Book of Hours of Margaret of Austria and Alessandro de' Medici

Alessandro de’ Medici (1510–1537), named Il Moro, was one of the most controversial Florentine rulers from the House of Medici. Named Duke of Florence by the Holy Roman Emperor in 1532, Alessandro was murdered by a cousin just five years later. Shortly before that in 1536, he married the illegitimate daughter of Emperor Charles V, Margaret of Parma. The precious book of hours, which is stored today in the Biblioteca dell'Accademia Nazionale dei Lincei e Corsiniana in Rome as the Book of Hours of Margaret of Austria and Alessandro de' Medici, was also probably in the possession of his wife.

The Emperor’s Daughter

Margaret of Austria (1522–1586), also known as Margaret of Parma, was only married to the sovereign of Florence for a short time. After Alessandro’s shocking death, the illegitimate daughter of Emperor Charles V was already married a year later to Ottavio Farnese and also exercised political influence under her brother Philip II as governor of the Habsburg Netherlands.

A Gem from the Workshop of Boccardi

The luxurious manuscript originated at the behest of Alessandro de’ Medici. A post–1532 date of origin is confirmed by a detail in its décor: the portrait of Alessandro in the manuscript identifies him as “dux” and therefore must have been created after he was named Duke of Florence in 1532. The impressive visual adornment came from the hand of Francesco Boccardi. He was active between 1509 and 1547 and was the son of Giovanni Boccardi, a famous miniaturist known as Boccardino in Florence under Lorenzo the Magnificent ca. 1500.

A Highpoint of Florentine Illumination

Francesco Boccardi furnished the book of hours with a few full- and even double-page miniatures with a clear connection to the content, which are furthermore designed in an extremely innovative way. Numerous smaller miniatures and countless splendid initials further this impressive pictorial decoration. Lavishly-designed bordures and trim are filled with illusionistic flowers, fruits, small animals like butterflies and birds, gemstones, heraldic motifs with a few small depictions of rulers found among them, and the heraldic badge of the Medici appears again and again. As one of the last books of hours of the Florentine Renaissance to be so splendidly designed overall, the manuscript is wonderfully rounded out with shimmering gold.