The Hours of Philip the Bold

Differences in palette

Artists' Materials

Three of the main illuminators of the Grandes Heures used yellow sparingly and employed vergaut for green. The Master of the Coronation Book of Charles V, however, painted numerous details in bright lead-tin yellow and combined this same pigment with indigo for his greens.

In the miniatures by the Master of the Throne of Mercy, the orange areas, which he painted with minium like everybody else, have deeper, dark red overtones. This unique feature is due to his use of vermilion, applied as a ‘glaze’ layer over the minium.

The Master of the Coronation Book of Charles V, who was responsible for this miniature, painted numerous images of King Charles V of France and members of his family. Here, Charles’ brother, Philip the Bold, is shown kneeling in prayer, with an open book – perhaps this very manuscript –beside him. Another open book – a Missal – rests beside the chalice on the altar before which Philip, the priest and acolyte kneel. The rubric above the image stipulates that the prayer written on this page is to be said between the beginning of the Mass and the first prayer of the Mass.

The facial types and the bold juxtaposition of contrasting opaque colours are typical of this artist.