Book of Hours of the Bishop Morgades

Book of Hours of the Bishop Morgades

The so-called Book of Hours of the Bishop Morgades is a unique work of book art: a compendium of various pieces of 15th and 16th century illumination, which was compiled in the 19th century at the behest of Bishop Morgades of Vic. 110 pages with gorgeous miniatures and marvelous text with grandiose bordures and other artistic decorations give an overview of the illumination of the Gothic and Renaissance styles. The Book of Hours of the Bishop Morgades offers the opportunity to familiarize oneself with book art from a completely new angle and in the small, hand-held format typical for a medieval book of hours.

A 19th Century Idea

Manuscript No. 88 of the Museu Episcopal de Vic, a piece from the collection of the episcopal library, inspires one with its impressive pictorial adornment. The manuscript was compiled as a compendium of various set pieces at the behest of Bishop José Morgades y Gili, Bishop of Vic in the 19th century. Vic is a city in the province of Barcelona in Spain and a historically-significant diocese with a gorgeous cathedral. Bishop Morgades demonstrated his deep appreciation for the illumination of earlier times with his book of hours compiled from older manuscripts.

Two Centuries of Illumination

The miniatures and visual decoration of the manuscript originate from various workshops in Flanders and Spain. The time period for the creation of these pages ranges from the year 1410 to well into the 16th century. In this way, both the Gothic and Renaissance periods are stylistically recognizable. The Book of Hours of the Bishop Morgades is in the format of a small personal prayer book that one can carry everywhere with them and contains 4 full-page miniatures from the year 1410 and 30 full-page miniatures from the 16th century of its 110 pages altogether. Additionally, 60 pages of text are exuberantly furnished with bordures and other artistic decoration.

Typical Depictions

The wonderful miniature of Saint Catherine with the wheel and supported by a sword presents itself as a striking composition: the saint stands on a checkerboard-patterned floor and before a black background, which is decorated with white ornamentation. A Flemish urban backdrop adorns another page of the manuscript. Also, a few of the pages of text are adorned with exuberant, ornamentally-filled, broad bordures, artful initials, and lovingly-designed flowers and insects.

A Juxtaposition of Styles

The Book of Hours of the Bishop Morgades is a unique work in the history of book art: a compendium that was compiled from various pieces in the 19th century. In this way, the manuscript gives a wonderful, unusual mixture of miniatures and an overview of the development of illumination from the early 15th to the 16th century. It offers the opportunity to familiarize oneself with various miniaturists and their respective works, and to compare their various styles in a single manuscript.