of contrasting golds might also be found in the flower-
strewn borders in contemporary Flemish manuscripts.
In addition to his use of granular painted gold, Bourdichon made limited
use of painted silver for the depiction of very specific elements in his designs.
Silver paint was used to delineate the ripples of water encircling Bathsheba's
legs. This silver has darkened significantly from exposure to atmospheric pollu-
tants and today appears black, whereas its original appearance would have been
lighter in value and highly reflective (see FIG. 2.1). Bourdichon also employed
silver paint to depict the metal armor worn by King Louis XII. In his legs and
66
arms, the silver is painted alongside and on top of ultramarine blue, retaining
just a few areas of its original reflectance (FIG. 3.6). 9 Perhaps Bourdichon's
most effective uses of metallic pigments are to be found in the contrasting gold
and silver zodiacal figures on the deep blue background in the four calendar
miniatures (PLS. 2-5), a technique he continued to employ in the Hours of
Anne of Brittany's calendar miniatures (see FIG. 1.12).
FIGURE 3.7 The greatest surprise from the pigment analysis was the identification of
Detail from Plate 13. bismuth black used in the dark brownish black or gray-mauve areas of the illu-
Photomicrograph of bismuth
pigment (particle at center) in minations. Not typically known as a manuscript illumination pigment, bismuth
architectural background. was detected in all three of the Getty miniatures using XRK10 Though most
fifteenth-century pigment recipes that include bismuth metal were intended
FIGURE 3.8
for silvery, metallic inks and grounds, Bourdichon did not use bismuth pig-
ment to replace metallic silver paint.11 Rather, he employed the pigment for its
warm gray qualities in the mauve-gray shadowed architectural background
(FIG. 3.7) in The Presentation in the Temple, and for the dark gray trees (FIG. 3.8)
in the garden behind Bathsheba in Bathshebct Bathing. In fact, the trees painted
with bismuth appeared characteristically dark black in IRR,12 while the smaller
trees and outlines added in a carbon-containing brown appear paler in IRR
(FIG. 3.IB).
Thus, Bourdichon's palette can be characterized by his predilection for
mixtures in all passages. He employed two types of blue (azurite and ultra-
marine), yellow (yellow ocher and lead tin yellow), red (vermilion and an
organic red), and gold (a matte golden admixture and reflective pure gold),
choosing one over the other for its specific tonality. Bourdichon made particu-
larly effective use of metallic silver and gold pigments, and he even employed
an unusual metallic bismuth black for warm gray-brown passages in a way that
departed from that pigment's traditional use.13
PAINTING FACIAL FEATURES

Scholars have noted a range in artistic quality among the facial features within
Bourdichon's work, raising the questions of workshop practice, secondary
hands, and in particular whether a specialist in portrait illumination might have
been called upon to paint donor or royal portraits.14 While these questions may
never be fully answered, technical analysis can begin to address the matter. For
a painter who used variegated pigment admixtures in all passages, what can be
said is that no major departure from this basic palette can be detected in any of
the faces in the three Getty leaves. In fact, technical unity can be observed
between those of the most fine and least fine quality. What may account for the
range in quality or, rather, degree of finish may be the result of a relative hier-
archy of importance among the figures.
For instance, the face of King Louis XII is by far the most layered and
highly worked of any in the surviving leaves from the manuscript (FIG. 3.9). As
he did with the face of Anne of Brittany in her Hours (see FIG. 1.2), Bourdi-
chon applied all his attention and skill to the royal portrait, using multiple lay-
ers of perhaps a half-dozen tonal variations, including pink, yellowish tan,
red-orange, pale gray, medium gray, light brown, and medium brown. These

NANCY TURNER
hues were painted and overlapped in a fine network of long, curved, hatched, FIGURE 3.9
and crosshatched strokes over the entire surface of the face, with a few stipples Detail from Plate i
of gray and red at the near cheek. By contrast, in Louis XII of France Kneeling FIGURE 3.10
in Prayer, the faces of the saints surrounding the king are rendered with a more Detail from Plate i
simplified, less highly worked method. As an example, Charlemagne's face
FIGURE 3.11
(FIG. 3.10) is painted with a broad undertone in a tan flesh color, with shadows
Detail from Plate i
down-modeled with strokes of light brown and gray, and subsequent parallel
hatching added in red at the cheeks, nose, lips, and eyelids, as well as the finger-
tips and knuckles of the hands to enliven these features. Strokes of opaque pale
FIGURE 3.12
pink are applied last to modify and soften some of the brown and gray shadows. Jean Fouquet, Simon de Varie
Final articulation of the facial features and outlining of the profile are made in Kneeling in Prayer (detail; fig.
a brownish gray pigment. In contrast to Louis, the aged male faces of such sec- 1.7). Hours of Simon de Varie,
1455. JPGM, Ms. 7, fol. 2
ondary figures as Charlemagne or Saint Denis (FIG. 3.11) are depicted by Bour-
dichon with a quick yet sympathetic brush, while giving a summary treatment FIGURE 3.13
to facial details. Jean Fouquet, The Virgin and
Child Enthroned (detail; fig.
This hierarchical approach is reminiscent of Jean Fouquet's pattern for the
1.7). Hours of Simon de Varie,
rendering of the faces in the opening miniatures in the Hours of Simon de 1455- JPGM, Ms. 7, fol. iv
Varie (see FIG. 1.7). For instance, the female heraldic figure (FIG. 2.15) is paint-
FIGURE 3.14
ed quite economically with a lightly tinted, transparent yellow-gray glaze for
Jean Fouquet, Female Heraldic
the underlying flesh tone and a fine network of light gray stipples to model the Figure (detail; fig. 2.15). Hours
face (FIG. 3.14). Only a slight tint of pale pink was added to the lips and cheeks of Simon de Varie, 1455.
to warm the flesh of the otherwise sculptural figure. The face of the Virgin JPGM, Ms. 7, fol. i
(FIG. 3.13), by contrast, is rendered first with a pinkish flesh tone, the shadows
down-modeled with fine, short parallel hatches and stipples in two dilutions of
a dark blue-gray colorant, with touches of red added to the lips, nostrils, eye-
lids, ears, and cheeks, and final outlining of facial features articulated in brown.
Fouquet devoted the greatest attention to the portrait of the donor, Simon de
Varie (FIG. 3.I2). 15 Unlike his work on canvas and panel, and more like his
drawing technique, Fouquet used a dense network of unblended strokes to
build up color layers.16 Covering the entire surface of the face with fine strokes
and stipples, he used light brown and dark brown inks, then modeled with
varying values of red pigment, followed by thin gray strokes to modify and par-
tially mute the red and brown tonalities. A small touch of mineral blue was
applied within Simon's eye socket to give a contrasting accent shadow. The
density of strokes and number of layerings are remarkable in the donor por-
trait, for under binocular magnification, the surface appears like a woven tex-
tile, making the progression of layers difficult to ascertain. Thus, looking at the
three facial types in Fouquet's miniatures in the Hours of Simon de Varie, one
might suggest that there was a technical progression towards complexity, from
the least descriptive but subtly glazed heraldic females, to the Virgin rendered
with cool shadows and touches of pink to enliven her features, to the highly
worked face of the donor. Though Bourdichon did not directly imitate Fou-
quet's painting technique, he did seem to approach his figures within a hierar-
chy by lavishing more attention with the brush and sharpening his descriptive
focus on the portrait heads, an approach that is understandable and may be
more widespread, given the expectations of demanding patrons.
68
In similar fashion, the idealized face in the British Library's miniature of
The Virgin of the Annunciation from the Hours of Louis XII received particu-
lar attention from the artist and ranks among his highest-quality work (PL. 9
and FIG. 3.15). Being the first illustration to the Hours of the Virgin, the
Annunciation image often received the most attention and was, therefore, one
of the most carefully painted miniatures in a devotional book. In The Virgin
of the Annunciation from the Hours of Louis XII, Bourdichon used multiple
layering of closely allied pale hues to build up a highly finished paint surface
(FIG. 3.15). While giving to the unaided eye the impression of being blended
like oil, Bourdichon's brushwork achieved an extraordinary subtlety and unity
across the gradation of tones in the Virgin's face by using fine parallel strokes
on top of a pale, slightly cool-colored base flesh tone and, particularly, by his
use of a partial gray undertone and gray shadows in her face, neck, and hands.
A blush to the Virgin's cheek, nose, lips, chin, earlobes as well as her fingertips
was made with very fine strokes of red. Slightly blue tinted shadows were
painted beneath the Virgin's eyes, yet these shadows were modified with very
short vertical, parallel strokes of white to soften and reduce the impact of the
blue shadow. A restrained use of brownish black pigment was used in very

NANCY TURNER
specific areas to give final definition between the lips, under the edge of the FIGURE 3.15
nose, and along the upper eyelids of her downcast gaze. Even the Virgin's eye- Detail from Plate 9
brows and eyelashes were modeled in exceedingly fine strokes of painted gold. FIGURE 3.16
Compared to Jean Fouquet's rendering of the Virgin from the Hours of Simon Detail from Plate 18
de Varie (FIG. 3.13), which is painted with a mosaic of stipples and daubs of
FIGURE 3.17
color, Bourdichon's technique of modeling with long parallel strokes in a color
Jean Bourdichon, The Annun-
very close to the base tone lends an enamel-like smoothness and a subtle tran- ciation to the Virgin (detail;
sition from light to shadow, and hence gives a beautiful luminosity to the flesh fig. 3.19). Katherine Hours, ca.
1480-85. JPGM, Ms. 6, fol. 27
tone of the Annunciate Virgin's face in the Hours of Louis XII.
The face of Bathsheba presents another example of Bourdichon's ideal-
ized female face (FIG. 3.16): a flesh tone of lead white is mixed with vermilion
and ultramarine as a base layer, and a thin layer of blue is applied to create a
subtle shadow along the side of her face as well as her torso (FIG. 3.3). Fine
strokes of vermilion red further model the cheeks, lips, tip of the nose, and
eyes, while a very slight brown outlining provides the final articulation to the
facial features, with painted gold for her eyebrows. On a smaller scale, Bourdi-
chon did not always paint idealized female faces with such refinement. In one
of his earliest works, the Katherine Hours, Bourdichon relied on a more for-
mulaic facial treatment; using a three-part color method of white mixed with
red for the pink flesh tone, he then modeled features with short parallel strokes
of red, and down-modeled areas of shadow with longer parallel strokes of gray,
as seen for instance in the face of the Virgin in The Annunciation to the Virgin
(FIG. 3.17). In the Katherine Hours, Bourdichon's facial modeling may also
have been indebted to Flemish manuscript painting technique, such as the
work of Simon Marmion, as seen in Saint Bernard's Vision of the Virgin and
Child (ca. 1475-80; FIG. 2.13), where Marmion built up the facial features with
a loose network of fine strokes in red and brown over the base flesh tone.17
70
PAINTING DRAPERY
Painted gold highlights on draperies were one of Bourdichon's signature tech-
niques, one he derived from Jean Fouquet. Fouquet's gold highlighting is
remarkable for its delicacy and refinement on a small scale.18 A convention that
was used by earlier generations of illuminators, and by Fouquet's contempo-
raries, gold highlights assumed a greater descriptive purpose in Fouquet's illu-
minations. With areas of shadow within the drapery folds rendered using a
dark blue glaze, Fouquet depicted areas of highlight from incident light upon
a dark ground by varying the dilution, and hence the intensity, of the gold paint
to suggest the distance from, or directness of, the light source. For instance, in
the upper half of the Virgin's body from The Virgin and Child Enthroned in
the Hours of Simon de Varie (FIG. 3.18), Fouquet described the profile of her
bust and waist in a diluted gold paint, which was lightly applied to suggest a
partial shadow, while he highlighted with a thicker, more robust application of
undiluted gold paint on her proper right shoulder and arm, which are lit
directly from above.
In Bourdichon's early Katherine Hours, drapery highlights were rendered
in a way that was similar to Fouquet's technique. For instance, in The Annun-
ciation to the Virgin (FIG. 3.19), layered parallel hatchings were used to model
the folds in crosshatched gold with some stippling, suggesting Fouquet's tech-
nical influence (FIG. 3.20). And like Fouquet, Bourdichon varies the dilution of
gold paint, depending upon the intensity, distance, and angle and direction of
the light source. Yet for all Fouquet's influence, Bourdichon is less spontaneous
in his graphic approach to gold highlighting. Whereas Fouquet's stipples and
strokes lent a greater feeling of depth and three-dimensionality to the folds,
Bourdichon often relied upon a descriptive formula of long, parallel directional
strokes that follow the contour of the drapery fold, with short cross-directional
parallel strokes perpendicular to the fold line, to describe the ridge, which can
give the drapery a more patterned, less volumetric appearance overall.
In the Hours of Louis XII, Bourdichon departed from Fouquet's tech-
niques for rendering drapery, becoming considerably more linear in his ap-
proach. Bourdichon rendered his draperies with a solid hue, modeled typically
with a darker value of the same hue in the shadow areas and highlighted with
painted gold in varying dilutions. For instance, in The Presentation in the Temple
(PL. 13), Bourdichon employed long directional strokes in gold on the Virgin's
blue robe (FIG. 3.21) and on Joseph's cowl, with no stippling, and very few
cross-directional strokes.19 Folds are more hard-edged than Fouquet's, often
defined by long parallel clusters of thick to thin strokes of painted gold. Bour-
dichon's brushwork can vary, from the very thickly applied gold on the man
warming himself by the fire in February (PL. 2) to the extraordinary fineness of
The Virgin of the Annunciation (PL. 9).
In The Virgin of the Annunciation^ Bourdichon devoted exceptional care
to the drapery, not unlike the care he clearly took in painting the Virgin's face.
In her blue robe, Bourdichon's use of hatching and his skillful handling of the
brush are exceptional. The entire garment is covered with series of parallel
strokes in varying dilutions of gold to suggest a range of qualities of reflected

NANCY TURNER
light (FIG. 3.22). Even more painstakingly, the Virgin's wimple is composed of FIGURE 3.18 (top left)
a fine network of parallel white brushstrokes, suggesting the weave of a gauze- Jean Fouquet, The Virgin and
Child Enthroned (detail; fig.
like fabric (FIG. 3. is). 20 Bourdichon's masterful and widespread use of parallel 1.7). Hours of Simon de Varie,
hatching, particularly in draperies, was a technique he clearly perfected—and 1455- JPGM, Ms. 7, fol. iv
evidence of his extraordinary control of the brush.
FIGURE 3.19 (top right)
F O C U S A N D SPATIAL R E C E S S I O N Annunciation to the Virgin
To create spatial recession in his images, Bourdichon relied not only upon (detail). Katherine Hours, ca.
1480-85. JPGM, Ms. 6, fol. 27
architectural surroundings, often composed on a system of one-point perspec-
tive, but also upon varying his use of details, such as sharpening focus on near FIGURE 3.20 (bottom left)
objects while loosening brushwork to diffuse focus on distant objects, and Jean Bourdichon, The
using "scrims" of fine parallel lines of a lighter tone to mute certain features or Annunciation to the Virgin
(detail; fig. 3.19). Katherine
colors to make objects recede in space. Hours, ca. 1480-85. JPGM,
Bourdichon would often display an almost obsessive interest in rendering Ms. 6, fol. 27
meticulous details, particularly those in the foreground. For instance, he sup-
FIGURE 3.21 (bottom right)
plied the viewer with a nearly scientific description of the woven winnowing
baskets in the foreground to August (PL. 4) and of the barrels in September
(PL. 5). However, for figures, objects, and even distant landscapes, his focus
broadened, and his painting technique loosened, as seen in the far background
elements otBathsheba Bathing (PL. 18) and The Flight into Egypt (PL. 14), where
the skies and landscape contours were broadly laid in with horizontal bands of
72
FIGURE 3.22 color and little detail. And while he frequently relied upon high-key, local color
Detail from Plate 9 contrasts to make the foreground figures distinct, Bourdichon underpainted
F I G U RE 3.23
grouped background figures with a unified base tonality to enhance their spa-
Detail from Plate 13 tial recession. For instance, in The Presentation in the Temple, the background
figures were underpainted with brown to make them recede into space as a
group, and colored details and gold highlights were added to differentiate the
various figures (FIG. 3.23). 21 This device is used also in the background figures
of Pentecost (PL. 15), where the brown undertone of the background becomes
the base flesh tone of the faces, which are drawn in darker brown ink and red.
Though this technique did not originate with Bourdichon, he did make effec-
tive use of it in areas of broad focus, such as in backgrounds.
As part of his approach to evoking spatial recession, Bourdichon also uti-
lized a gauzelike overlay or a scrim of fine parallel strokes in order to mute or
subdue elements within the composition. An isolated example of this tech-
nique can be found in the Katherine Hours, in the architectural niche in The
Annunciation to the Virgin (FIG. 3.19), where Bourdichon painted parallel
curved strokes in white over the clearly articulated recessed areas of the shell
design to modify the shadows (FIG. 3.24). But by the date of the Hours of
Louis XII, Bourdichon developed this technique much further. For instance,
to depict the swaddling.cloth in The Presentation in the Temple, Bourdichon
painted the cloth first with a layer of lead white with blue-striped edging, and
strokes of gray in the shadow (FIG. 3.25). He further diffused the blue edging
pattern and the gray shadows by painting a fine network of parallel white hori-
zontal lines over the swaddling cloth. This not only muted the intensity of the
blue stripes and gray shadows but also added a white-on-white woven texture
to the surface of the cloth. This technique is also employed in other passages,
such as the tablecloth in February (PL. 2), across the surface of the book on the
Virgin's lap in The Virgin of the Annunciation (PL. 9), and across the surface of
Job's tattered white garment mjob on the Dungheap (PL. 19). This scrim tech-
nique may be original to Bourdichon, particularly to mute shadows in drapery
folds or to modify specific details to enhance spatial recession.

NANCY TURNER
L I G H T I N G EFFECTS AND LIGHT'S EFFECTS ON COLOR
Perhaps Fouquet's greatest influence on the young Bourdichon can be seen FIGURE 3.24
in the nocturnal scenes in the Katherine Hours (see FIGS. 3.27, 1.3). Taking his Jean Bourdichon, The
Annunciation to the Virgin
inspiration from Fouquet's nocturnal scenes, such as The Arrest of Christ (detail; fig. 3.19). Katherine
(FIG. 3.26) or The Nativity (fol. 9) in the Hours of Etienne Chevalier,22 Bour- Hours, ca. 1480-85. JPGM,
dichon made similar use of a muted palette of painted gold on brown and gray Ms. 6, fol. 27
in the Katherine Hours. Yet he did not stop with gold reflections on the dark
FIGURE 3.25
ground: for instance, in The Annunciation to the Shepherds (FIG. 3.27), one finds Detail from Plate 13
an early exploration into the effects of red-tinged reflected firelight on the
shepherds' feet and legs (FIG. 3.28), an idea found later in his mature work.
As Janet Backhouse has pointed out, Bourdichon's "best work is distin- OPPOSITE:
guished by a characteristic luminous quality which results from a preoccupa- FIGURE 3.26 (top left)
Jean Fouquet, The Arrest of
tion with direct and usually visible sources of light."23 By the date of the Hours
Christ. Hours of Etienne
of Louis XII, Bourdichon had taken much further his interests in contrasting Chevalier, ca. 1452-61.
light sources, their interplay, and the respective qualities of reflected light. In Chantilly, Musee Conde,
Ms. 71, fol. 14
The Nativity (PL. u) Bourdichon employed three light sources. The light of
Joseph's lantern is a pale yellow-white pigment, which reflects a cool pale yel- FIGURE 3.27 (top right)
low off of Joseph's hat and clothing and the nearby timbers, while the holy Jean Bourdichon, The
light sources from above and from the radiant Christ child are rendered in Annunciation to the Shepherds
(detail). Katherine Hours, ca.
painted gold and reflect painted gold highlights onto the roof of the stable and 1480-85. JPGM, Ms. 6, fol. 55
the Virgin's hands and face. Likewise, the scene from February (PL. 2) provides
a similar exploration of reflected light: here the warm firelight is itself made to FIGURE 3.28 (bottom left)
flicker with painted gold sparks and flames. This firelight, in turn, illuminates Annunciation to the Shepherds
with a red glow the backside of the warmly clothed man, in contrast to the (detail). Katherine Hours, ca.
gold painted highlights on the front of his robe and arms lit by the window. 1480-85. JPGM, Ms. 6, fol. 55
Bourdichon extended this idea to dazzling effect in The Annunciation to the

FIGURE 3.29 (bottom right)
Shepherds (FIG. 3.29) in the Hours of Anne of Brittany, twenty years after the Jean Bourdichon, The
Katherine Hours. Using the shepherds' fire as the major light source, all the Annunciation to the Shepherds.
Hours of Anne of Brittany,
foreground figures are rendered in red reflected firelight, while the gold high-
ca. 1503-8. Paris, Bibliotheque
lights from the radiant angel above reflect upon the shepherds' brown tunics nationale de France, Ms. lat.
and illuminate distant landscape details. 9474, fol. 58v
74
NANCY TURNER
Equally innovative, yet much more subtle in its effect, is Bourdichon's
approach to color and light in The Flight into Egypt from the Hours of Louis
XII (PL. 14). Here Bourdichon conveyed the dusky light of the predawn sky by
using muted highlights of gray pigment on the Virgin's blue robe. Composi-
tional elements that are meant to be understood as white, such as the Virgin's
wimple, the Christ child's swaddling, and Joseph's satchel hanging from his
walking stick, are rendered in a gray tone of medium value. No pure whites
were used. Bourdichon's use of gray lends a somber, quiet, and harmonic
bridge between the cool-hued garments, namely the purple and blue of the
Virgin's robes, and the warmer burgundy hue of Joseph's mantle and hat.
Moreover, since the viewer of the image perceives the Holy Family in shadow,
as the sun rises behind them, no gold highlighting is used on their features or
their garments. Painted gold is reserved only to depict haloes and a few light-
tinged background details in the distant landscape. Bourdichon's distinctive
uses of color to depict lighting effects in these examples are notable for their
sophistication and convey an understanding of color in nature and light's
effects on color that challenges the widely assumed conservatism of his art.
CONCLUSION
Although an attempt has been made to contextualize the techniques found on
a selection of the surviving leaves from the Hours of Louis XII, any conclu-
sions drawn can only be understood as preliminary until a greater number of
manuscripts can be studied in this way. Moreover, attributional questions sep-
arating Bourdichon's from secondary workshop hands cannot be answered as
yet. What can be said from this limited study is that Bourdichon's remarkably
skillful painting techniques appear fairly consistent between his early work in
the Katherine Hours and the Hours of Louis XII. His debt to Jean Fouquet is
clear, evident in the Katherine Hours, particularly in his method for rendering
draperies and in his predilection for nocturnal scenes lit by gold painted high-
lights. In his early work, Bourdichon also appeared to derive some influence
from Flemish illumination techniques, notably in the modeling of faces and his
use of gold on gold.24 In the Hours of Louis XII, there is a range in quality
between the royal portrait or Annunciate Virgin and other facial types that,
given the consistency in pigment palette between them, may be explained by a
hierarchical approach, similar to what can be seen in Fouquet's treatment of
faces in the Hours of Simon de Varie.
Among Bourdichon's characteristic working methods, his use of pigment
mixtures in all his passages and his inclusion of the unusual bismuth black for
warm grays are notable. His use of ultramarine and azurite in the flesh tones
lends his figures a characteristically cool tonality overall, while effectively ren-
dering shadow areas. He also exploited the warm and cool qualities in different
pigments of a similar hue for their specific visual effects. Moreover, Bourdi-
chon's slight departures from his initial drawings in the painted designs as seen
by IRR, and his widespread use of pigment mixtures may suggest more inven-
tion within his working method than has previously been assumed.
Finally, in the Hours of Louis XII we can see how Bourdichon further
76
developed ideas that were only touched upon in the Katherine Hours. His use
of "scrims"—a series of fine parallel lines employed to modify or soften shad-
ows, to dampen the effect of a color, or to enhance spatial recession—may be
one such innovation. His interests in the effects of light upon an object, con-
trasting light sources, and the moderation of color (depending upon the direc-
tion and intensity of the light source) to convey a more gradual, and hence
naturalistic, effect of light were more highly developed in the Hours of Louis
XII than in his earlier work. If these elements suggest the artist's direct obser-
vation of nature, perhaps Bourdichon was an artist who was more forward-
looking in his approach to painting than has been previously understood.
Whether he had contact with contemporary painters with similar interests or
whether he was under the influence of artists' manuals that explored these
issues are questions deserving further research.25 Thus, for all the conservatism
that has been generally associated with the manuscript illuminations of Jean
Bourdichon, from a technical standpoint, we may now more fully understand
why Bourdichon was one of the most successful illuminators of his time.
NOTES
1. Typical remarks such as this can be found in Anthony Blunt, Art and Architecture in France:
1500-1700 (New York, 1973, reprinted 1998), p. 22; and David MacGibbon, Jean Bourdichon: A
Court Painter of the Fifteenth Century (Glasgow, 1933), p. 90. The clearest reference to Bourdichon's
technique vis-a-vis his style is given in L. M. J. Delaisse, James Marrow, and John de Wit, Illumi-
nated Manuscripts: The James A. de Kothschild Collection at Waddesdon Manor (London, 1977), pp.
424,434-45.
2. I would like to thank Thomas Kren for encouraging me to contribute to this volume. I am
extremely grateful to Karen Trentelman, Senior Scientist and Head of the Museum Research Labora-
tory at the Getty Conservation Institute, for conducting the pigment studies, and to Yvonne Szafran
in the Department of Paintings Conservation of the J. Paul Getty Museum for generously capturing
infrared reflectograms from the three Getty leaves. For allowing me to study works by Bourdichon
and his contemporaries, thanks also go to the following: Scot McKendrick of the British Library;
Marie-Pierre Lafitte of the Bibliotheque nationale de France, Paris; William Lang of the Free Library
of Philadelphia; Roger Wieck of the Pierpont Morgan Library, New York; and Sam Fogg on behalf of
a private collector. Thanks also to Marika Spring for references to bismuth pigments.
3. As this investigation is only preliminary, neither pigment analysis nor infrared reflectography
has been conducted on the Katherine Hours or the Hours of Simon de Varie.
4. Underdrawing can also be detected by the naked eye in areas of loss in other miniatures from
the Hours of Louis XII, including Pentecost (pi. 15), the four surviving calendar miniatures (pis. 2-5),
and mjob on the Dungheap (pi. 19).
5. An Inframetrics Infra-cam digital camera (with a sensitivity range between 1-2.5 microns) was
used to detect the underdrawing.
6. See p. 67 and notes n and 12 below for a discussion of the materials used in the painting of the
trees and their appearance in infrared.
7. Pigment analysis for this study was confined to the three Getty leaves. Analytical testing was not
made on either the Katherine Hours or the Hours of Simon de Varie; thus, no direct correlations
regarding pigments can be made to these earlier works at this time. X-ray fluorescence analysis was
performed using a Jordan Valley EX36oo-OA spectrometer. Raman analysis was performed using a
Renishaw inVia Raman microscope. A detailed discussion of this work will be presented in a forth-
coming publication.
8. Azurite was also identified in Louis XII of France Kneeling in Prayer (pi. i) as a retouching pig-
ment in the blue sky (at left and right edges) and in Louis XII's blue and silver leg armor.

NANCY TURNER
9. Originally the visual effect would have been the inverse of what is visible today: areas of silver
would have been lighter in value and highly reflective, and the areas of blue along the lengths of the
king's arm and leg armor would have appeared as areas in shadow.
10. This pigment was first detected through XRF by the strong presence of bismuth. Under binoc-
ular magnification (joox), the particles appear dark silvery gray with a reddish reflective appearance.
Bismuth black can occur in one of two forms: either as metallic bismuth or as bismuth trisulfide.
Raman analysis indicated that metallic bismuth was used in the miniatures.
11. Bismuth ink recipes are given in fifteenth- and sixteenth-century recipe collections (Doris
Oltrogge, personal communication). The only other published occurrence of metallic bismuth (with
black and reflective areas) in a book is from colored engravings on paper from a fifteenth-century
German Bible (Tiroler Landesmuseum, Innsbruck, Inventory no. F.B. 129), identified by Katharina
Mayr in Wismutmalerei, diploma diss. (Meisterschule fur Konservierung und Technologic an der
Akademie der Bildenden Kiinste, Vienna [1977]), as cited in Renate Gold, "Reconstruction and
Analysis of Bismuth Painting," in Painted Wood: History and Conservation, edited by Valerie Dorge
and F. Carey Hewlett (Los Angeles, 1998), p. 175 and footnote 10.1 thank Marika Spring for this ref-
erence. Bismuth black has also been identified in sixteenth-century panel paintings: see Marika
Spring, Rachel Grout, and Raymond White, "'Black Earths': A Study of Unusual Black and Dark
Grey Pigments Used by Artists in the Sixteenth Century," National Gallery Technical Bulletin 24
(2003), particularly pp. 102-4 and note 60.
12. This behavior in the infrared was first characterized by Marika Spring. Cf. Spring, Grout, and
White 2003, p. 105.
13. See Gold 1998, pp. 166-78.
14. See Janet Backhouse in Thomas Kren, ed., Renaissance Painting in Manuscripts: Treasures
from the British Library, exh. cat. (Malibu, 1983), p. 167. See also her evidence for this practice in her
discussion of Perreal, p. 173.
15. For references to Fouquet's manuscript painting technique, see Nicole Reynaud, Jean Fouquet
(Paris, 1981), p. 50-51; see also James Marrow in The Hours of Simon de Varie (Los Angeles, 1994),
pp.68-69.
16. Otto Pacht, "Jean Fouquet: A Study of His Style," Journal of the Warburg and Courtauld
Institutes4, no. 1/2 (1940-41), p. 89.
17. Nancy Turner, "The Suggestive Brush: Painting Technique in Flemish Manuscripts from the
Collections of the J. Paul Getty Museum and the Huntington Library," to be published in the forth-
coming symposium proceedings volume relating to the exhibition Illuminating the Renaissance: The
Triumph of Flemish Manuscript Painting in Europe.
18. For the most recent work and complete bibliography on the Hours of Simon de Varie, see
Francois Avn\,Jean Fouquet: Peintre et enlumineur du XVe siecle, exh. cat. (Paris, 2003), cat. no. 23,
pp. 187-92. See also Reynaud 1981, p. 51, for remarks on Fouquet's use of gold.
19. It should be noted that the lower right corner of The Presentation in the Temple (pi. 13) has been
repainted, in the blue drapery of the Virgin and in the red of the attending woman at the far right
edge, including portions of the gold highlighting on both their draperies.
20. When inspecting his drapery passages closely, one has to wonder whether Bourdichon might
have employed some kind of specialized brush that would lay down parallel, single-haired brush-
strokes, the way a multipronged rake creates parallel scratches in the dirt. The existence of such
a tool might help to explain the efficiency with which he or members of his workshop were able
to produce so many manuscripts and retain such a unified appearance among them. In one example,
a rakelike stroke can clearly be seen in a roughly contemporary book of hours by Bourdichon
(London, British Library, Ms. Harley 2877), where the sleeve of the foreground apostle at left in the
Pentecost (fol. 45v) was modeled with downward parallel strokes with daubs at the end of each stroke
that seem to terminate simultaneously (visible with raking light under binocular magnification).
Whether Bourdichon employed such a brush can only be speculated upon.
78
21. Fouquet appears to have used a similar technique for groups of background figures, as for
example, in The Martyrdom of Saint Apollonia (fol. 46) from the Hours of Etienne Chevalier, to cre-
ate the effect of a monochromatic background frieze of figures behind the more brightly colored
active foreground participants in the scene. See Avril 2003, cat. no 24.46, p. 210. Generally, though,
Fouquet tended to rely upon a highly constructed linear perspective in his compositions to force spa-
tial recession within his images. See John White, The Birth and Rebirth of Pictorial Space (London:
1987), pp. 225-29; and Marie-Therese Gousset, "Fouquet et 1'art de geometric," in Avril 2003,
pp.82-86.
22. Avril 2003, p. 199, plates 24.7, 24.9
23. Janet Backhouse, "Bourdichon's 'Hours of Henry VII,'" British Museum Quarterly 37
(Autumn 1973), p. 99.
24. In addition to Bourdichon's technique for rendering faces, or his use of gold on gold, consider
also his indebtedness to Simon Marmion's illuminations in a book of hours known as "La Flora"
(Naples, Biblioteca Nazionale, Ms. I B 51) for the dramatic close-up half-length compositions, as dis-
cussed by Janet Backhouse in this volume (see p. 15 and fig. 1.5).
25. Though Bourdichon may not have experienced Italian art firsthand, his explorations of color
and the effect of light on color may hint at an interest in technical issues that occupied contemporary
Italian painters as well as fifteenth- and early-sixteenth-century artists' manuals. For one such discus-
sion of these manuals, see Moshe Barasch, Light and Color in the Italian Renaissance Theory of Art
(New York, 1978).

NANCY TURNER
The Rediscovery of & Royal Manuscript
MARK EVANS
Xhe Hours of Louis XII was broken

up by 1700; most of its miniatures were dispersed, and its surviving text is
fragmentary. This essay endeavors to trace the history of its constituent parts.
The largest of these is a slender volume with fifty-one text leaves decorated
with highly distinctive floral borders of stylized acanthus and naturalistic blos-
soms, which formed part of the English royal library, presented in its entirety
to the then-recently established British Museum in 1757 by George II (1683-
1760 ).1 Until lately the book was known as the Hours of Henry VII. A tradi-
tion of earlier English royal ownership is referred to in the inscriptions "H. VII.
R" and "HORAE/REGIS/HENRICI/VIP on the spine of its nineteenth-
century binding. As this history was assumed by the Reverend Thomas Frog-
nal Dibdin (1776-1847) in his Bibliographical Decameron, published in 1817,
it has been plausibly inferred that the inscriptions were copied from an ear-
lier binding.2
In an attempt to reconcile this traditional Tudor provenance with the
material evidence of Louis XII's ownership, it has been suggested that the
book was brought to England by Mary Tudor (1496-1533), the French king's
third and last wife and the youngest daughter of Henry VII (1457-1509).3
Louis and Mary married in October 1514, but he died on January i, 1515. The
following month, his widow secretly married Charles Brandon, 1st Duke of
Suffolk (ca. 1484-1545), a favorite of Henry VIII (1491-1547), so perhaps she
returned to England with her late husband's book of hours. We know that
Mary brought at least one fine illuminated manuscript back from France: a
book of hours decorated around 1500-1505 by Jean Poyet (act. ca. 1483-1503),
one of Bourdichon's principal competitors, which she gave to her brother in
153o.4 While it is difficult to imagine how Henry VII would have acquired the
Hours of Louis XII, the brief marriage of Mary to Louis suggests a plausible
path for its early arrival in England and its subsequent association with Henry,
the founder of the Tudor dynasty.
Nevertheless, the first documentary evidence of the whereabouts of the
book locates it in England around 1700. That year the famous diarist and naval
OPPOSITE: administrator Samuel Pepys (1633-1703) put together the albums of callig-
Detail from Plate i raphy that remain in the library that bears his name, at Magdalene College,
81
Cambridge. The first volume of Pepys's calligraphic collection includes part of
a leaf of text from the section of Louis' prayer book devoted to the Hours of
the Holy Sacrament.5 Another single text leaf, from its abbreviated paraphrase
of the Psalms, was pasted into one of the numerous volumes of fragments
assembled by John Bagford (1650-1716), which later passed with the Harleian
Library to form part of the foundation collections of the British Museum in
1753.6 Bagford was originally a shoemaker but became a dealer in "out of
course books."7 Like Pepys, he was an early collector of broadsides and printed
ephemera and assembled innumerable ballads, title pages, and fragments of
books, from which he planned to write a history of printing. Bagford seems to
have acquired the rarities in his collection, such as his fragments of a Guten-
berg Bible, from damaged volumes in the process of dispersal.8 During the
years before 1700, he seems to have had access to the Hours of Louis XII,
although he only retained a single leaf from the manuscript.
As the volume of text leaves from this manuscript—later given to the
British Museum—is not listed in the catalogue of the royal library published in
1734, it was probably acquired by George II after that date. This is consistent
with its shelf mark, which shows that it was the final volume in a row of forty
books. Its documented existence indicates that the miniatures had been
extracted from the Hours by 1734-57. Dibdin's remarks on the text leaves,
published in 1817, provide the earliest surviving appraisal of the manuscript:
. . . among the Royal MSS. in the British Museum, (Bibl. Reg. 2 D. XL) there is a thin
folio volume of Hours., of exceedingly delicate vellum, with a noble bottom and side
margin, having a small text of only 18 lines—once the property of Henry VII—which
exhibits vastly pretty side borders of fruit and flowers; worth the attention of any artist
to copy, who is in pursuit of specimens of this nature. This book is imperfect at the
beginning and end, and several leaves appear to be missing in other parts.. .9
In 1849, lithographic reproductions of several of these text leaves (FIG. 4.1)

were published in The Illuminated Books of the Middle Ages, by Henry Noel
Humphreys and Owen Jones, where they immediately precede color repro-
ductions from the closely related Hours of Anne of Brittany.10 Humphreys
implicitly associated the two volumes and dated the London leaves earlier,
but he wrongly attributed their decorations to English rather than French
illuminators.
What appears to be the earliest critical account of some of the full-page
miniatures from the Hours of Louis XII was provided by the German art his-
torian Gustav Waagen (1794-1868), the Director of the Altes Museum in
Berlin and a principal early authority on Northern Renaissance painting. On
September i, 1835, he visited the Lansdown Tower in Bath, the later home of
the legendary collector William Beckford (1760-1844) (FIG. 4.2), patron of
the colossal short-lived Fonthill Abbey.11 Despite being hurried through the
rooms in the company of an English family who "did not feel it necessary to be
so deliberate in their inspection as I heartily wished," Waagen nevertheless rec-
ognized, in the ground floor vestibule:
82
On two leaves of parchment, the Virgin and Child, with persons worshipping them.
French miniatures, of the greatest delicacy, of about the same period as the prayer-
book of Anne of Bretagne—that is, about 1500—and not inferior. Persons worship-
ping. Judging by the warm, brownish shadows, and character in other respects, by the
greatest French miniature-painter, JEAN FOUQUET, painter to King Louis XI: at all
events of his school.12
FIGURE 4-1 Beckford had been collecting illuminated manuscripts since 1784, principally
Owen Jones (after the Hours late works of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries.13
of Henry VII [now called the
Hours of Louis XII]). Plate 30 The documented history of Bourdichon's miniature of Louis XII of
in The Illuminated Books of the France Kneeling in Prayer, Accompanied by Saints Michael., Charlemagne,
Middle Ages^ 1849. Chromo- Louis, and Denis (PL. i), acquired by the Getty Museum in 2003, indicates its
lithograph, 13.3 x 13.3 cm
ownership by Beckford. It is itemized in the sale catalogue of his Valuable and
(sl/4 x $l/4 in.). London,
Victoria and Albert Museum, Costly Effects dated July 28, 1848: "A highly-finished Illuminated Drawing on
93-K.4 Vellum, Loys XII, at his Devotions, attended by Sts. Michael, Charles, Loys
and Denis."14 This was purchased for eleven pounds and sixpence for the Eng-
FIGURE 4.2
T. A. Dean (after Joshua lish politician Henry Laboucherre, later Lord Taunton (1798-1869), in whose
Reynolds), William Beckford^ collection it was seen once again by Waagen in 1850.15 The miniature remained
A0ed2i, 1835. Stipple etching with Lord Taunton's heirlooms until its sale on July 14, 1920, when it was
and engraving, 20.3 x 16.2 cm
(8 x 63/s in.). London, acquired by the French collector Baron Edmond de Rothschild (1845-1934).16
Victoria and Albert Museum, Seized by the Nazis after the fall of France, it was later recovered and included
£.2046-1919 in an exhibition of repatriated masterpieces from French collections, in Paris
in 1946.17
It is highly plausible that Louis XII of France Kneeling in Prayer was
paired with a facing miniature of The Virgin and Child—a configuration uti-
lized by Bourdichon's master, Jean Fouquet, in the Hours of Simon de Varie
THE REDISCOVERY OF A ROYAL MANUSCRIPT 83

MARK EVANS
(FIG. 1.7) and in Fouquet's masterpiece, the Hours of Etienne Chevalier.18 F I G U R E 4-3
Waagen's specific comparison of the miniatures he saw in Bath with the Hours T. L. Atkinson (after
W. W. Ouless),>&« Malcolm
of Anne of Brittany—of a similarly large scale—and his reference to their of Poltalloch, ca. i860.
"warm, brownish shadows" strongly suggest that they were identical with Mezzotint, 35.2 x 30.2 cm
Louis XII of France Kneeling in Prayer and a pendant of The Virgin and Child, (i37/8 x n7/8 in.). London,
British Museum, 1931-5-8-2
whose whereabouts are since unknown. His description of these miniatures as
on two leaves of parchment implies that they were framed separately. The latter
may be identical to one of the two subsequent lots in Beckford's 1848 sale,
each described only as "A Subject from Sacred History, highly illuminated, on
vellum, in a costly frame, protected by Glass."19
I am grateful to Francois Avril for pointing out that Beckford also owned
an early double-page frontispiece by Bourdichon; that of Charles de Martigny,
Bishop ofElne, Kneeling in Prayer before the Virgin and Child (FIG. 1.9), which
seems to have passed to Beckford's son-in-law, the loth Duke of Hamilton
(1767-1852), and was later acquired by Calouste Gulbenkian (1869-1955).20
While it cannot be excluded that Waagen's comments of 1835 refer to this fron-
tispiece, this seems unlikely, as it is less closely reminiscent of the Hours of
Anne of Brittany and is much smaller (14.6 x 10.1 cm) than Louis XII of France
Kneeling in Prayer (24.3 x 15.7 cm).
Probably sometime between June 24, 1891, and his death on May 30,
1893, the Argyll landowner John Malcolm of Poltalloch (1805-1893) (FIG. 4.3)
acquired three miniatures from the Hours of Louis XII, which are listed in
an apparently autograph addendum to his own copy of the catalogue of his
collection:
Three miniatures with broad gold borders.

a. Job and his three friends
b. The Madonna
c. The Pentecost
from a Book of Hours.21
84
The finest of this trio depicts The Virgin of the Annunciation (PL. 9) and would
originally have faced a miniature (now lost) of The Archangel Gabriel^ at the
beginning of the section of the manuscript dedicated to the Hours of the Vir-
gin.22 The others came from elsewhere in the book: Pentecost (PL. 15), opening
its Short Hours of the Holy Spirit; and/0£ on the Dungheap (PL. 19), its Office
of the Dead.23 Malcolm's superb collection of over fourteen hundred old mas-
ter drawings and prints was sold by his son to the British Museum in 1895—an
event that moved the then Keeper of Prints and Drawings to observe that it
"almost doubled the importance of the department I had the honor to
serve."24 Shortly before his death, Malcolm had given the Museum his finest
illuminated manuscript, the Sforza Book of Hours.25 A further twenty-one
manuscript cuttings, including the three Bourdichon leaves, came with his
drawings and were transferred on January 9, 1899, to the Department of Man-
uscripts, where they were initially catalogued as Flemish.26
A further four leaves from the Hours of Louis XII were offered for sale by
the London bookseller James Tregaskis on February 12, 1917:
ILLUMINATIONS: FOUR LEAVES FROM A BOOK OF HOURS. Written

on vellum, and richly illuminated by a French Scribe and Artist; each of the four
leaves measure 93/8 x 5:/2 ins., from the Kalendar: June, August, September and
February; the Kalendar is written in blue and gold, and occupies in each case a space
6 by 3V4 ins, while the rest of the page contains a large Miniature, very finely executed,
representing:
(a) A REAPER WITH SCYTHE, ETC., VIEW OF A TOWN IN THE DISTANCE;
(b) A MILLER WINNOWING GRAIN;
(c) MAN TREADING GRAPES IN A WINEPRESS;
(d) NOBLEMAN STANDING BEFORE A TABLE, ON WHICH IS A REPAST
Each Miniature is surmounted by the Zodiacal signs, painted in blue and gold on a
blue ground: Cancer, Virgo, Libra and Pisces respectively; the verso of each leaf con-
tains the continuation of the Kalendar, with a wide single border of flowers, fruit and
insects, painted in colours on a gold ground. Bound in brown polished levant morocco,
gold line border on sides. £95 c. 1510.27
Tregaskis's enthusiasm for these calendar miniatures is apparent from his

unusual procedure of including an illustration of June (PL. 3) inside the cover
of the catalogue. The entire group, including, in addition to June, the leaves
for August (PL. 4), September (PL. 5), and February (PL. 2), was purchased by
the Philadelphia maritime lawyer, local historian, and collector John Frederick
Lewis (1860-1932), whose widow gave his collection of over three hundred
and fifty manuscripts and two thousand leaves and cuttings to the Free Library
of Philadelphia in 1936.28 The calendar leaves were identified as part of the
Hours of Louis XII in 2001.29
Three more miniatures from the Hours of Louis XII came to light in Eng-
land between the Second World War and the mid-1950s. The Nativity (PL. u),
from its Hours of the Virgin, is first recorded in the ownership of the surgeon
and radiologist Dr. Christopher Kempster (1869-1948), who gave it in about

MARK EVANS
1940 to a friend he had met on a voyage to India in 1926. Brought briefly to
the British Museum for examination in 1952, this miniature was thereafter
unseen for fifty years and was purchased by the Victoria and Albert Museum in
December 2003.30 A miniature of Saint Luke Writing (PL. 7), from the Gospel
extracts, was sold at Sotheby's on October 14, 1946, with an attribution to
"School of Bruges 1500."31 It was bought for £30 by the antiquarian book
dealers Maggs Bros., who recognized its relationship to the Bourdichon minia-
tures in the British Museum and sold it in May 1947 to a regular customer,
W. L. Wood, of London and Chandlers Cross.32 Wood was of Scottish origin,
and he gave the miniature with two other items to the National Library of
Scotland in 1956.33 In January 1955 the Bristol Art Gallery received The Visita-
tion (PL. 10), also from the Hours of the Virgin, as a gift from their Friends
association, which had purchased it for £150 from a Miss R. L. Williams. The
miniature came with the visiting card of a man named Arthur Smith inscribed:
"This beautiful & ancient picture was left as a legacy by Ann Alexander to her
niece E. Hipsley." It was later attributed to Bourdichon by the distinguished
scholar Otto Pacht.34
In the early 19705, another three miniatures from the Hours of Louis XII
emerged from British sources. D. E. Schwabach, of London, brought the
miniature of Bathsheba Bathing (PL. 18), from the Penitential Psalms, to the
British Museum for opinion in September 1971.35 A year later, The Flight into
Egypt (PL. 14), from the Hours of the Virgin, was similarly brought in by Sir
Tom Hickinbotham (1903-1983), a former governor of Aden, who recalled
that it had been acquired by his grandfather.36 Both miniatures were identified
by Janet Backhouse, who published them in her fundamental article on the
Hours of Louis XII.37 In 1974 they were sold at auction: The Flight into Egypt
at Sotheby's on July 8, and Bathsheba Bathing at Christie's on July n.38 The
latter was sold with a previously unknown miniature from the manuscript, The
Adoration of the Magi (PL. 12), also from its Hours of the Virgin.39 This had
belonged to Mrs. Patricia Clogg, a daughter of the London antiquarian book-
seller Lionel Robinson (i897-i983). 40 As Robinson and his younger brother
Philip had purchased in 1946 the still-enormous residual contents of the
library of Sir Thomas Phillipps (1792-1872), it is possible that The Adoration
of the Magi came from this monumental collection of over sixty thousand man-
uscripts.41 All three of these miniatures were purchased by the antiquarian
book dealer Bernard H. Breslauer (1918-2004): The Flight into Egypt for
£2,300, and Bathsheba Bathing and The Adoration of the Magi for £6,800
each. A few months earlier, in March 1974, Breslauer had bought from the
New York book dealer H. P. Kraus yet another, also previously unidentified,
miniature from the manuscript: The Presentation in the Temple (PL. 13), from its
Hours of the Virgin.42 Breslauer's collection was dispersed in 2003-04, and
Bathsheba Bathing and The Presentation in the Temple were acquired by the
Getty Museum, where they were reunited with Louis XII of France Kneeling
in Prayer.^ The Adoration of the Magi was sold to the Musee du Louvre, and
The Flight into Egypt entered a British private collection.
The only miniature from the Hours of Louis XII identified since Bres-
86
lauer's purchasing campaign of 1974 also belonged to a well-known art dealer.
This is The Betrayal of Christ (PL. 8), probably from its Passion According to St.
John, one of over three hundred single manuscript leaves assembled by
Georges Wildenstein (1892-1963) and given by his son Daniel in 1980 to the
Musee Marmottan in Paris.44 Its painted frame has been almost entirely
cropped, leaving The Betrayal of Christ markedly smaller than the other
identified miniatures from the Hours of Louis XII, and obscuring its relation-
ship to them, which was not noticed until 1993.45
What may one deduce from the known history of the constituent parts of
the Hours of Louis XII? It is unremarkable that the sources are silent during
the later sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, when illuminated manuscripts
were seldom appreciated as works of art. The separation of the miniatures from
the text by 1700 is an unusually early instance of a practice that became com-
mon in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.46 The comparatively
unfaded condition of the miniatures suggests that they passed much of the
three centuries since this dispersal within the protection of a binding. This is
confirmed by the bound state in which the Philadelphia calendar leaves and the
Edinburgh Saint Luke Writing first appeared.
The interest of Samuel Pepys and John Bagford in the Hours of Louis XII
was confined to its textural content. William Beckford was less a medievalist
than a refined eclectic, whose luxurious taste spanned a gamut of styles ranging
from classical antiquity to those of his own day. It was fortuitous that his minia-
tures caught the eye of Gustav Waagen, one of a new breed of professional art
historians. As a collector, Sir Thomas Phillipps—the antithesis of Beckford—
was a self-confessed "vellomaniac" who assembled one of the largest manu-
script collections in history, joking that he wished to have a copy of every book
in the world. The large scale and pictorial character of Bourdichon's miniatures
evidently commended them to John Malcolm, who generally concentrated on
old master drawings and prints.
By the late nineteenth century, illuminated manuscript leaves were popu-
lar with middle-class collectors, including Ann Alexander and Sir Tom Hickin-
botham's grandfather. Rich Americans had become major collectors of
illuminated manuscripts by 1917, when John Frederick Lewis bought the cal-
endar leaves. W. L. Wood's purchase of Saint Luke Writing suggests that he
shared the taste, if not the means, of such wealthy manuscript collectors as C.
W. Dyson Perrins (1864-1958) and Sir Alfred Chester Beatty (1875-1968). Dr.
Christopher Kempster gave away The Nativity at a time when it was of modest
financial value, while Hickinbotham and D. E. Schwabach sold The Flight into
Egypt and Bathsheba Bathing for good prices in 1974. The professional dealers
Georges Wildenstein and Bernard Breslauer assembled connoisseurs' collec-
tions of single miniatures when entire manuscripts of comparable quality were
increasingly scarce and expensive.
In recent years, five additional miniatures from the Hours of Louis XII

MARK EVANS
have appeared, and two have emerged from decades in obscurity. More has
been learned about the later history of its scattered elements, and all except
one of its known leaves are now in public collections. Parts of what may be
every section of the manuscript have been identified, giving a clearer idea of its
original disposition. Its association with Louis XII has been confirmed, eluci-
dating its character as a precursor of the better-known Hours of Anne of Brit-
tany. While the total number of leaves discovered still amounts to a little less
than half the original number, it is to be hoped that yet more missing leaves
will come to light.
NOTES
1. London, British Library, Royal Ms. 2 D XL; see Janet Backhouse, "Bourdichon's 'Hours of
Henry VII,'" British Museum Quarterly 37 (Autumn 1973), p. 97; George F. Warner and Julius P.
Gilson, Catalogue of Western Manuscripts in the Old Royal and King^s Collections (London, 1921),
vol. i, p. 62.
2. Thomas Frognal Dibdin, The Bibliographical Decameron (London, 1817), vol. i, p. clix.
3. Francois Avril and Nicole Reynaud, Les Manuscrits a peintures en France, 1440-1520, exh. cat.
(Paris, 1993), pp. 295-96. For Mary's biography, see Walter C. Richardson, Mary Tudor., The White
Queen (London, 1970).
4. Lyons, Bibliotheque Municipale, Ms. 1558; Avril and Reynaud 1993, pp. 314-5. A larger and
more spectacular prayer book also decorated by Poyet is traditionally known as the Hours of Henry
VIII (New York, Pierpont Morgan Library, Ms. H.8); Roger S. Wieck, William M. Voelkle, and K.
Michelle Hearne, The Hours of Henry VIII: A Renaissance Masterpiece by Jean Poyet (New York,
2001), pp. 183-85. Its book clasps, with the arms of Henry VIII, appear to be of seventeenth-century
Flemish design (I am grateful to Sophie Lee for this information). The provenance of this volume is
anecdotal prior to its discovery at Mons in 1723. It also came into the hands of George II, who pre-
sented it in 1740 to the electoral library in Hanover.
5. Backhouse 1973, PP- 95~97-
6. Ibid.
7. W Y. Fletcher, "John Bagford and His Collections," Transactions of the Bibliographical Society,
vol. 4, July 1898, pp. 185-201.
8. Ibid., p. 195.
9. Dibdin 1817, vol. i, p. clix.
10. Henry Noel Humphreys and Owen Jones, The Illuminated Books of the Middle Ages (London,
1849, reprinted 1989), pp. 108-13. See also Backhouse 1973, P- 101, and Sandra Hindman and Nina
Rowe, eds., Manuscript Illumination in the Modern Age: Recovery and Reconstruction, exh. cat.
(Evanston, 2001), pp. 165-69,192-93.
11. Derek E. Ostergard, ed., William Beckford, 1760-1844: An Eye for the Magnificent, exh. cat.
(Bard Graduate Center, New Haven and London, 2001).
12. Gustav Friedrich Waagen, Works of Art and Artists in England (London, 1838), vol. 3,
pp. 114-16.
13. A. N. L. Munby, Connoisseurs and Medieval Miniatures, 1750-1850 (Oxford, 1972), pp. 77-78.
14. Messers. English and Son, Catalogue of the Valuable and Costly Effects at 20., Lansdown Cres-
cent, Bath. The Property of the Late William Beckford, Esq. (Bath, July 28, 1848, lot 30), bought by
W. Graves (priced copy in the National Art Library, Victoria and Albert Museum).
15. Gustav Friedrich Waagen, Treasures of Art in Great Britain (London, 1854), vol. 2,p. 422: "Of
the FRENCH SCHOOL I observed some masterly portraits of royal personages, among them Louis
Q0
0 Q
XII, of the school of JEAN FOUQUET..."
16. Sotheby, Wilkinson, and Hodge, Catalogue of Valuable Drawings and Oil Paintings, Forming
Part of the Collection at Quantock Lodge, Bridgewater, The Property ofE.A.V. Stanley, Esq. (London,
July 14, 1920, lot 67); David MacGibbon, Jean Bourdichon: A Court Painter of the Fifteenth Century
(Glasgow, 1933), p. 104. (I am grateful to Christopher de Hamel for the latter reference.)
17. Albert S. Henraux, Les Chefs-d'oeuvre des collections frangaises retrouves en Allemagne, exh. cat.
(Paris, 1946), p. 40, no. 105. (I am grateful to Peter Kidd for this reference.)
18. Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum, Ms. 7, and Chantilly, Musee Conde, Ms. 71; Francois
Avril, Jean Fouquet: Peintre et enlumineur du XVesiecle, exh. cat. (Paris, 2003), pp. 190,196-97.
19. English and Son 1848, lots 36-37, sold for £3 - 6s - od and £i - ics - od respectively, to
W. English, the auctioneer (priced copy of sale catalogue in the National Art Library, Victoria and
Albert Museum).
20. Personal communication, September 9, 2004. Lisbon, Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Ms. M
2, A, B, C; Avril 2003, pp. 190, 192; and idem, "Un nouveau manuscript de Jean Bourdichon: Les
heures de Charles de Martigny, eveque d'Elne" (forthcoming). The leaves appear to have passed
to Hamilton's great-granddaughter, Lady Mary Louise Douglas Hamilton, Marchioness of Graham
and later Duchess of Montrose (1884-1957). They were described as from the collection of the Mar-
chioness of Graham in 1926; Sotheby and Co., Catalogue of the Collections Formed by the Late Lord
Carmichael of Skirling (London, June 8, 1926, lot 485).
21. John Charles Robinson, Descriptive Catalogue of Drawings by the Old Masters, Forming the Col-
lection of John Malcolm ofPoltalloch, 2nd ed. (London, 1876), interleaved page, facing p. 280 (anno-
tated copy in the British Museum, Department of Prints and Drawings). This has thirty further brief
entries for works acquired since 1876, numbered in order of acquisition "Add. 1-30." The last data-
ble entries for miniatures are for acquisitions from the Von Klinkosch sale at Vienna on April 15,1889,
and the final dated entry is for a Raphael drawing bought on June 24, 1891. The Bourdichon minia-
tures were not numbered (but later received the incorrect number 27, written in another hand). This
suggests that they were acquired after April 15, 1889, and in all probability after June 24, 1891. (I am
grateful to Stephen Coppel for assistance.) Robinson initially played a major role in Malcolm's col-
lecting, but there is no mention of the Bourdichon leaves in Robinson's account book for the period
1874-1907 (Oxford, Ashmolean Museum, Department of Western Art).
22. British Library, Ms. Add. 35254, fol. V.
23. British Library, Ms. Add. 35254, fols. U, T.
24. Quoted in Martin Royalton-Kisch, Hugo Chapman, and Stephen Coppel, Old Master Draw-
ings from the Malcolm Collection, exh. cat. (London, 1996), p. 17.
25. Mark Evans, The Sforza Hours (British Library, London, 1992).
26. British Library, Ms. Add. 35254, fols. A-V; Backhouse 1973, pp. 95-96; idem, "Hours of Henry
VII" in Thomas Kren, ed., Renaissance Painting in Manuscripts: Treasures from the British Library,
exh. cat. (Malibu, 1983), pp. 163-68.
27. James Tregaskis, 66 Great Russell Street, London W.C., The Caxton Head Catalogue, No. 789
(February 12, 1917, no. 312). (I am grateful to Martin Kauffmann for assistance with this reference.)
28. Seymour De Ricci, Census of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts in the United States and
Canada, vol. 2 (New York, 1937), p. 2066, no. 250; James R. Tanis, ed., Leaves of Gold: Manuscript
Illumination from Philadelphia Collections, exh. cat. (Philadelphia, 2001), pp. 70-74.
29. Roger Wieck, in Tanis 2001, pp. 70-74.
30. Purchased with the support of the National Heritage Memorial Fund, the National Art Collec-
tions Fund, and the Friends of the VStA; Export of Works of Art 2002-2003, Department for Cul-
ture, Media and Sport (London, 2003), pp. 69-71; Mark Evans, entry in National Art Collections
Fund2003 Review (London, 2004), p. 135.
31. Sotheby and Co., Catalogue of Valuable Printed Books, Autograph Letters and Historical Docu-
ments, Etc. (October 14, 1946, lot 148).
32. British Library, Department of Manuscripts, Maggs Archive, Maggs 1593, folders 1936-1947,
file of W. L. Wood. (I am grateful to Kenneth Dunn and Rachel Stockdale for assistance.)

MARK EVANS
33 • National Library of Scotland, Ms. 8999.
34. Information on inventory card. (I am grateful to Sheena Stoddard for assistance.)
35. Backhouse 1973, PP- 95,101.
36. Ibid. Hickinbotham mentioned the earlier ownership of his miniature in conversation with
Janet Backhouse in 1972.
37. Backhouse 1973, pp. 95-102.
38. Sotheby and Co., Catalogue of Western Manuscripts and Miniatures (July 8, 1974, lot 25);
Christie, Manson, and Woods, Important Western Manuscripts and Miniatures (July n, 1974, lot 7).
39. Christie, Manson, and Woods (July n, 1974, lot 6).
40. Annotated photograph of The Adoration of the Magi, which was in the possession of the late
Janet Backhouse.
41. The Robinson brothers purchased the rump of Phillipps's library, 90 percent of which was still
unlisted, for £100,000. After three major sales at Sotheby's on July i and November n and 25,1946,
they gradually dispersed the collection until their retirement in 1956, and thereafter continued to sort
it. Parts entered their own libraries, which were sold at Sotheby's on June 26-27,1986, and June 23
and November 22,1988. In 1977 they sold its remnants to the New York dealer H. P. Kraus. See A.
N. L. Munby, The Dispersal of the Phillipps Library (Cambridge, 1960), pp. 94-112, and Alan Bell,
entry on Sir Thomas Phillipps in The Oxford Dictionary of National Biography (Oxford, 2004).
42. William Voelkle and Roger Wieck, The Bernard H. Breslauer Collection of Manuscript Illumi-
nations, exh. cat. (New York, 1992), pp. 76-81.
43. Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum, Ms. 79, 79b.
44. Manuel Jover, Les Enluminures de la Collection Wildenstein, Musee Marmottan (Paris, 2001),
p. 24.
45. Avril and Reynaud 1993, p. 294.
46. Hindman and Rowe 20oi, p. 69.
90
Appendix: A Reconstruction of the Hours of Louis XII
THOMAS KREN and P E T E R K I D D
The following reconstruction is based on the observations of Janet Backhouse from her landmark article of
1973 on the Hours of Louis XII, supplemented by additional research. The shelf mark Royal Ms. 2 D XL cited
below refers to the manuscript in the British Library, London.
SECTION OF BOOK SURVIVING LACKING
Frontispiece diptych Louis XII of France Kneeling Facing miniature: The Virgin
in Prayer (PL. i), recto and Child or The Pieta (>), verso
Calendar February with calendar (PL. 2); January, March., April, May,
June with calendar (PL. 3); July, October, November, and
August with calendar (PL. 4); December: calendars and
September with calendar associated illuminations
(PLS. 5-6)
Gospel Extracts Two collects for use after the Miniatures of Saint John, Saint
passage from Saint John (Royal Matthew, and Saint Mark along
Ms. 2 D XL, fol. 52); Saint Luke with associated Gospel extracts,
Writing (PL. 7), recto; with and conclusion of the extract
opening text from the Gospel from the Gospel According to
According to Saint Luke, verso Saint Luke
The Passion According to The Betrayal of Christ (PL. 8),

Saint John reverse unexamined; John Portions of the Passion
18:11-23 (Royal Ms. 2 D XL, According to Saint John:
fol. 2); John 19:7-19 (Royal Ms. John 18:24; 19:6, 20-29, 42
2 D XL, fol. 3); John 19:30-41
(Royal Ms. 2 D XL, fol. 4)
Matins of the Hours of The Virgin of the Annunciation Facing miniature of The
the Virgin (PL. 9), recto; with opening Archangel Gabriel', remaining
text, verso text of Matins of the Hours of
the Virgin
91
SECTION OF B O O K SURVIVING LACKING
Lauds of the Hours The Visitation (PL. 10), recto; Remaining text of Lauds of the
of the Virgin with opening text, verso Hours of the Virgin
Prime of the Hours The Nativity (PL. n), recto; Remaining text of Prime of the
of the Virgin with opening text, verso Hours of the Virgin
Terce of the Hours The Annunciation to the

of the Virgin Shepherds; Terce of the Hours
of the Virgin
Sext of the Hours The Adoration of the Magi Remaining text of Sext of the
of the Virgin (PL. 12), recto; with opening Hours of the Virgin
text, verso
None of the Hours The Presentation in the Temple Remaining text of None of the
of the Virgin (PL. 13), recto; with opening Hours of the Virgin
text, verso
Vespers of the Hours The Flight into Egypt (PL. 14), Remaining text of Vespers of the
of the Virgin recto; with opening text, verso; Hours of the Virgin
a collect to be said after Vespers
(Royal Ms. 2 D XL, fol. 41)
Compline of the Hours Coronation of the Virgin or

of the Virgin Assumption of the Virgin (?);
Compline of the Hours of
the Virgin
Short Hours of the Cross The end of Lauds and most Christ Carrying the Cross or
of Prime (Royal Ms. 2 D XL, The Crucifixion; remaining text
fol. 44) of the Short Hours of the Cross
Short Hours of the Pentecost (PL. 15), recto; Remaining text of the Short
Holy Spirit with opening text, verso Hours of the Holy Spirit
Hours of the Conception The end of Sext, all of None, Joachim and anna at the Golden
of the Virgin Vespers, and Compline (PLS. Gate (?) (full-page miniature?);
16-17; Royal Ms. 2 D XL, remainder of the Hours of the
fols. 38 + 37, 43) Conception of the Virgin
92
SECTION OF BOOK SURVIVING LACKING
Hours of All Saints The end of None, all of Vespers, All Saints (>) (full-page
and Compline (Royal Ms. 2 D miniature?); remainder of the
XL,fol. 42) Hours of All Saints
Hours of the Holy Sacrament Part of a leaf of text Full-page miniature (?);
(Cambridge, Magdalene remainder of the Hours of the
College, Pepys's Calligraphical Holy Sacrament
Collection, vol. i, p. 13)
Penitential Psalms Bathsheba Bathing (PL. 18), Remaining text of Penitential

recto; with opening text, verso; Psalms: Psalms 101:26-29, 129,
and next seven text leaves: and 142
Psalms 6, 31, 37, 50, and
101:1-26 (Royal Ms. 2 D XL,
fols. 6-12)
Litany End of the confessors (with Opening of the Litany; end of

Martin and Gatian of Tours), all the petitions, collects
of the Virgins, and start of the
petitions (Royal Ms. 2 D XL,
foi. i?)
Office of the Dead Job on the Dun^heap (PL. 19), Remaining text of the
recto; with opening text, verso; Office of the Dead
twenty disjointed text leaves
(Royal Ms. 2 D XL, fols. 32, 22,
31, 23 + 5, 25 + 30, 26, 35, 14 +
15, 34, 36, 16 + 20, 39 + 33, 4O
+ 21 + 17)
93
SECTION OF B O O K SURVIVING LACKING
Suffrages for Major Liturgical End of Good Friday, Holy Full-page miniature (?) plus
Feasts and Saints' Days Saturday, Easter Sunday, Saint remainder of suffrages of the
George (April 23; Royal Ms. 2 D Virgin, Apostles, and other
XL, fol. 49); end of Saints Philip major church feasts
and James (May i), the Inven-
tion of the Cross (May 3), the
Ascension (fol. 47); Pentecost,
Trinity, Corpus Christi (fol. 45);
Saint Barnabas the Apostle
(June ii), the Birth of Saint
John the Baptist (June 24; fol.
46); Saints Peter and Paul (June
29), Saint Martial (July 7), Saint
Mary Magdalene (July 22; fol.
48v); end of the Death of Saint
John the Baptist (Aug 29);
Nativity of the Virgin (Sept 8),
Exaltation of the Cross (Sept.
14; fol. 5ov)
Paraphrase of the Psalms Six leaves of abbreviated and Full-page miniature (?);
paraphrased psalms somewhat remaining psalms
similar to the Psalter of Saint
Jerome (British Library, Harley
Ms 5966, fol. 9 and Royal Ms.
2 D XL, fols. 18, 27 + 28 + 29,
19); end of a prayer and two
collects (Royal Ms. 2 D XL,
fol. 51)
Further Psalms One leaf with portions of psalms

2 and 5 (Royal Ms. 2 D XL,
fol. 24)
94
SUGGESTIONS FOR FURTHER READING
On the period
Baumgartrier, Frederic. LouisXII(Scmnton, Pa., 1994).
Camille, Michael. The Medieval Art of Love: Objects and Subjects of Desire (New York, 1998).
Huizinga, Johan. The Autumn of the Middle Ages^ trans, by Rodney J. Payton and Ulrich Mammitzsch
(Chicago, 1996).
On illuminated manuscripts
Avril, Francois. Jean Fouquet: Peintre et enlumineur du XVe siecle (Paris, 2003).
Avril, Francois, and Nicole Reynaud, LesManuscrits apeintures en France., 14.40-1520 (Paris, 1993).
Backhouse, Janet. Illuminations from Books of Hours (London, 2005).
Fay-Sallois, Fanny. A Treasury of Hours: Selections from Illuminated Prayer Books (Los Angeles, 2005).
De Hamel, Christopher. A History of Illuminated Manuscripts, 2nd ed. (London, 1994).
Kren, Thomas, et al., Masterpieces of the J. Paul Getty Museum (Los Angeles, 1997).
Plummer, John. The Last Flowering: French Painting in Manuscripts, 1420-1530 (New York, 1982).
Wieck, Roger S. Painted Prayers: The Book of Hours in Medieval and Renaissance Art (New York, 1997).
On individual French manuscripts by Jean Fouquet, Jean Bourdichon, and their contemporaries
Marrow, James. The Hours of Simon de Varie (Los Angeles, 1994).
Rosenthal, Jane E. The Vatican Hours from the Circle of Jean Bourdichon (Yorktown Heights, N.Y., 1989).
Wieck, Roger S., and K. Michelle Hearne, The Prayer Book of Anne de Breta^ne: MS M. 50, The Pierpont
Morgan Library, New York (Lucerne, 1999).
Wieck, Roger S., William M. Voelkle, and K. Michelle Hearne, The Hours of Henry VIII: A Renaissance
Masterpiece by Jean Poyet (New York, 2001).
95
Index
Page numbers in italics refer to illustrations. Comparative works of art are listed under the respective artist (if known) and/or book in which the work appears.
Adoration of the Magi, The (PL. 12), i, text page with bar border, 5, 5, 10 February (PL. 2), 10, 24, 73, 74, 85, 91
14, 34, 86, pon. 40; 92 Bourdichon of Tours, Jean Flemish illuminator
Alexander, Ann, 86, 87 career, 1-7, 15, 43 text page with bar border, $
Anne of Brittany, 3, 6, 56, 57, 59 and Jean Fouquet, 63, 68, 71 Flight into Egypt, The (PL. 14), i, 14, 36,
Anne of Brittany, Hours of, 2, 5, 6, 9, Bourdichon, workshop of 72, 76, 86, 87, 92
10, 12, 15, i9n. 35; 56, 82, 83, 84 King David in Prayer, 46, 46 Fouquet, Jean, i, 58
Anne of Brittany Kneeling in Prayer, Brandon, Charles, 81 Hours of Etienne Chevalier, 7
3, 3 Breslauer, Bernard H., i, i8n. 4; 86, 87 Arrest of Christ, The, 74, 75
Annunciation to the Shepherds, The, Bristol Art Gallery, 86 David in Prayer, 66, 66
74, 75 British Museum, London, viii, 9, 81, Martyrdom of Saint Apollonia, The,
Lamentation, 3 82, 85, 86 78n. 21
Nativity, The, 4,16 Bude, Catherine, 53 Hours of Simon de Varie, 63, 68, 70,
September, n 76, 77n. 3
Anne of Burgundy, 47 Charlemagne, i, 7, 7, i9n. 22 Female Heraldic Figure, 55, 55, 69
Anne of France (Anne of Beaujeu), Charles VII, 47, 53, 54, 58 Simon de Varie Kneeling in Prayer,
Hours of, 58 Charles VIII, i, 5, 6, 10, I9n. 21; 43, 6,69
Annunciation, The, 13,13 47, 57 Virgin and Child Enthroned, The,
David and Bathsheba, 48, 48 Charles VIII, Hours of 6, 7, 69, 70, 72
Aragon, Ippolita d', Hours of Charlemagne Presenting Charles VIII, and Jean Bourdichon, 63, 68, 71
Betrayal of Christ, The, 12,12 i, 7, 7 Virgin and Child, The, $3, 53, 54
Atkinson, T. L. Charles of Orleans, 6 Fouquet, follower of
John Malcolm of Poltalloch, 84, 84 Chevalier, Etienne, 53, 54 Bathsheba Exposing Herself to King
August (PL. 4), xiv, 11, 26, 72, 85, 91 Chevalier, Etienne, Hours of, 7 David, 56, 56
Arrest of Christ, The, 74, 75 David Giving the Letter to Uriah,
Backhouse, Janet, xi, xiii, i8n. 5; 86, David in Prayer, 66, 66 47,47
9on. 40; 91 Martyrdom of Saint Apollonia, Francis I, 2, 51, 58
Bagford, John, 9, 82, 87 78n. 21 Francois de Bourbon (count of
Bathsheba at Her Bath, 49, 50 Christ Carrying the Cross, 9, 14 Vendome), Hours of, 59n. 9
Bathsheba Bathing (PL. 18), back cover, Clogg, Patricia, 86 David Giving the Letter to Uriah,
40, 42-43, 43-6i, 63, 72, 93 Colombe, Jean, 49 47, 47
measurements of, i9nn. 20, 29 Annunciation, The, 13, 13 Frederick III, 5, 2on. 37; 48
and Penitential Psalms, 15, 45—46 David and Bathsheba, 48, 48 Free Library of Philadelphia, 85, 87
pigments found in, 64, 64, 65, 65, Crohin-La Fontaine Hours
67, 67, 70, 70 David and Goliath, 16, 17 George II, 9, 81, 82, 88n. 4
provenance, i, 86, 87 Cross, Chandlers, 86 Grien, Hans Baldung
Beatty, Alfred Chester, 87 Curmer, Henri Leon, 3 Fall of Man, The, 6on. 16
Beckford, William, 82, 83, 84, 87 Gulbenkian, Calouste, 84
Bedford Master Dean, T. A.
Story of David and Bethsheba, The, William Beckford, Aged 21, 83 Hamilton, Mary Louise Douglas,
47,47 de la Tour Landry, Geoffroy, 50, 56 89n. 20
Betrayal of Christ, The (PL. 8), 12, 30, R.itter Vom Turn^von Den Exempeln Harleian Library, 82
87, 91 Der Gotsforcht von Erbekeit, Der, Henry VT, 47
Boccaccio, Giovanni, 51 5i,5i Henry VII, 81
De cas des nobles hommes etfemmes, Dibdin, Thomas Frognal, 81 Henry VIII, 81
5^,52 Dubreuil, Jean, 3 Hickinbotham, Tom, 86, 87
book of hours known as "La Flora," Dyson Perrins, C. W., 87 Hours of the Conception of the Virgin
15, 79n. 24 (PLS. 16-17), 15, 38-39, 92
Ascension of Christ, 5,5 English, W., 89n. 19 Humphreys, Henry Noel, 82
96
infrared reflectography (IRR), 64, 65, presented by Charlemagne, 7, 7, 8 Poyet, Jean, 3, 81, 88n. 4
76, yynn. 2-3 Louis XII of France Kneeling in Prayer Presentation in the Temple, The (PL. 13),
(PL. i}, front cover, xi, 23, 80 14, 21, 35, 62, 92
Jeanne of France, 6 inscriptions on, 8, 43 dimensions of, i9nn. 20, 29
Job on the Dungheap (PL. 19), 15, 41, measurements of, 84 pigments found in, 63, 64, 65, 65,
73, 77n. 4; 85, 93 pigments found in, 63, 64, 65, 66, 66, 67, 67, 71, 72, 73, 73, 74,
John, Duke of Bedford, and Anne of 66, 68, 69, 77n. 8 78n. 19
Burgundy, Hours of placement, 6, 91 provenance, i, 86
Story of David and Bathsheba, The, provenance, i, 83, 86
46, 47 Louis of Gruuthuse, 8, 9 Robinson, John Charles, 89n. 21
John, Duke of Berry, 51-52, 54, 55, Louis of Orleans, 43, 57 Robinson, Lionel and Philip, 86,
6onn. 22, 25 Hours of, 49 9on. 41
John, Duke of Berry, Belles Heures of, Bathsheba at Her Bath, 49-50, 50 Rothschild, Edmond de, 83
52, 52 Temptation of Eve, The, 49—50, 50
Jones, Owen Lucon Master Saint Luke Writing (PL. 7), 12, 29, 86,
Illuminated Books of the Middle Ages, King ofLydia Showing His Naked 87,91
The, 82, 83 Wife to Gyges, The, 52, 52 de Saint Priest, Jean (and Nicholas
June (PL. 3), 10, 25, 85, 91 Leclerc)
Magdalene College, Cambridge, 81 Louis XII, King of France, and His
Katherine Hours, 3, 63, 76, 77, 77n. 3 Maggs Bros., 86 Queen, Anne of Brittany, 59
Annunciation to the Shepherds, The, Maitre Francois, 3 Schwabach, D. E., 86, 87
74, 75 Malcolm, John, 84, 84, 85, 87, 89n. 21 September (PL. 5), u, 27, 72, 85, 91
Annunciation to the Virgin, The, 70, Marmion, Simon, 15, 70, 79n. 24 September, Calendar for (PL. 6), vi, n,
70, 72, 73, 74 Ascension of Christ, 5,5 28, 91
Nativity, The, 4 Saint Bernard's Vision of the Virgin Sorel, Agnes, 54
Kempster, Christopher, 85, 87 and Child, 54,54, 70 spectroscopy, 65, 66
Kraus, H. P., 86, 9on. 41 Martigny, Charles de, portrait of, 7, 7,
84 Tregaskis, James, 85
Laboucherre, Henry, 83 Mary of France (Mary Tudor), 81 Tres Kiches Heures, 52, 6on. 25
Lansdown Tower, Bath, 82 Master of the Dresden Prayer Book
Latini, Brunette, 50 David and Goliath, 16, 17 Varie, Simon de, Hours of, 63, 68, 76,
Leclerc, Nicholas (and Jean de Saint Master of Jacques de Besancon 77n. 3
Priest) Charlemagne Presenting Charles VIII, Female Heraldic Figure, 55,55, 69
Louis XII, King of France, and His 7,7 Simon de Varie Kneeling in Prayer,
Queen, Anne of Brittany, 59 Master of Jean Charpentier 6, 69
Lewis, John Frederick, 85, 87 Bathsheba Bathing, 56,56 Virgin and Child Enthroned, The, 6,
Limbourg Brothers Master of the Yale Missal 7, 69, 70, 72
Empress Faustina Watching Saint Bathsheba Bathing, 55, 55, Victoria and Albert Museum, London,
Catherine Healed by Angels, 52, 52 Musee Marmottan, Paris, 87 viii, 86
Limbourg, Pol de, 53 Virgin and Child Enthroned with Saint
Louis IX (Saint Louis), 7, i9n. 21; 23, National Library of Scotland, John the Baptist and Saint John the
6on. 22 Edinburgh, 86, 87 Evangelist (triptych), 2, 2
Psalter of Saint Louis, 49, 51 Nativity, The (PL. n), frontispiece, i, 13, Virgin of the Annunciation, The (PL. 9),
Beatus Initial, 45, 46 16, 35, 74, 85, 87, 92 x, 13, 31, 69, 70, 73, 73, 85, 9i
Louis XI, i, 5, 6, 43, 48 Visitation (PL. 10), 13, 32, 86, 92
Louis XII, i, 6, 8, 49, 57, 58. See also Orth, Myra, xiii
Louis XII of France Kneeling in Waagen, Gustav, 82, 83, 84, 87
Prayer; Louis of Orleans Pacht, Otto, 86 Wildenstein, Georges, 87
and Anne of Brittany, 2, 6, 56, 57, 59 Pentecost (PL. 15), 14, 17, 37, 73, 77n. 4; Wood,W. L., 86, 87
and Jeanne of France, 6, 43, 57 85, 92
and Mary of France (Mary Tudor), Pepys, Samuel, 9, 81, 82, 87 X-ray fluorescence (XRF), 64, 65,
81 Perreal, Jean, 3 77n. 7, 78n. 10
in prayer before an altar, 8, 9 Phillipps, Thomas, 86, 87
97
ABOUT THE AUTHORS
The late Janet Backhouse (1938-2004) was Curator of Illuminated Manu-

scripts at the British Library until her retirement in 1998. A wide-ranging
specialist in the history of manuscript illumination, she was dedicated to intro-
ducing the subject to a wider public through exhibitions and publications that
also helped to make the collections of the British Library better known:
Renaissance Painting in Manuscripts., The Golden A0e of Anglo-Saxon Art, The
Lindisfarne Gospels, The Luttrell Psalter, The Sherborne Missal, The Bedford
Hours, and The Isabella Breviary.
Thomas Kren has been Curator of Manuscripts at the J. Paul Getty Museum in
Los Angeles since 1984. He co-organized the exhibition Illuminating the
Renaissance: The Triumph of Flemish Manuscript Painting in Europe, the cata-
logue for which he and Scot McKendrick were awarded both the Eric Mitchell
Prize and the International Eugene Baie Prize.
Nancy Turner is Associate Conservator of Manuscripts in the Department of

Paper Conservation at the J. Paul Getty Museum, where she has cared for the
collection since 1984. Her areas of special interest include the technical study of
painting techniques and materials of Western illuminated medieval and
Renaissance manuscripts.
Mark Evans is Senior Curator of Paintings at the Victoria and Albert Museum
in London. His principal expertise is in the field of fifteenth- and early-six-
teenth-century painting and manuscript illumination. In 2005, his survey vol-
ume The Painted World: From Illumination to Abstraction will be published by
the V&A.
98

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A MASTERPIECE RECONSTRUCTED

Edited by THOMAS KREN with MARK EVANS

The J. Paul Getty Museum

© 2005 J. Paul Getty Trust

viii Foreword WILLIAM GRISWOLD and MARK JONES

xi Preface THOMAS KREN and MARK EVANS

i Jean Bourdichon and the Hours of Louis XII JANET BACKHOUSE

43 Looking at Louis XIFs Bathsheba THOMAS KREN

63 The Manuscript Painting Techniques of Jean Bourdichon NANCY TURNER

81 The Rediscovery of a Royal Manuscript MARK EVANS

91 Appendix: A Reconstruction of the Hours of Louis XII

95 Suggestions for Further Reading

98 About the Authors

Tb e Hours of Louis XII was one of the

WILLIAM GRISWOLD MARK JONES

I. n 1973 the late Janet Backhouse, the

The catalogue incorporates insights and suggestions generously shared by

W h e n Janet initially agreed to contribute to this catalogue, she recalled

THOMAS KREN M A R K EVANS

Curator of Manuscripts Senior Curator of Paintings

In the year 2003 the striking image of

JEAN BOURDICHON AND THE HOURS OF LOUIS

JEAN BOURDICHON AND THE HOURS OF LOUIS XII 5

JEAN BOURDICHON AND THE HOURS OF LOUIS XII 7

JEAN BOURDICHON AND THE HOURS OF LOUIS XII 9

JEAN BOURDICHON AND THE HOURS OF LOUIS XII II

JEAN BOURDICHON AND THE HOURS OF LOUIS XII 13

JEAN BOURDICHON AND THE HOURS OF LOUIS

9. MacGibbon 1933, p. 146.

13. Reynaud in Avril and Reynaud 1993^.293.

16. MacGibbon 1933, pp. 49, 141.

28. Kren in Kren and McKendrick 2003^.333.

30. Tanis 2001, pp. 70-74, no. 16.

JEAN BOURDICHON AND THE HOURS OF LOUIS XII 19

40. Ringbom 1984, pp. 195-204.

I n February 1498, King Charles VIII of

I n relation to the biblical narrative, this depiction takes liberties. I n the

LOOKING AT LOUIS XII'S BATHSHEBA 45

LOOKING AT LOUIS XII'S BATHSHEBA

ASSOCIATIONS OF THE S U B J E C T OF BATHSHEBA BATHING

LOOKING AT LOUIS XII'S BATHSHEBA 49

This conception of Bathsheba as seductress already is evident in literature

THE SENSUAL FEMALE N U D E AND VALOIS PATRONAGE

LOOKING AT LOUIS XII'S BATHSHEBA 51

LOOKING AT LOUIS XII'S

LOOKING AT LOUIS XII'S BATHSHEBA 55

a broad range of French illuminators in a variety of forms, but nearly all of

LOUIS XII'S BATHSHEBA AND THE DISSOLUTION

LOOKING AT LOUIS XII'S BATHSHEBA 57

LOOKING AT LOUIS XII'S BATHSHEBA 59

14. Stahl (2005), p. 326.

20. Kunoth-Liefels 1962, fig. 16.

24. Ibid., fig. 8.

26. Camille 2001, pp. 18-19.

27. Ibid., pp. 9, 12, 18-19.

33. Ekaterina Zolotova, Books of Hours: Fifteenth-Century French Illuminated Manuscripts in

35. Baumgartner 1994, p. 395.

LOOKING AT LOUIS XII'S BATHSHEBA 6i

Jcan Bourdichon ranks as one of the