Instructions to Artists
Artists' Techniques
The instructions were inscribed within the background areas, specifying what colour or pattern they should be painted: ‘rot’ and ‘root’ (‘red’ in German and Middle Dutch respectively, fols. 163r and 174r), ‘himel’ (‘sky’ in German, fols. 166v and 247v), and a phrase which appears to include the word ‘bos’ (‘bouquet of flowers’ in Middle Dutch, fol. 104r). This may refer to the background’s white lilies, the patron’s emblem. It was standard practice for illuminators to paint backgrounds first, before filling in the figures and other components of a given miniature. Often the less demanding task of painting the backgrounds was assigned to assistants, as in this case. The Mazarine Master must have written the instructions for his German- or Dutch-speaking assistants while designing the miniatures.
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.