The Master of St Michael
Artists
This illuminator is the most enigmatic artistic personality in the manuscript. Named after his main contribution, the large image of St Michael (fol. 165r), he also painted the Tree of Jesse in the border of fol. 36r. His hand has not yet been identified in other volumes. His style, palette and technique suggest the work of a panel painter. His monumental figures are executed with soft, loose brush strokes. His colour scheme contrasts cold green with warm orange-yellow and pale pink or grey with deep red.
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.