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).
Jean Corbechon presenting his translation to the king of France (Dedication and Prologue)
Holding a blank scroll, the king accepts the manuscript presented to him by a kneeling Jean Corbechon who is dressed in the black Augustinian habit of his Order. The French king is seated beneath a canopy adorned with fleurs-de-lis, the emblem of the French monarchy.
Four courtiers witness the event, including Charles V’s brother, Jean de Berry (1340-1416), resplendent in a black robe trimmed with fur. Jean de Berry shared Charles V’s passion for manuscripts and was one of the greatest art patrons of all time. Although the passage of text written below the miniature names King Charles V (1338-1380) as the dedicatee, it has been suggested that the image shows, instead, his successor, Charles VI (1368-1422), who had succeeded to the throne in 1380, and during whose reign the manuscript was made. Figures in the border include an angel playing a harp, two dragons and a hybrid creature wearing a cardinal’s hat.