(active 1469-1483 in Ghent)

Mary of Burgundy's Book of Hours 1470s Manuscript (Codex Vindobonensis 1857), 225 x 163 mm Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna

This manuscript is a Book of Hours according to the use of Rome. It contains prayers and devotional texts for the private use and edification of the laity. It undoubtedly ranks among the most important works of art ever made in the late Middle Ages. It was originally designed for Charles the Bold, Duke of Burgundy, as a book of mourning, however, the copy in Vienna was conferred a totally different decorative character in 1477 when it was redesigned for Charles's daughter, Mary of Burgundy, on the occasion of her marriage to Maximilian of Austria.

Several illuminators worked on the 20 full-page and 16 small-format miniatures in the manuscript, among them the Master of Mary of Burgundy, Simon Marmion and Willem Vrelant.

The prayer book owes its fame mainly to the two so-called window miniatures. The first one on folio 14r depicts an elegant lady, perhaps representing Mary of Burgundy or her stepmother, Margaret of York, seated at a windowsill and reading a prayer book. On the ledge she has deposited her jewellery and two red carnations. A shimmering glass vase with blue iris flowers completes this still-life. The bull's eye panes of the window are open in order to direct the viewer's eye to the choir of a Gothic cathedral where the Virgin and Child are enthroned.

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Author: MASTER of Mary of Burgundy Title: Mary of Burgundy's Book of Hours Time-line: 1451-1500 School: Flemish Form: illumination