Hours of Étienne Chevalier
Encyclopedia
Book of Hours
The book of hours was a devotional book popular in the later Middle Ages. It is the most common type of surviving medieval illuminated manuscript. Like every manuscript, each manuscript book of hours is unique in one way or another, but most contain a similar collection of texts, prayers and...
commissioned by Étienne Chevalier
Étienne Chevalier
Étienne Chevalier was a major civil servant of the French kings Charles VII and Louis XI. He is also notable for commissioning two major works by Jean Fouquet - the Melun Diptych and the Hours of Étienne Chevalier Étienne Chevalier (c.1410, Melun - 1474) was a major civil servant of the French...
, treasurer to king Charles VII of France
Charles VII of France
Charles VII , called the Victorious or the Well-Served , was King of France from 1422 to his death, though he was initially opposed by Henry VI of England, whose Regent, the Duke of Bedford, ruled much of France including the capital, Paris...
, from the miniature painter and illuminator Jean Fouquet
Jean Fouquet
Jean Fouquet was a preeminent French painter of the 15th century, a master of both panel painting and manuscript illumination, and the apparent inventor of the portrait miniature. He was the first French artist to travel to Italy and experience at first hand the Italian Early...
.
Only 48 of its leaves with 47 miniatures survive, dispersed across seven collections in Europe and the United States of America. 40 of these illuminations are held at the Musée Condé in Château de Chantilly
Château de Chantilly
The Château de Chantilly is a historic château located in the town of Chantilly, France. It comprises two attached buildings; the Grand Château, destroyed during the French Revolution and rebuilt in the 1870s, and the Petit Château which was built around 1560 for Anne de Montmorency...
in France.
History
It was probably commissioned by Chevalier for his personal use around 1452, just after he was made treasurer of France by Charles VII of FranceCharles VII of France
Charles VII , called the Victorious or the Well-Served , was King of France from 1422 to his death, though he was initially opposed by Henry VI of England, whose Regent, the Duke of Bedford, ruled much of France including the capital, Paris...
and just after the death of his wife, who does not appear in any of the illuminations with him. He was definitely the commissioner of the work, since his portrait appears frequently in it, as do his full name "Maistre Estienne Chevalier" (notably in the border of the image of The Presentation of the Virgin) and his cypher "EE" in several of the miniatures. It was probably completed around 1460 - François Avril and Nicole Reynaud state that for most of the 1450s Fouquet spent almost all his time on this and another commission from Chevalier, the Melun Diptych
Melun Diptych
Melun Diptych is an diptych created by Jean Fouquet. Commissioned by Etienne Chevalier for the Collegiate Church of Notre-Dame and completed in 1450, one wing currently hangs in the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, Antwerp, Belgium, the other in the Gemäldegalerie, Berlin, Germany.The name of the diptych...
.
The manuscript was owned by Chevalier's descendents until the 17th century and by his last direct descendent, Nicolas Chevalier (1562–1630). The scholar François Roger de Gaignières
François Roger de Gaignières
François Roger de Gaignières , French genealogist, antiquary and collector, was the grandson of a merchant at Lyon and the son of Aimé de Gaignières, secretary to the Count of Harcourt, a member of the Elbeuf branch of the House of Guise. In the late 1660s, he was named écuyer to Louis Joseph,...
indicates that it appeared intact at the end of the 17th century and so it was probably split up over the course of the 18th century, with each miniature cut out to turn them into separate artworks and their textual parts obscured.
40 of the best-preserved miniatures were mounted on wooden panels by a Parisian frame-maker at the end of the 18th century. During the French Revolution
French Revolution
The French Revolution , sometimes distinguished as the 'Great French Revolution' , was a period of radical social and political upheaval in France and Europe. The absolute monarchy that had ruled France for centuries collapsed in three years...
, these 40 miniatures were bought by an art-dealer from Basel who sold them in 1809 to the German banker Georges Brentano. His son Louis sold them on to Prince Henri, Duke of Aumale in 1891 for 250,000 francs. Prince Henry then exhibited them at his château de Chantilly in its Santuario, where they can still be seen.
One miniature of David at Prayer is recorded in 1831 in the collection of the English poet Samuel Rogers
Samuel Rogers
Samuel Rogers was an English poet, during his lifetime one of the most celebrated, although his fame has long since been eclipsed by his Romantic colleagues and friends Wordsworth, Coleridge and Byron...
, close to 40 other miniatures - these passed to the British Museum
British Museum
The British Museum is a museum of human history and culture in London. Its collections, which number more than seven million objects, are amongst the largest and most comprehensive in the world and originate from all continents, illustrating and documenting the story of human culture from its...
in 1886. In 1881, another miniature (of Saint Anne and the three Maries) was bought by the bibliothèque nationale de France
Bibliothèque nationale de France
The is the National Library of France, located in Paris. It is intended to be the repository of all that is published in France. The current president of the library is Bruno Racine.-History:...
. In 1889, comte Paul Durrieu, curator of paintings at the musée du Louvre, oversaw the purchase of a miniature of Saint Martin, and in the Louvre's drawings collection discovered another, of Saint Margaret , which had been presented to the Louvre in 1856. In 1922 he discovered yet another in the collections of Upton House
Upton House
Upton House is a country house in the parish of Ratley and Upton, in the English county of Warwickshire, about northwest of Banbury, Oxfordshire...
, Warwickshire
Warwickshire
Warwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare...
(National Trust
National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty
The National Trust for Places of Historic Interest or Natural Beauty, usually known as the National Trust, is a conservation organisation in England, Wales and Northern Ireland...
), showing St Michael fighting the Dragon. In 1946, two more leaves resurfaced in a sale at Sothebys - these showed The Hand of God protecting the Faithful and A Miracle of Saint Vrain - the first of these was acquired by the banker Robert Lehman
Robert Lehman
Robert Lehman was an American banker, head of Lehman Brothers for decades and a notable race-horse owner, and important art-collector and philanthropist.-Biography:...
, who donated it to the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
in New York in 1975, whilst the latter was bought by Georges Wildenstein
Georges Wildenstein
Georges Wildenstein was a French gallery owner, art collector, editor and art historian.-Life:Georges' father was Nathan Wildenstein, who came from a family of Jewish cattle-dealers but had in 1870 left Alsace aged twenty when it was annexed in the Franco-Prussian War and moved to Paris...
, whose son donated it to the Musée Marmottan-Monet
Musée Marmottan-Monet
Musée Marmottan Monet is located at 2, rue Louis Boilly in the XVIe arrondissement of Paris. It features a collection of over three hundred Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works by Claude Monet , Berthe Morisot, Edgar Degas, Édouard Manet, Alfred Sisley, Camille Pissarro, Paul Gauguin, Paul...
in 1971 along with a collection of other miniatures cut from manuscripts, which has been on show there since 1981. That same year, a double page or bifolium of text from the manuscript was rediscovered in a private collection.
Organisation
For a long time the book's composition was only known from the 40 illuminations in the musée Condé, which only gave a succession of scenes from the life of Christ followed by episodes from saints' lives or from the Golden LegendGolden Legend
The Golden Legend is a collection of hagiographies by Jacobus de Voragine that became a late medieval bestseller. More than a thousand manuscripts of the text have survived, compared to twenty or so of its nearest rivals...
. Yet, like any book of hours, it would originally have featured the three offices from the Liturgy of the Hours
Liturgy of the hours
The Liturgy of the Hours or Divine Office is the official set of daily prayers prescribed by the Catholic Church to be recited at the canonical hours by the clergy, religious orders, and laity. The Liturgy of the Hours consists primarily of psalms supplemented by hymns and readings...
- the Office of the Virgin, the Office of the Passion and the Office of the Holy Spirit.
Also, the book's composition was novel and complex, since each of the three offices was interlaced with some from the other two, making it difficult to determine the order of the illuminations. A certain number of illustrations can also be determined as missing after this order's establishment. The original manuscript probably included an illustration of Saint Luke, of the prayer Obsecro te, of prime
Prime (liturgy)
Prime, or the First Hour, is a fixed time of prayer of the traditional Divine Office , said at the first hour of daylight , between the morning Hour of Lauds and the 9 a.m. Hour of Terce. It is part of the Christian liturgies of Eastern Christianity, but in the Latin Rite it was suppressed by the...
and of Sext
Sext
Sext, or Sixth Hour, is a fixed time of prayer of the Divine Office of almost all the traditional Christian liturgies. It consists mainly of psalms and is said at noon...
of the Office of the Holy Spirit, of sext in the Office of the Passion, along with several pleas or prayers to saints such as Lawrence, Christopher or Sebastian.
List of surviving folios
In the order determined by Nicole Reynaud (2006), the surviving folios are as follows (with the collection being the musée Condé at Chantilly unless otherwise noted):- Saint John on Patmos (Gospel of John)
- Adoration of the Magi (Gospel of Matthew)
- Ascension (Gospel of Mark)
- Étienne Chevalier praying before the Virgin (Office of the Virgin, Matins)
- Visitation (Office of the Virgin, Lauds)
- Arrest of Christ (Office of the Cross, matins)
- Annunciation (Office of the Holy Spirit, matins)
- Nativity (Office of the Virgin, prime)
- Jesus before Pilate (Office of the Cross, prime)
- Announcement of the Virgin's Death (Office of the Virgin, terce)
- Christ carrying the cross (Office of the Cross, terce)
- Pentecost (Office of the Holy Spirit, terce)
- Dormition (Office of the Virgin, sext)
- Funeral of the Virgin (Office of the Virgin, nones)
- Crucifixion (Office of the Cross, nones)
- Fountain of the apostles (Office of the Holy Spirit, nones)
- Assumption (Office of the Virgin, vespers)
- Descent from the cross (Office of the Cross, vespers)
- Right hand of God driving out demons (Office of the Holy Spirit, vêpre), parchment, 19,4 x 14,6 cm, Metropolitan Museum of ArtMetropolitan Museum of ArtThe Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
, Lehman Collection - Coronation of the Virgin (Office of the Virgin, compline)
- Anointing of Christ (Office of the Cross, compline)
- The Holy Spirit illuminating the faithful (Office of the Holy Spirit, compline)
- Marriage of the Virgin (Office of the Virgin for Advent)
- David at prayer (Psalms), 19,7 x 15,2 cm, British LibraryBritish LibraryThe British Library is the national library of the United Kingdom, and is the world's largest library in terms of total number of items. The library is a major research library, holding over 150 million items from every country in the world, in virtually all known languages and in many formats,...
- Funeral scenes (offices of the dead, vespers)
- Job and his friends (Office of the dead, vigiles)
- Pietà (Hymns of the Stabat MaterStabat MaterStabat Mater is a 13th-century Roman Catholic hymn to Mary. It has been variously attributed to the Franciscan Jacopone da Todi and to Innocent III...
) - Saint Bernard (poem by Saint Bernard)
- Saint Michael fighting the dragon (suffrage), 20,3 x 14,2 cm, (of which the miniature 15,7 x 12 cm), Upton HouseUpton HouseUpton House is a country house in the parish of Ratley and Upton, in the English county of Warwickshire, about northwest of Banbury, Oxfordshire...
, Bearsted Collection, National Trust - Birth of John the Baptist (suffrage)
- Saint John the Evangelist and the Wedding at Cana (suffrage)
- Martyrdom of Saint Peter (suffrage)
- Conversion of saint Paul (suffrage)
- Martyrdom of Saint Andrew (suffrage)
- Martyrdom of Saint James (suffrage)
- Martyrdom of Saint Stephen (suffrage)
- Charity of saint Martin (suffrage), 20,9 x 14,3 cm (16,1 x 11,7 cm), musée du Louvre, département des arts graphiques
- Saint Nicolas consecrated (suffrage)
- Saint Hilary at the council of pope Leo IPope Leo IPope Leo I was pope from September 29, 440 to his death.He was an Italian aristocrat, and is the first pope of the Catholic Church to have been called "the Great". He is perhaps best known for having met Attila the Hun in 452, persuading him to turn back from his invasion of Italy...
(suffrage) - Miracle of saint Vrain (suffrage), 22 x 14 cm, musée Marmottan-MonetMusée Marmottan-MonetMusée Marmottan Monet is located at 2, rue Louis Boilly in the XVIe arrondissement of Paris. It features a collection of over three hundred Impressionist and Post-Impressionist works by Claude Monet , Berthe Morisot, Edgar Degas, Édouard Manet, Alfred Sisley, Camille Pissarro, Paul Gauguin, Paul...
, gift by Daniel Wildenstein - Saint Mary Magdalene anointing Christ's feet (suffrage)
- Martyrdom of saint Catherine (suffrage)
- Saint Margaret and Olibrius (suffrage), 8,9 x 11,7 cm, musée du Louvre, département des arts graphiques
- Saint Anne and the three Maries, 16,3 x 12,7 cm (dont miniature 15,9 x 12,4 cm), Bibliothèque nationale de FranceBibliothèque nationale de FranceThe is the National Library of France, located in Paris. It is intended to be the repository of all that is published in France. The current president of the library is Bruno Racine.-History:...
- Martyrdom of saint Appoline (suffrage)
- All the saints, the Virgin and the Trinity (suffrage)
- Double page of text (psalms 129 and 142, and litanies), folioté, 20,1 x 14,8 cm, collection of Roger and Alix De Kesel DeurleDeurleDeurle is part of the municipality of Sint-Martens-Latem located in the Flemish part of Belgium. Deurle is a picturesque small village near the borders of the river Lys and was added to Sint Martens Latem in 1977, counting then around 2000 inhabitants. Many well-known Flemish artists have lived in...
(Belgium)
External links
- Hours of Étienne Chevalier in a virtual exhibition on Jean Fouquet - Bibliotheque Nationale de FranceBibliothèque nationale de FranceThe is the National Library of France, located in Paris. It is intended to be the repository of all that is published in France. The current president of the library is Bruno Racine.-History:...