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The Annunciation to the Virgin, miniature from an illuminated Book of Hours, in Latin, on vellum [Southern Netherlands (Bruges), c.1440]
Description
- Vellum
Provenance
Catalogue Note
The artist of this miniature belongs to the Masters of the Gold Scrolls, a group of south Netherlandish illuminators active in the first half of the fifteenth century, who were named after their habit of filling coloured backgrounds with golden foliate ornament (cf. Miniatures flamandes 1404-1482, 2011, pp.140-7). This fashionable style can be found in many Books of Hours but varies greatly in style and quality. The Annunciation here is a fine example and the oval faces with flat noses, small mouths, high sitting eyebrows and yellow strands of hair are finely modelled with minute brush strokes, and are representative of the best achievements of the group. The customary coloured background with liquid gold decoration has been replaced here by a burnished gold ground with the foliate ornament incised into its surface.