The Macclesfield Master
Artists
The Macclesfield Master designed the overall decorative programme and supplied most of the pictorial contents. Figures displaying a range of emotions and convincing depictions of the human body are characteristic of his style. He painted the full-page miniatures of St Edmund of Bury and St Andrew; an image of Christ as Judge; all but one of the historiated initials; most of the busts and profiles inside other Psalm initials; most of the borders (including figural decoration) and almost all of the bas-de-page scenes.
Historiated initial C: Isaiah prays to God who blesses him (Canticle of Isaiah)
The initial extends into a three-sided bar border incorporating foliate motifs, a bird, a hybrid and two figures that support elements of the decoration like classical caryatids. The flesh of the supporter who is stripped to the waist has been delicately shaded and modelled. A hybrid with an ape’s head is depicted in the bas-de-page.