Vatican Library Book of Hours

Vatican Library Book of Hours

The so-called Vatican Library Book of Hours has kept the secret of its thoroughly talented artist to this day. As one of three parts, in which the comprehensive manuscript is divided today, the book of hours represents a small treasure from the valuable collections of the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana. A total of 18 miniatures attest to the outstanding artistry of the Flemish miniaturist, such great names as Robert Campin, Jan Van Eyck, Hugo van der Goes, and Gerard David have been conjectured. Originating from around the turn of the 16th century, the paintings impress through their marvelous spatiality and the fineness of the brushstrokes, but also through the luminosity of the sumptuous colors and the exceptional inventiveness of the masters who realized them!

Only One Part of a Great Treasure

The Vatican Library Book of Hours is a part of a manuscript that is divided into three pieces today: is it stored under the shelf mark Vat.lat. 3768 along with both of the others – Vat.lat. 3769 and the famous Horenbout Book of Hours – in the Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana. The equally-famous Horenbout Book of Hours has also been attributed to the so-called Master of James IV of Scotland. Nonetheless, the Vatican Library Book of Hours keeps the secret of its talented artists to this day!

The Impressive Miniatures of a True Master

Five full-page and 13 additional miniatures are contained in the book of hours’ 338 pages measuring 21.2. x 15.8 cm. Stylistically speaking, these are clearly Flemish and probably come from Ghent or Bruges. Gorgeous original scenes worthy of a larger execution as a panel painting illustrate the text. Thus one finds, inter alia, the depiction of a (funeral) procession of clerics with a precious shrine or a casket in their midst. The procession of honorably strident men in liturgical robes extends in an artfully-arranged procession before the portal of a church. A Flemish cityscape with splendid homes can be seen in the background. Another miniature shows the scene of a confession in a Gothic church space. Additional men and women kneel respectively alongside a cleric and are immersed in confession. Altars, pillars, and a baptismal font in the middle of the choir room adorn the terrific view of the impressive Gothic architecture!

The Mystery Surrounding the Miniatures

The period of origin at the turn of the 16th century in combination with the outstanding miniature paintings points to a gifted and probably also famous miniaturist. Such names a Robert Champin, Jan Van Eyck, Hugo van der Goes, or Gerard David have been hypothesized in research as the artist responsible for the Vatican Library Book of Hours! This precious codex, which does not merely follow the typical form for a book of hours, thus holds a secret that makes it a significant piece of art history and Flemish illumination.