Book of Hours (Use of Utrecht)

Description

This manuscript is a collaborative effort of two talented illuminators with distinctive styles. Ninety-seven historiated initials (letters containing scenes) are by the Master of the Boston City of God, a painter who worked in Utrecht. Four full-page miniatures (small paintings), including the nativity, have recently been attributed to the Master of Gijsbrecht van Brederode. The background of the nativity depicts a distant cityscape (perhaps Utrecht), adjacent to which may be seen the journey of the magi and the annunciation to the shepherds. In the left margin, the Virgin Mary appears to Emperor Augustus and the Tiburtine Sibyl, who, according to legend, foretold the coming of Christ. Like all books of hours made for the use of Utrecht, this volume is not written in Latin, but in a Dutch littera textualis, an elegant Gothic book hand.

Provenance

Henry-Auguste Brölemann (1775-1854), by inheritance to his great grandaughter, Etienne Mallet; Mme Etienne Mallet (1853-1929); [Sale: Sotheby’s, London, 4–5 May 1926, lot 69] (4–5 May 1926); William Randolph Hearst (1863–1951), Beverly Hills, CA; [Sale: Gimbel Bros and Hammer Galleries, New York, NY, 1941, no. 480-4] (1941); Otto Frederic Ege (1888–1951), Cleveland, OH, by descent to his widow Louise Hedwig Lange Ege (-1951); Louise Hedwig Lange Ege (1892-1970), Cleveland, OH, by inheritance to her daughter, Elizabeth Freudenheim Ege (1951-1970); Elizabeth Jane Freudenheim Ege (c.1926–1996), Cleveland, OH, by inheritance to her husband Milton B. Freudenheim (1970-1996); Milton B. Freudenheim (1927– ), New York, NY, gifted to the Cleveland Museum of Art (1996-1998); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (1998-)

Book of Hours (Use of Utrecht)

Master of Gijsbrecht van Brederode

c. 1460–1465

Accession Number

1998.124

Medium

ink, tempera, and gold on vellum; binding: brown Morocco over original wooden boards

Dimensions

Overall: 5.9 x 11.6 cm (2 5/16 x 4 9/16 in.)

Classification

Bound Volume

Museum

The Cleveland Museum of Art

Cleveland, United States

Credit Line

Gift of Milton B. Freudenheim in memory of his wife, Elizabeth Ege Freudenheim