Great Hours of Rouen

Great Hours of Rouen

Antoine Vérard (active 1485–1512) ran a highly successful Parisian workshop that both calligraphed and illuminated luxurious manuscripts as well as printing books with colored woodcuts. Special editions for wealthy patrons could be printed on parchment and then lavishly illuminated to create unique jewels of books art. Printed at the beginning of the 16th century, the Great Hours of Rouen, named after its repository in the Municipal Library of Rouen, is undoubtedly one of the finest masterpieces created by the famous French publisher, bookmaker, and bookseller.

The Transition from Manuscript to Printed Book

Vérard’s career marks the turning point between illuminated manuscripts and printed books. He combined the two techniques by printing cheaper works on paper illustrated with woodcuts and then creating luxury, hand-illuminated versions on vellum for a wealthy clientele consisting of the nobility and the emerging bourgeois class. In either case, an elegant Gothic script was used. Both Charles VIII of France (1470—98) and Henry VII of England (1457-1509) are counted among Vérard’s illustrious customers. Even the less-expensive prints from his workshop could easily be mistaken for illuminated manuscripts made by hand and the ornamental woodcuts created there were rented out to various publishers for their use. Vérard's printer's mark consists of two eagles on a starred base supporting a red heart bearing the three letters AVR.

Stunning Woodcuts

No space is spared in the Great Hours of Rouen – every text page is surrounded by woodcut engravings and every section is preceded by a primary miniature scene, e.g. the Annunciation (f.15r), the Meeting of St. Joachim and St. Anne and the Visitation (f.19r), the Circumcision (f.34v) St. James the Apostle (f.52v), St. George (f.106v), among others. The tremendous popularity of astrology at the time means that it includes an engraving of the Zodiac Man, a common representation of how the position of celestial bodies has effects on specific parts of the body. The frames also incorporate ornamental floral motifs with acanthus leaves in light blue, red or gold. Hand-painted initials precede the printed texts and some are particularly large and ornate. Altogether, this rich image program makes this book of hours one of the most perfect printed works of its time.