Getty Museum
A Woman in Prayer before the Virgin and Child
Creator
Egerton MasterFrench Illuminator · 1405–1420
All works by this person →The Egerton Master gets his name from a manuscript in the British Library with the shelfmark *Egerton 1070*--a book of hours. This artist may have been Netherlandish by birth, but his career as we know it began in Paris. There he collaborated with many of the most important manuscript illuminators of the period, including the Boucicaut Master and the Master of the Brussels Initials. His work also
More on Getty ULAN- Date
- about 1410
- Medium
- Tempera colors, gold leaf, gold paint, and ink
- Culture
- French
- Department
- Manuscripts
- Institution
- Getty Museum
- Object ID
- 74e72d88-ae7d-46b2-aeda-55f3dd2fc66d
A noblewoman kneels at the feet of the Virgin Mary and Christ, who are majestically seated on a large throne before her. The woman's ermine-lined gown and elaborate headdress indicate she is a member of the aristocracy. Her appearance here, and in a similar image later in the manuscript, suggests that she may have commissioned this luxurious book. Wealthy women were important patrons of manuscripts, particularly those used for private devotion, such as books of hours and psalters. Although books of hours were written primarily in Latin in the early 1400s, they often included a prayer or two in the owner's native language. This image appears before a prayer to the Virgin written in French, which indicates the text had special devotional meaning for her and required careful reading.
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