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Illuminated Manuscripts at the AmbrosianaAuthor(s): Fernanda WittgensSource: The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs, Vol. 63, No. 365 (Aug., 1933), pp. 57-59+62-64Published by: The Burlington Magazine Publications Ltd.

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A RogerVanDer -Weyden ltarpiece

the Painters' Guild. Had it been painted asa substitute it would naturally have remainedin Brussels, where

,itis said to have been

acquired; while the possessions of the houseof Burgundy passed either into Austria or into

Spain. It is from Spain that the Bostonpicture was brought to America with the

collection of Don Pedro de B6rdon, Duque deDurcal, to be sold in New York (No. 67) in

1889. It was given to the Museum of FineArts by Mr. and Mrs. Henry Lee Higginson30 May, 1893.

II. BY MAX J. FRIEDLAENDER

I am delighted that the cleaning by ourrestorer of the Boston panel has revealed the

picture as it was originally intended to appear.The other two examples of this very famous

composition, in the Pinakothek at Munich[PLATE II, B] and in the Hermitage in Lenin-

grad, now fall into the background, to saynothing of the picture of the Wilczek Collec-

tion, which is obviously a copy of about 150o.The fifth example, often cited, in the

Monastery of S. Trinidad iin Madrid, is stillunknown to me.

The comparison of the replicas is made

very difficult by two circumstances. First,the pictures in Munich and Leningrad aremuch damaged by restoration. Second,precise copies of almost equal worth were often

made in Roger's workshop. The Mirafloresaltar in the Berlin Gallery corresponds in everydetail with the altar in the royal chapel atGranada, to which belongs the panel from theDreicer Collection in the Metropolitan Museumin New York.

In spite of these difficulties all experts will,

I am convinced, agree with the theory thatthe panel in Boston is the original from Roger'shand. Comparison shows that in this picturethe modelling is more delicate, the shadowsmore transparent, the drawing finer, theexpression more tender and noble. WilliamRankin, who, as early as 19o5, decided infavour of the example in Boston (Rassegnad'Arte), will now be seen to have been right.

The assumption is not to be put on oneside that we possess in the panel the altarpiecefrom the chapel of the Painters' Guild inBrussels. The Boisser6e thought that theirpicture, now in Munich, had the above history.They noted once in reference to the picture:" Bought 1814 in Brussels from. the dealerThys, formerly the altarpiece of a chapelbelonging to the Painters' Guild in Brussels."But against this there is a letter according towhich the picture was discovered by a painter'in the possession of an old lady of noble birth.Clearly there is nothing unlikely in the theorythat the Boston picture came from the chapelof the Brussels painters.

ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPTS AT THE AMBROSIANABY FERNANDA WITTGENS

T the special request of the

Director and Curator of theAmbrosiana, Professor Paolo

D'Ancona, the well-known author-

ity on Italian illuminated manu-scripts, has arranged an exhibition of ancientilluminated codices in the " Sala Federiciana."

This exhiibition is an event of great artisticinterest, for not only does it offer to art loversan opportunity of seeing many rare treasures,famous throughout the world, such as the" Homer" of the fourth century and the" Virgil " illuminated by Simone Martini, butby a magnificent series of about 150 codices,it gives them a synopsis of the history of miniia-ture

painting from the classic period to theRenaissance.With this object in view, Professor D'Ancona

made his selection and arranged his material.Many of the exhibits have never been pub-lished before, but have remained in obscurityon the shelves of the Ambrosiana. They comeas a surprise to the specialist and raise manyinteresting problems which we cannot deal withhere. In the space allotted to us we can only

give an outline of the exhibition andbring

a fewunpublished miniatures to the notice of ourreaders.

The Ambrosiana has the rare good fortuneto possess the oldest illuminated codex inexistence, i.e., the " Illiad " of the fourth cen-

tury, so we can go back to the Hellenisticsources of miniature painting which rivalsPompeian work in its vivacity of design, itstastefulness of colouring and its beauty ofdecoration.

This precious manuscript is followed by someByzantine codices which are very little known.They are of great interest, not only to loversof illuminated manuscripts, but to every art

critic and connoisseur, as they afford new andconvincing evidence on the subject of Byzan-tine history. The purely liturgical characterof sixth century Byzantium may still be seen inthe two great books of Homilies of Gregoryof Nazianzen (E. 49 Inf., E 50 Inf.). Theresplendent dresses and fascinating rhythmicalmovements of the figures in the Procession ofthe Virgins and Martyrs in S. Apollinare Nuovoin Ravenna, are repeated in the crowd of the

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IlluminatedManuscriptst the Ambrosiana

Faithful surrounding the saintly Teacher in themargins of these Choir-books produced threecenturies later (ninth century) [PLATE I, Al.On the other hand, the unexpected reappear-ance of Hellenistic elements, which the Byzan-tines had originally adopted and which arecharacteristic of the second "Golden Age," is

evident in the Psalter (M. 54, Sup.), from thelibrary of the Archbishop Gabiele Severo. In thetwo large miniatures-David the Shepherd,and David the Psalmist inspired by an Angel-the ochre, carmine, green and blue of the ancient

painting gleam and sparkle on the purple back-ground. Not even in its earliest period didChristian painting approach so closely toHellenistic style and spirit.

To the following age belongs a Byzantinemasterpiece, saturated with classical traditionand oriental spirituality and unpublished untilnow, a book of " Homilies " of St. JohnChrysostom (A. 172 Sup.). A miniaturewhich takes

up nearlya whole

page repre-sents the Saint bending over a desk to writethe Homilies, inspired by Christ who blesseshim from Heaven. From the Sacred Pagesflows a blue river of light from which His

disciples drink. Each face, each gesture,whether of humble devotion or of ecstasy, is

represented with an art worthy of the mastersof portraitureof the Hellenistic period, but the

play of light and shade and the sublime sym-bolism transfigure the scene into a transcendent

Byzantine vision. Rarely, even at its height,has the creative pictorial art of the Byzantinesbeen successful in blending classic and oriental,realistic and symbolic, as in this miniature.

The variation which Byzantine art under-went in its contact, first with the purelyoriental culture of the Carolingian kings, thenwith the German Empire, and finally with themedieval Italian Communes may be traced in acodex of the School of Cologne of the eleventhcentury (C. 53 Sup.), iin the well-known" Ambrosiana Bible " of the twelfth century(B. 48 Inf.), and in a Missal from Bobbio

(D. 84 Inf.). In the latter we find a Crucifixionin which the dramatic sense of the Byzantinesis enhanced by 'the powerful calligraphyderived from Carolingian sources, and theinfluence of occidental art is already evident[PLATE II, A].

The history of Italian illumination beginswith the Bolognese School and, after the

Byzantine and Romanesque Choir-books comesan example of Bolognese work of the latethirteenth century. This is a codex of theDecretalis (B. 43 Inf.) decorated in the typicalstyle of juridical text books and showing strongFrench influence. Professor D'Ancona thinksthat Oderisi of Gubbio was the artist.

Of the great Emilian School of the four-teenth century, the Ambrosiana possesses a

masterpiece, too well-known to need descriptionhere-the codex that Nicholas of Bologna (B.42, Inf) illuminated with the scene of TheVirtues combatting the Vices, and signed anddated 1354.

To the chief master of the Bolognese Schoolmay, I think, be attributed an unpublishedcodex (C. 96, Inf.) [PLATE I, B] of " TheTragedies of Seneca " in which the initial ofthe first page reveals at once the hand ofNicholas of Bologna. The soft foliage isintroduced into the scene depicted in thecentre in such a way as to form a magnificentand fantastic decoration, worthy of the minia-ture painter of the initial containing theResurrection in the Antiphonary in the Este

Library at Modena. The decoration of the

manuscript in the Ambrosiana must belong tothe later period of the master. In the initials

and ornamentation of the margins there is agreat profusion of Gothic decoration, but inthe illuminations at the foot of the principalpages the artist gives place to the painter, asin the " Lucan " of the Tnivulzo Library. The

Infancy of Hercules, Hippolytus Hunting, The

Slaughter of the Sons of Medea, The Returnof Agamemnon from Troy and his Death, arereal pictures, wherein Nicholas competes withVitale of Bologna in the massive structure ofthe figures, in the vivacity of the narrative

style, and in the taste of the decoration.As we might expect, Lombard Art is most

fully represented at the Ambrosiana. We willonly mention the most noteworthy codices that

mark its development from I3oo to 1500.There is the Ambrosiana Missal (C. 170 Inf.)

illuminated for Robert Visconti about themiddle of the fourteenth century, which, 'in thebeautiful scene of The Crucifixion, shows theinfluence of French Gothic art on the miniaturepainters of Lombardy. There is the " Pas-sionario " (" Book of Martyrs ") (P. 165, Sup.)which Professor Toesca has compared to thatmost exquisite creation of early fourteen cen-

tury Lombard art: " The Pantheon " byGodfrey of Viterbo in the BibliothaqueNationale in Paris. Then comes the famous

Missal of Anovelo of Imbonate, produced atthe end of the

fourteenth century (E. i8, Inf.);the " Pliny " decorated by Fra Piietro ofPavia (E. 24, Inf.); and a whole series ofworks that we owe to the so-called inter-

national art. Some of these show the pleasing,flowing style of the Zavattari; others a morevigorous manner derived from Pisanello.Typical among the latter codices is that con-

taining an " Illiad " (E. 56, Inf.).The illumination of the true Renaissance is

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A-The Faithful and their Teacher, from the Book of Homilies of

Gregory of Nazianzen. Byzantine School. Ninth century. 17 by

I8 cm.

B-The Return and Death of Agamemnon.of Seneca," a Codex attributed to Nichola

century. 5 by ii cm.

C-The Adoration of the Magi, from " The little Office of the Blessed

Virgin Mary." Ferrarese School. Fifteenth century. 9-50 by 13-50 cm.

i !•i::!!i~ ii:

ii •ii!iii•ii i--:-iiiiii ii : i :

t•_i

:i• . - :r:::

:: . : *: ::::

D in nitial in the Book of Exodus,

thirteenth century. Hebrew W ork.

Plate I. Illuminated Manuscripts at the Ambrosiana





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ff-2.xQ1i.,,..........3:: W

AMR'N?

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A-The Crucifixion, from a Missal from Bobbio.

Byzantine School. Tenth century. 23 by 20 cm.

4i

WL

.vif. ............. ..........

Ix AR,S I ,. VINA,TPI I U ' l

P I K ( W A T K

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B-The Attic Nights of Aulo Gellio, from theCodex " Scotti," illuminated by Geraldi.Ferrarese School. 1448. 21 by 16 cm.

iw p sq enL...t

mediiiiha is 'neJ

n:ap:e

C--Christ's Agony in the Garden. Pen-drawingfrom a " Gospel Book." French School. End of

fourteenth century. 15 by 18 cm.

. ....-::41

i-i-Ok

A l . ;

Wt.

I)--Svmbolical Scene, from "The Gift to the

Free," written by the poet Giami. Persian

School. Sixteenth century. ai by 14 cm.

Plate II. Illuminated Manuscripts at the Ambrosiana





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represented by typical humanistic codices byAmbrose of Marliano. In his characteristicFerrarese-Lombard style, Cristoforo de Predisstands alone. We owe to this artist the most

distinguished of the " Little Offices " in whichthe Ambrosiana is so rich-the well-knownBorromeo " Libro d'Ore."

The Ferrarese School is represented by thefamous " Scotti," manuscript that is the" Aulo Gellio " illuminated by Geraldi [PLATE

II, B]. According to Hermann, the work ofthis artist is typical of the purest form ofFerrareseart, and he is gifted with a knowledgeof perspective, and a sense of spaoial com-

position which reveals the influence of Pierodella Francesca.

To the second phase of Ferrarese miniature

painting, derived directly from Padua and

Verona, belongs a " Little Office of the

Virgin "' [PLATE I, c]. In the scene "a

grisaille " of The Adoration of the Magi, the

miniaturist reproduced the throne on whichDonatello placed the Virgin, on the altar of thechurch of S. Antonio of Padua, and the pre-dilection for fantastical decoration, so character-istic of Padua, is evident in the elaboration ofthe pages: putti, candelabra, festoons, foliage,etc. The superb designs of deer in the huntingscenes which decorate the many pages isderived from the naturalism of Pisanello. Thebirds and strange fauna reveal something ofthe capacity for minuteness of detail which ischaracteristic of Flemish art.

In the pages of the Bible of Borso d'Este, thethe miniaturesmost closely relatedto this art arethose by Franco Russi, and a decorative

phantasy, also classical in style, is found inan " Aristotle " of 1483-once in the posses-sion of Mr. H. Yates Thompson in London--attributed to Franco Russi during the last

period of his activity. Russi also inspired theminiaturist of the Ambrosiana " Little Office."

Finally, there is a rich collection of Floren-tine miniatures, among which is a " Cosmo-

graphy " (B. 52, Inf.) of Francesco d'Antoniodel Cherico and a Benedictine Breviary (Z. 33,Sup.) by the great Florentine stylist, Attavante

degli Attavanti.The last cases of the room dedicated to

Cardinal d'Federijo Borromeo are filled with

foreign miniatures. French miniatures form animportant part of this section and, among them,are codices of the highest quality, such as" The Book of the Virtues and Vices," which

may be said to be one of the greatest master-pieces of the French School of the first halfof the fourteenth century.

Another codex worthy of mention because ofthe evidence it affords of the artistic connexion

between France and Lombardy is the Gospel

(L. 58, Sup.) of the end of the fourteenth

century. Professor Toesca thought that it wasa Lombard copy of an original French bookbecause he found in it the arms of the Visconti.The codex is illustrated with pen-drawings of

quite exceptional technical quality and, at thesame

time,unusual

feeing,as

maybe seen in

the pathetic scene of Christ's Agony in theGarden of Gethsemane surrounded by His

sleeping Disciples [PLATE II, C]. Many ofthe illustrations have been touched up at somelater period, but those which are intact are ofsuch merit that we cannot believe them to be

copies. Moreover, it is known that theVisconti had some Franco-Flemish miniaturistsin their service. For example, the " Maitredes Heures du Mar6chal de Boucicout "decorated a manuscript in the Royal Libraryof Turin with the Visconti arms. I think,therefore, that we may regard this codex as an

original work. To the same style of miniatures

may perhaps be traced the very delicate workof the decorators of Sta. Maria dei Ghirli in

Campione-the De Venis.Besides the Byzantine codices, the Oriental

Section includes two Persian texts, one ofwhich contains the famous little moral-religious poem by the poet, Giami, " The Giftto the Free," written in the year of theHejira 886 (1481 A.D.). Festoons of the mostdelicate colours, 'in shades of blue, rose andgreen, and brightened by goldwork decoratethe broad margins of the pages; and theprincipal scenes of the poem are illustrated bythree miniatures which afford abundant proofof the perfection which the Persian Miniaturistshad reached in the sixteenth century [PLATEII, D].

Some of the sacred Hebrew books are instriking contrast to the florid elegance of thePersian manuscripts. One codex containingthe Psalms and interpretationsof the Books ofWisdom has two pages with blue backgroundsand paintings of fantastic symbolism. In aPentateuch of the thirteenth century (B. 30,Inf.) there is a magnificent initial to the Bookof Exodus [PLATE I, D], a miniature of rare

power, in both the colour scheme and the

design. A border of red and green foliageencloses a band, dark green at each end and

red in the middle, studded with gold stars, and,from this background, the splendid goldeninitial stands out. Above, on a gold back-

ground, is depicted the imposing figure of abearded Prophet, with his face turned towardsa plaque of gold, and wrapped in a greenmantle, the folds of which are outlined inwhite. It is certainly Moses, the hero of theBook of Exodus, and the mummy drawn withbold strokes of white on his left and the

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crowned figure on his right are probablysymbols of the servitude in Egypt. Thisminiature is not a mere decoration but, like

the Byzantine work with which we dealt atthe beginning of this article, it symbolizes areligious ideal.

THE GHENT VAN EYCK RE-EXAMINED

BY HERMANN BEENKENN modern art history, the artistic

personality of Hubert van Eyckappears as a shadowy being. Thereare various contradictoryhypothesesabout him and, of late, an attempt

has been made to deny his historical existence

altogether. " Hubert van Eyck, Personnage deL6gende," is the title of a book which hasjust appeared.

I shall not deal with this book exhaustivelyhere. The main object of my research workhas been, not the historical question of thecorrectness, or the reverse, of the tradition

concerningHubert

van Eyck, but the GhentAltarpiece. It is the only work with whichthe name of Hubert van Eyck is directly con-nected. But even this attribution is disputedto-day; the inscription, we are told, is spurious,and Jan van Eyck, mentioned therein as thesecond painter, began the work and painted

,itlone.The above assertion presupposes, one would

think, that the whole work was composed andcarried out according to a uniform plan. Thisdogma of the art historians is one of thosewhich rests on no sure foundation, but towhich, influenced by tradition, we have alwaysclung, and it is this firm belief which has

blocked the way to a better understanding of thetrue facts of the case. Only here and there havedoubts been expressed, but they never carriedmuch weight. Recently Mr. Emile Renders,'the principal champion of the theory thatHubert van Eyck never existed, has statedexactly the contrary of that dogma. Accord-ing to him, the Ghent Altarpiece is an ensembleof pictures which originally had no relation toeach other. Only accidently, and in accord-ance with the wish of Josse Vydt who boughtthem, were they put together to form a wholeas to style, but not as to their several com-ponent parts. Jan van Eyck alone, accordingto Mr.

Renders, paintedthese

picturesbetween

1422 and 1432.In this article I will endeavour to set a third

opinion against these two theories which areso opposed to each other, and to show thatthe Ghent Altarpiece, as it appears to-day, isonly a systematic transformation of a planwhich was originally something quite different.

The evidence which is brought forward hereis based on the following facts and the con-

siderations resulting therefrom [PLATE I]:i. The height of the central panel of the

lower tier-that is the principal picture repre-senting The Adoration of the Lamb, is less byioj cm. than the panels on the adjoiningwings, the frame, both above and below beingcorrespondingly wider.

2. The lower edge of the principal pictureis 4 cm. higher than that of the pictures onthe wings. The contours of the landscapeagainst the sky in the middle picture are also4 cm. higher than those on the wings. If weimagine the central panel 4 cm. lower, we

would then have a uniform lower edge and alandscape running right through the whole,while, as it now stands, there is a discerniblebreak between the landscape of the middlepicture and that of the wings.

3. As a matter of fact, the altarpiece as puttogether in the "Eyck Album" of H. G. Hotho,published in I86I, shows the separate picturesjoined in this way and the difference in heightrectified by the addition of a broader strip ofsky on the upper part of the central panel[PLATEII, c]. This was the first photographicreproduction of the whole altarpiece, taken, itis true, from a copy painted by hand. Thewings were then in Berlin and Brussels, andthe central panel in Ghent, so that Hotho, inorder to make this reconstruction, had to havethe separate parts reproduced in proportionsbearing the same relation to each other asthose of the original. But he did not botherabout the frames, and this explains the disparitybetween his reconstruction and the original asseen in Ghent to-day.

4. The strip which appears in Hotho'sreconstruction, in order to bring the height ofthe pictures and the contours of the landscapesinto line, must also have existed in the original,but was removed later. This is also proved bythe fact that, under the present layers of paint,

traces of rays in plastic relief may be dis-cerned wh'ich do not come together in the Doveon the present upper border of the picture, asdo the visible rays, but converge towards ahigher point above this border. The orginalDove was, therefore, in the strip Io.5 cm. widewhich was subsequently removed, and whichwas formerly above the present upper edge of

SEmile Renders, "Hubert van Eyck, Personnage deLdgende "; Paris-Brussels (G. van Vert), 1933, P. 135 ff.

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