Cleveland Museum of Art

Annunciation to the Shepherds: Leaf from a Book of Hours (1 of 6 Excised Leaves)

Henri d'Orquevaulx

Date

c. 1420–30

Medium

ink, tempera, and gold on vellum

Culture

France, Metz, 15th century

Department

Medieval Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

This leaf survives from what must have been an extraordinarily rich book of hours. The elaborate Passion cycle and Suffrages point to an important patron. Internal evidence within the original calendar and texts indicates that Metz was the probable place of production. Stylistically, the illuminations appear to come from the workshop of Henri d’Orquevaulx, a documented Metz manuscript painter. Compositionally, structurally, and stylistically, the miniatures suggest strong links to Netherlandish illumination. It is not known whether d’Orquevaulx came originally from the Netherlands or whether he simply worked or trained there at some point in his career. Books of hours were devotional books popular in the Middle Ages and meant for laypeople, or those not in the clergy.

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