Book of hours by Giangaleazzo Visconti

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The book of hours by Giangaleazzo Visconti , Duke of Milan , is considered one of the most beautiful Italian books of hours. It was started in 1388 by Giovannino de 'Grassi and completed around 1428 by Belbello da Pavia during the reign of his son Filippo Maria Visconti .

description

Liturgy of Rome . Italy , Milan , around 1388–1395, completed after 1428; in two parts 24.7 × 17.5 cm, 151ff, and 25 × 17.9 cm, 167ff.
Miniatures and figurative initials with decorative borders .
Biblioteca Nazionale , Florence , BR 397 and LF 22

Performing artist

The style of the first artist, Giovannino de 'Grassi, is evident in the above illustration from the Psalter . The picture marks the beginning of the 11th section of Psalm 119: “My soul longs for your salvation; i hope on your word My eyes long for your word and say, 'When will you comfort me?' ”Above the miniature there is a free line, probably intended for a line to announce this passage that was intended in the breviary for the sext of Sunday.

Within the initial D ("Defecit in salutari tuo anima mea"), psalmist King David sits under a canopy and raises his oversized left hand, as if to indicate God the Father , who looks inconspicuously from behind the spiral frame filled with heraldic lilies. As well can be David's gesture as an indication of the text or anywhere to be found crest of the Visconti , the Viper indicate in the corners of the frame. In the lower edge Giangaleazzo appears in profile, posing in a medallion , looking over the side with conscious indifference. At the top is his motto "A droyt". The well-observed animals at the foot of the two golden trees are also interesting. On the right a group of red deer , without noticing the two hunting dogs that have tracked the game from the other side of the edge.

The theme of the second miniature is a scene of creation , as an example of the part decorated by Belbello da Pavia . A stern-looking Almighty hovers over a stormy sea full of ships, but attention is focused on the creation of the birds at the bottom. Many of them are birds of prey , hawks and hawks when chasing rabbits . On the floor is one of the most common motifs in medieval animal depiction , the hawk on a duck , next to it a peacock and a parrot . The other birds are shown in various stages of flight. In the upper part they bear the strong emblems of the coat of arms , groups of angels hold helmets decorated with crowns with the Visconti crest. On both sides of the creator there is another Visconti emblem, a pink helmeted lion with feathers as a helmet ornament, sitting in the fire and holding two buckets hanging on a stick. As a further decorative accessory, the Visconti coat of arms of a writhing snake devouring a child is shown five times on this overcrowded page.

Despite the masterful overall impression, the Belbellos part leaves a disturbing effect, especially due to the violent, often cruel scenes from the Old Testament . This cycle with pictures from the Old Testament is without example in books of hours. In this context, the family life of the Visconti and other despots of northern Italy provided an inexhaustible source of dark tragedies over time.

literature

  • The Book of Hours by Giangaleazzo Visconti, Duke of Milan. In: John Harthan: Books of hours and their owners. Translated by Regine Klett. Herder, Freiburg (Breisgau) et al. 1977, ISBN 3-451-17907-5 , pp. 74-77.
  • Carmen Rob-Santer: The Trecento equipment of the Visconti Book of Hours - A workshop report. In: Christine Beier, Evelyn Theresia Kubina (ed.): Paths to the illuminated book. Production conditions for book illumination in the Middle Ages and early modern times. Vienna 2014, pp. 125–147, ISBN 978-3-205-79491-2 ( online ).

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