Underdrawing
Artists' Techniques
The extensive underdrawing in brown ink which is revealed in the majority of the illuminations, both through thinly laid colours or paint losses and in the near-infrared images, is crucial in distinguishing between the three main artists.
A substantial amount of underdrawing and frequent changes of mind at the painting stage are typical of the Giac Master and the two assistants who painted large miniatures.
The Rohan Master’s work is characterised by elaborate drawing of an idiosyncratic nature. Strings of curly loops resembling doodles and brushed over with a grey ink wash cascade down fabric folds or congregate into pools of drapery.
The Madonna Master instead painted both of his miniatures freehand: neither shows any underdrawing.
The Virgin and Child (prayer Creator celi)
The Virgin and Child are cradled within a crescent moon, a depiction inspired by the Apocalyptic Woman (Revelation 12:4). St Peter leans over the crescent, holding the keys to Paradise and pointing at Christ, the way to salvation. A contemplative St Paul, his sword sheathed, flanks the Virgin on the right. Angels descend from heaven. Their gesturing hands link the group below to the Trinity above, half circled by red seraphs whose arrangement echoes the crescent shape. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit seem to share a body, but have distinct physiognomies. This ingenious visualisation of a central tenet in Christian theology – the triune nature of the three persons of the Trinity – is embedded here in a devotional image. It introduces the prayer to God that begins on the facing page (fol. 137r).
The image of the Virgin and Child within a crescent moon features among the Limbourg brothers’ works and the Madonna Master, who was responsible for this miniature, may have been familiar with them.
The Madonna Master is the most accomplished artist in the Hours of Isabella Stuart. He uses a palette of bright, bold colours – ultramarine blue, vermilion red, malachite green, organic pink and lead white – set against highly burnished gold leaf, outlined in carbon black. Faces and draperies are modelled with subtle, blended brushstrokes. The artist painted this miniature freehand; no underdrawing was detected in the infrared image.