The Hours of Isabella Stuart

Gospel Sequences and scenes from the Pilgrimage of Jesus Christ

Texts and Images

These extracts from the four Gospels begin with the opening of St John’s Gospel which focuses on Christ’s incarnation. St Luke’s account of the Annunciation and the story of the Magi from St Matthew’s Gospel follow. The series ends with St Mark’s account of Christ’s Ascension. Large images of the Evangelists introduce their respective Gospel Sequences. Every page has a marginal miniature from the cycle illustrating the French poem Pilgrimage of Jesus Christ.

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1
Detail of St John’s face under magnification (20x), taken in raking light. The lighting conditions help appreciate the texture of the painted surface and the thick impasto used for the white highlights on the saint’s forehead and cheek.
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2
Detail of St John’s hair under magnification (16x), with underdrawing in brown ink showing through small losses in the paint layers.
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3
Detail of St John’s blue mantle under magnification (7.5x). Underdrawing in a dark brown wash is clearly visible through a small loss in the surface layer. It also partially shows through the blue paint, contributing to the modelling of the drapery.

St John (Gospel Sequence of St John)

Accompanied by his symbol, the eagle, St John is writing his Gospel, while the devil creeps beneath and spills his ink. The marginal image, the first in the cycle illustrating the Pilgrimage of Jesus Christ, shows the poet receiving a vision of God. The arms of Isabella Stuart have been added to the border.

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