The Macclesfield Psalter

Modelling of draperies

Artists' Techniques

Pink, purple, green and blue draperies were modelled with gradations of colour. Orange robes, on the other hand, have a homogeneous base layer over which the artist applied a red dye. Only in a few instances were dark outlines added as a final step; in most cases, it is the contrast between white and colour – or between orange and red – which defines the drapery folds.

A particular modelling technique, observed for example on fols. 1v and 77r, involves the juxtaposition of mosaic gold and verdigris.

The initial, which has sustained damage to the painted surface, extends into a full bar border incorporating human heads within medallions, a hunter with a hawk and a musician playing a citole. A farmer ploughs with a pair of horses in the bas-de-page. The ploughing scene, a stock motif, is found in several contemporary English Psalters.