Book of Hours of Margaret of Austria and Alessandro de' Medici
The so-called Book of Hours of Margaret of Austria and Alessandro de' Medici, originated in Florence in the 1530βs and presents itself as a last highpoint of Italian Renaissance illumination. The manuscript was probably a gift from Alessandro deβ Medici to his wife, Margaret of Parma. The splendidly artistic design is a sign of the grandiose art of Francesco Boccardi.
Book of Hours of Margaret of Austria and Alessandro de' Medici
Alessandro deβ Medici (1510β1537), 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 Emperorβs Daughter
Margaret of Austria (1522β1586), also known as Margaret of Parma, was only married to the sovereign of Florence for a short time. After Alessandroβs 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 deβ Medici. A postβ1532 date of origin is confirmed by a detail in its dΓ©cor: the portrait of Alessandro in the manuscript identifies him as βduxβ 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.
Codicology
- Alternative Titles
- Stundenbuch der Margarete von Γsterreich und Alessandro de' Medici
Libro d'ore di Margherita d'Austria e Alessandro de' Medici - Size / Format
- 300 pages / 19.5 Γ 11.0 cm
- Origin
- Italy
- Date
- After 1532
- Epochs
- Style
- Genre
- Language
- Script
- Humanistic minuscule
- Illustrations
- 7 full-page miniatures, 20 illuminated initials decorated with gold paste, gold powder, and gold leaf, more than 200 initials on painted backgrounds
- Content
- Calendar, Gospel pericopes, prayer times of the Liturgy of the Hours to Mary, Penitential Psalms, Litany of the Saints, Offices of the Dead, Liturgies of the Hours for the Veneration of the Cross and the Holy Spirit, Intercessory Prayers (Suffragia) to St
- Patron
- Alessandro de' Medici, First Duke of Florence (1510β37)
- Artist / School
- Giovanni Boccardi (1460β1529)
Francesco Boccardi (ca. 1480β1547) - Previous Owners
- Margaret of Austria (1522β86)
Book of Hours of Margaret of Austria and Alessandro de' Medici
Madonna and Child
Surrounded by sapphires, pearls, and plenty of gold, the Virgin Mary is shown seated on a cloud and holding the baby Jesus, who grabs at her distinctive blue cloak and appears to be fidgeting as Mary attempts to hold on to him β even the son of God could be a handful. Mary is otherwise richly dressed, and her red dress is highlighted with strokes of gold ink. Books of hours intended for women naturally emphasized the role of the Virgin Mary and various female saints.
Book of Hours of Margaret of Austria and Alessandro de' Medici
Psalm 6
βLord, do not rebuke me in your anger or discipline me in your wrath.β So begins Psalm 6 on a splendid incipit page featuring a historiated initial with King David, gold script against a purple background, and a richly embellished frame featuring portraits of rulers, deer, vegetal motifs, gems, vases, and the image of a woman holding a quill and standing next to a wheel.
King David is depicted as an aging man with a long white beard and dressed in a red robbed trimmed with gold. Rather than holding a classical lyre, he holds a more advanced Renaissance instrument resembling a zither, which can be played by either strumming or plucking the strings. The image is so detailed that the composer-king is shown holding some kind of plectrum.
#1 Il Libro d'ore di Margherita d'Austria e Alessandro de' Medici
Language: Italian
(1,000β¬ - 3,000β¬)
- Treatises / Secular Books
- Apocalypses / Beatus
- Astronomy / Astrology
- Bestiaries
- Bibles / Gospels
- Chronicles / History / Law
- Geography / Maps
- Saints' Lives
- Islam / Oriental
- Judaism / Hebrew
- Single Leaf Collections
- Leonardo da Vinci
- Literature / Poetry
- Liturgical Manuscripts
- Medicine / Botany / Alchemy
- Music
- Mythology / Prophecies
- Psalters
- Other Religious Books
- Games / Hunting
- Private Devotion Books
- Other Genres
- Afghanistan
- Armenia
- Austria
- Belgium
- Colombia
- Croatia
- Cyprus
- Czech Republic
- Denmark
- Egypt
- Ethiopia
- France
- Germany
- Greece
- Hungary
- India
- Iran
- Iraq
- Israel
- Italy
- Japan
- Lebanon
- Luxembourg
- Mexico
- Morocco
- Netherlands
- Palestine
- Peru
- Poland
- Portugal
- Russia
- Serbia
- Spain
- Sri Lanka
- Sweden
- Switzerland
- Syria
- Turkey
- Ukraine
- United Kingdom
- United States
- Uzbekistan
- Aboca Museum
- Ajuntament de Valencia
- Akademie Verlag
- Akademische Druck- u. Verlagsanstalt (ADEVA)
- Aldo Ausilio Editore - Bottega dβErasmo
- Alecto Historical Editions
- Alkuin Verlag
- Almqvist & Wiksell
- Amilcare Pizzi
- Andreas & Andreas Verlagsbuchhandlung
- Archa 90
- Archiv Verlag
- Archivi Edizioni
- Arnold Verlag
- ARS
- Ars Magna
- ArtCodex
- AyN Ediciones
- Azimuth Editions
- Badenia Verlag
- BΓ€renreiter-Verlag
- Belser Verlag
- Belser Verlag / WK Wertkontor
- Benziger Verlag
- Bernardinum Wydawnictwo
- BiblioGemma
- Biblioteca Apostolica Vaticana (Vaticanstadt, Vaticanstadt)
- Bibliotheca Palatina Faksimile Verlag
- Bibliotheca Rara
- Boydell & Brewer
- Bramante Edizioni
- Bredius Genootschap
- Brepols Publishers
- British Library
- C. Weckesser
- Caixa Catalunya
- Canesi
- CAPSA, Ars Scriptoria
- Caratzas Brothers, Publishers
- Carus Verlag
- Casamassima Libri
- Chavane Verlag
- Christian BrandstΓ€tter Verlag
- Circulo Cientifico
- Club BibliΓ³filo Versol
- Club du Livre
- CM Editores
- Collegium Graphicum
- Collezione Apocrifa Da Vinci
- ComissaΜo Nacional para as ComemoracΜ§oΜes dos Descobrimentos Portugueses
- Coron Verlag
- Corvina
- CTHS
- D. S. Brewer
- Damon
- De Agostini/UTET
- De Nederlandsche Boekhandel
- De Schutter
- Deuschle & Stemmle
- Deutscher Verlag fΓΌr Kunstwissenschaft
- DIAMM
- Droz
- E. Schreiber Graphische Kunstanstalten
- Ediciones Boreal
- Ediciones Grial
- Ediclube
- Ediçáes Inapa
- Edilan
- Editalia
- Edition Deuschle
- Edition Georg Popp
- Edition Leipzig
- Edition Libri Illustri
- Editiones Reales Sitios S. L.
- Γditions de l'Oiseau Lyre
- Editions Medicina Rara
- Editorial Casariego
- Editorial Mintzoa
- Editrice Antenore
- Editrice Velar
- Edizioni Edison
- Egeria, S.L.
- Eikon Editores
- Electa
- Emery Walker Limited
- Enciclopèdia Catalana
- Eos-Verlag
- Ephesus Publishing
- Eugrammia Press
- Extraordinary Editions
- Fackelverlag
- Facsimila Art & Edition
- Facsimile Editions Ltd.
- Facsimilia Art & Edition Ebert KG
- Faksimile Verlag
- Feuermann Verlag
- Folger Shakespeare Library
- Franco Cosimo Panini Editore
- Friedrich Wittig Verlag
- FundaciΓ³n Hullera Vasco-Leonesa
- G. Braziller
- Gabriele Mazzotta Editore
- Gebr. Mann Verlag
- Gesellschaft fΓΌr graphische Industrie
- Getty Research Institute
- Giovanni Domenico de Rossi
- Giunti Editore
- Graffiti
- Grafica European Center of Fine Arts
- Guido Pressler
- Guillermo Blazquez
- Gustav Kiepenheuer
- H. N. Abrams
- Harrassowitz
- Helikon
- Hendrickson Publishers
- Henning Oppermann
- Herder Verlag
- Hes & De Graaf Publishers
- Hoepli
- Hortus Deliciarum
- Houghton Library
- Hugo Schmidt Verlag
- Idion Verlag
- Il Bulino, edizioni d'arte
- ILte
- Imago
- Insel Verlag
- Instituto Nacional de AntropologΓa e Historia
- Istituto dell'Enciclopedia Italiana - Treccani
- Istituto Ellenico di Studi Bizantini e Postbizantini
- Istituto Geografico De Agostini
- Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato
- Italarte Art Establishments
- J. Thorbecke
- Jan Thorbecke Verlag
- Johnson Reprint Corporation
- Josef Stocker
- Josef Stocker-Schmid
- Jugoslavija
- Karl W. Hiersemann
- Kasper Straube
- Kaydeda Ediciones
- Kindler Verlag / Coron Verlag
- Kodansha International Ltd.
- Konrad KΓΆlbl Verlag
- Kurt Wolff Verlag
- La Liberia dello Stato
- La Linea Editrice
- La Meta Editore
- Lambert Schneider
- Landeskreditbank Baden-WΓΌrttemberg
- Leo S. Olschki
- Les Incunables
- Library of Congress
- Libreria Musicale Italiana
- Lichtdruck
- Lito Immagine Editore
- Lumen Artis
- Lund Humphries
- M. Moleiro Editor
- Maison des Sciences de l'homme et de la socieΜteΜ de Poitiers
- Manuscriptum
- Martinus Nijhoff
- Maruzen-Yushodo Co. Ltd.
- MASA
- McGraw-Hill
- Militos
- Millennium Liber
- MΓΌller & Schindler
- Nahar and Steimatzky
- National Library of Wales
- Neri Pozza
- Nova Charta
- Oceanum Verlag
- Odeon
- Orbis Mediaevalis
- Orbis Pictus
- Γsterreichische Staatsdruckerei
- Oxford University Press
- Pageant Books
- Parzellers Buchverlag
- Patrimonio Ediciones
- Pattloch Verlag
- PIAF
- Pieper Verlag
- Plon-Nourrit et cie
- Prestel Verlag
- Princeton University Press
- Prisma Verlag
- Priuli & Verlucca, editori
- Pro Sport Verlag
- PropylΓ€en Verlag
- Pytheas Books
- Quaternio Verlag Luzern
- Reales Sitios
- Recht-Verlag
- Reichert Verlag
- Reichsdruckerei
- Riehn & Reusch
- Roberto Vattori Editore
- Rosenkilde and Bagger
- Roxburghe Club
- Salerno Editrice
- Sarajevo Svjetlost
- SchΓΆck ArtPrint Kft.
- Scolar Press
- Scrinium
- Scripta Maneant
- Scriptorium
- SiloΓ©, arte y bibliofilia
- SISMEL - Edizioni del Galluzzo
- Sociedad Mexicana de AntropologΓa
- Soncin Publishing
- Sorli Ediciones
- Stainer and Bell
- Studer
- Styria Verlag
- Sumptibus Pragopress
- Szegedi TudomΓ nyegyetem
- Taberna Libraria
- Tarshish Books
- Taschen
- Tempus Libri
- Testimonio CompaΓ±Γa Editorial
- Thames and Hudson
- The Clear Vue Publishing Partnership Limited
- The Facsimile Codex
- The Folio Society
- The Marquess of Normanby
- The Richard III and Yorkist History Trust
- Tip.Le.Co
- TouchArt
- TREC Publishing House
- TRI Publishing Co.
- Trident Editore
- Typis Regiae Officinae Polygraphicae
- Union Verlag Berlin
- Universidad de Granada
- University of California Press
- University of Chicago Press
- Urs Graf
- Vallecchi
- Van Wijnen
- VCH, Acta Humaniora
- VDI Verlag
- VEB Deutscher Verlag fΓΌr Musik
- Verlag Anton Pustet / Andreas Verlag
- Verlag der MΓΌnchner Drucke
- Verlag fΓΌr Regionalgeschichte
- Verlag Styria
- Vicent Garcia Editores
- W. Turnowsky
- Waanders Printers
- Wiener Mechitharisten-Congregation (Wien, Γsterreich)
- Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft
- Wydawnictwo Dolnoslaskie
- Xuntanza Editorial
- ZakΕad Narodowy
- Zollikofer AG