Getty Museum
Book of Hours
Creator
Master of Sir John FastolfFrench Illuminator · 1420–1450
All works by this person →The Master of Sir John Fastolf was an anonymous illuminator active in France and England in the second quarter of the 1400s, during the period of French-English strife known as the Hundred Years War. The Master's name comes from a manuscript he illuminated for Sir John Fastolf in England around 1450. The Master of Sir John Fastolf first worked in Paris with the Boucicaut Master before 1420 and the
More on Getty ULAN- Date
- about 1430–1440
- Medium
- Tempera colors, gold leaf, and ink
- Culture
- French or English
- Department
- Manuscripts
- Institution
- Getty Museum
This richly illuminated book of hours is a small-scale prayer book made in either Rouen, France or England for an English patron. In addition to scenes from the life of Christ, this book is filled with lively images of saints popular at the time in England and France. The artist depicted important events from the life and death of each holy man or woman, often setting the scenes within lush landscapes. These images would have reminded those who read the accompanying suffrages, or prayers to saints, of the exemplary lives led by these individuals. The illuminator of this manuscript, known as the Master of Sir John Fastolf, trained in the Parisian workshop of the Boucicaut Master. He later moved to Normandy, and by 1450 he was working in England. This artist's international career reflects the movement of illuminators between major artistic centers in Europe, such as Paris, Milan, and Prague, especially around the year 1400. The manuscript displays artists' interest at this time in naturalistic depictions of landscape, patterned backgrounds, and elaborate border decoration, here composed of colorful acanthus leaves and gold ivy.
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