Jean Corbechon, Livre des propriétés des choses

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).

Holding aloft a gold armillary sphere, a master gives a lecture on astronomy to four scholars. The chequered background is patterned with stalks of white lilies, emblems of the patron, Amadeus VIII of Savoy.