Book of Hours, Use of Rome

Book of Hours, Use of Rome

This little-known Book of Hours features inventive, elaborate miniatures, which are typical of work made in Lyon in the second decade of the sixteenth century. Each large miniature is surrounded by a distinct, two-level all’antica architectural frame that adapts the vocabulary of Veneto-Paduan illumination to the traditional layout of French-made Books of Hours. This book contains thirteen large miniatures in addition to twenty smaller inset miniatures and twenty-four calendar vignettes of the Zodiac and labors of the months. The artist responsible for these miniatures is identifiable as the Master of the Entry of Francis I (fl. ca. 1493–1517), the anonymous illuminator so named after a manuscript containing fascinating illustrations of temporary “tableaux vivants” set up by the citizens of Lyon throughout the city to greet the French King in July 1515. The artist was active in the city of Lyon from about 1485 to 1515.

Illuminator: Master of the Entry of Francis I

ca. 1505-15

Manuscript on parchment, 137 fols.

Lehigh University, Codex 18 (acc. no. 23450)

Lyon, France