Leaf from the Hours of Louis XII

From the Getty Museum record

This leaf depicting the Christian story of the Lamentation of Christ evokes the pain of Christ’s mother as she and her companions mourn over his dead body. Jean Bourdichon, official court painter to French king Louis XII, brings to bear his abilities both as a panel painter and as an manuscript illuminator in this scene. The ambitious scale of the miniature and the way in which the figures dominate the picture plane, as if they are actors at the front of a stage, along with the illusionistic gold frame that surrounds the scene impart the sense of a monumental panel painting. Meanwhile, the glowing luminosity of the figures and the attention to detail, down to the delicate tracery of veins visible on Christ’s body, combined with the emotional depth and intensity created by the movements and expressions of the figures are hallmarks of his illumination style. The leaf originally faced a depiction of [Louis XII in prayer][1] accompanied by his patron saints, also in the Getty’s collection. Together, the leaves form a striking diptych that shows Bourdichon at the height of his artistic powers. The Hours of Louis XII was one of the greatest French manuscripts of its time. Only seventeen of the manuscript's original complement of miniatures have come to light, and the Getty has acquired four of them. The other three are the facing leaf discussed above, an image of the [Presentation in the Temple][2], and a depiction of [Bathsheba][3] bathing. [1]: https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/1096S6 [2]: https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/1097M7 [3]: https://www.getty.edu/art/collection/object/1095S8