Description
Beautiful facsimile reproduction of manuscript 0148 of the Besançon Municipal Library, Besançon Book of Hours, made in 2020 by the Madrid publisher Orbis Mediaevalis. Dated in the 15th century, made in France by Jean Colombe. Latin and French languages.
The miniatures that embellish this spectacular manuscript are attributed to Jean Colombe, a renowned painter from Bourges and the last great miniaturist produced by France. Although his workshop is located in his hometown, his reputation and renown were not limited to this geographical enclave, but went much further. Charles I, Duke of Savoy, appointed him an official court artist, entrusting him with the completion of several manuscripts, including the famous codex of The Very Rich Hours of the Duke of Berry.
His workshop was commissioned to illustrate both secular and religious texts. This led him to illuminate a large number of codices, showing his unique style in all of them. The originality in the treatment of light and landscapes, unmistakable characteristics of Jean Colombe’s pictorial style, are present in each of the miniatures that decorate the Besançon Book of Hours. A series of full-page miniatures are combined with scenes spanning battles, plagues, torments and miracles, demonstrating Jean Colombe’s style in the most serene and refined version of him.
The outer margins of the pages of this codex are richly ornamented with narrative cycles of Old Testament episodes, ranging from Genesis to the Book of Tobias. The large format images represent in splendid miniatures, the prophecies of the book of Isaiah, showing a faithful reflection of the most representative events of the New Testament.
Jean Colombe’s narrative invention is evident in the three hundred and eighty-six pages that this codex contains, making the Besançon Book of Hours one of the most ambitious illustrative sets that he produced.
Facsimile edition limited to 500 numbered copies with notarial deed.
Facsimile bound in brown leather stamped in gold, format 13.5 x 17.8 cm. 368 pages, all of them with miniatures enriched with gold.
Presented in an elegant open box-case lined with gold-stamped editorial leather, format 13 x 19 x 6.2 cm. With extraction tape.
Accompanied by the corresponding study book, bound in hardcover with illustrated dust jacket, guide tape, 25 x 32 cm format. 176 pages with full color illustrations. Study, transcription and translation by Christine Seidel and José María Salvador. Texts in Spanish (Latin transcription).
Special price for all buyers who purchase this codex and the Book of Hours of Le Peley, his younger brother. Ask us.
Shipping by the buyer, upon request and destination. Ask us without obligation (indicating the reference of the article) any doubt.
