Master of the Mazarine Hours
Artists
The Master of the Mazarine Hours, one of the foremost illuminators working in Paris c.1400-1415, is named after one of his finest works, a Book of Hours (Paris, Bibliothèque Mazarine, MS 469). He is known for his luminous colour scheme and complex mixtures of pigments, carefully blended to create subtle effects. The Master of the Mazarine Hours was a close collaborator of another leading Parisian artist, the Boucicaut Master (c. 1390-1430). Important iconographic and stylistic parallels for the Fitzwilliam’s copy of Corbechon’s text are found in a slightly earlier copy of the same work, which was illuminated by the Boucicaut Master c. 1409-1410 (Paris, BnF, MS fr. 9141).
Physician with scholars and patients (Book 7: On diseases)
A physician, resplendent in a red robe, is seated on an elaborate wooden chair beneath a canopy. Among the patients who approach him, is a man supported by a crutch and another with a broken wrist. The blue background is decorated with jars of white lilies, the emblem of the patron, Amadeus VIII of Savoy. An instruction to the artist who painted the background is faintly visible amongst the jars in the infrared image (see Infrared Layer). Although it is difficult to decipher, the brief instruction seems to include the word ‘bos’ (‘bouquet of flowers’ in Middle Dutch). After designing the miniature, the Mazarine Master must have written this instruction for his assistants, so they would know how to proceed.