Cleveland Museum of Art

The Annunciation (Matins, Office of the Virgin): Leaf from a Book of Hours (1 of 3 Excised Leaves)

Noël Bellemare

Date

c. 1530–35

Medium

ink, tempera, and liquid gold on vellum

Culture

France, Paris

Department

Medieval Art

Institution

Cleveland Museum of Art

Unusual in French manuscript painting of the period, fuchsia pinks and bright acid greens characterize the painting’s palette. The figures are set in the foreground of the miniature and enclosed within a "Fontainebleau"-style architectural frame. The 1520s Hours Workshop primarily produced jewel-like luxury books of hours for a wealthy clientele. Evidence points to Paris as the site of the workshop's activity under the direction of the Antwerp-born miniaturist Noël Bellemare (died 1546). Books of hours were often purchased as luxury objects in order to reflect the owner’s status, wealth, and taste.

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