ANNONCIATION

ANNOUNCEMENT
PARIS, CIRCA 1500-1510
Cut-out leaf from a book of hours
8.3 x 5.8 cm
The Annunciation is set in a Renaissance interior with a gallery
gallery opening onto a landscape. The Virgin is reading her Hours
another book is painted on a table to her left.
The angel in profile greets the Virgin, surprised by her reading. This
miniature belongs to the Master of the Parisian Entrances (Jean Coene
IV?), named after two manuscripts commemorating the entrance
of Claude de France in 1517 and Marie Tudor in 1514
(I. Nettekoven, Das Stundenbuch der Herzzogin Philippa von
Geldern: Jean Coene IV. und die Buchmalerei in Paris um 1500,
Berlin, 2023). His activity began in the 1490s and continued
continued until around 1520, specializing in the production of
of mass-produced manuscripts, such as the books dedicated to the funeral
of Anne de Bretagne (more than thirty) and those of the coronation and entry
of Claude de France. He took part in the impressive Graduel de
Saint-Dié, produced between 1504 and 1516. The canons of Saint-Dié
this prolific artist because of his ability to respond quickly to
respond quickly to large commissions (I. Delaunay, "Le graduel de Saint-Dié
graduel de Saint-Dié", Art de l'enluminure, 26, Sept-Nov. 2008,
p. 52-70). The Annunciation scene finds an equivalent in
several books of hours by the artist Paris, BnF. ms. lat. 13306,
f. 19, Caen, Musée des Beaux Arts, ms. Mancel 238, f. 20, London
Christie's 9 VII 2001 lot 29, f. 25, Tajan, 5 V 2024, Amiens Bm. ms.
2540, f. 1 (for his books of hours see N. Hatot, M. Jacob, Trésors
Trésors enluminés de Normandie. Une (re)découverte, cat. d'expo. Rouen,
cat. 58 (I. Delaunay), cat. 64 (K. Airaksinen-Monier).
The faces of the Virgin and the angel have been retouched by the
Master of Petrarch's Triumphs. You can recognize her hair
with golden rain and pinched faces, to be compared with the
Hours of Anne de Bretagne (Paris, BnF. ms. Nal. 3027, f. 14)
dated circa 1500-1505 (see article on Wikipedia).