The Master of James IV of Scotland
Artists
Active c. 1487-1526 probably in Ghent, the Master of James IV of Scotland was one of the most talented and sought after illuminators of the decades on either side of 1500. He is named after a Book of Hours commissioned by the king of Scotland as a gift for Margaret Tudor around the time of their wedding in 1503 (Vienna, ÖNB, MS 1897). He is tentatively identified with Gerard Horenbout, who was first documented in 1487 as a master in the painters’ guild in Ghent. Horenbout became the court painter of Margaret of Austria in 1515, but continued to live in Ghent until the 1520s when he left for England to work for Henry VIII.
The Master of James IV of Scotland contributed three large images of saints to this manuscript (fols. 166r, 168v, 180r). They demonstrate his skill as a portraitist and reveal his collaboration with the Painter of Additional 15677 who worked on some of the borders. The Master of James IV of Scotland may have also provided the small miniature of St Luke painting the Virgin and Child at the beginning of the Mass of the Virgin (fol. 36r), but the border on this page was executed by the Master of St Michael.
St Luke painting the Virgin and Tree of Jesse (Mass of the Virgin)
According to medieval tradition, the Virgin sat for a life portrait to St Luke, a gifted artist. Here, St Luke appears to have started colouring the Virgin’s image on the panel. The Tree of Jesse was a subject with a long tradition in medieval art and biblical studies. Based on Isaiah’s prophecy (Isaiah 11:1-3), it was considered an Old Testament prefiguration of the Incarnation and the virginal birth of Christ. The image also visualised the account of Christ’s genealogy found at the beginning of St Matthew’s Gospel – the very text that forms the central part of the Mass of the Virgin.
Two artists collaborated on this page. The small miniature of St Luke painting the Virgin, with the initial E accommodated within the arched frame, was probably painted by the Master of James IV of Scotland or a close associate who had access to his image models. The Tree of Jesse was completed by the Master of St Michael.