Grimani Breviary
The famous Grimani Breviary is considered to be one of the most beautiful testimonials to early 16th century Flemish manuscripts. Originating ca. 1510β1520 in Bruges and Ghent, numerous famous miniaturists participated in its genesis, including Gerard David, Simon Bening, and Gerard Horenbout. Over 1,600 pages are thoroughly illuminated and represent an artistic highpoint!
Grimani Breviary
A wonderful calendar is considered to be one of the greatest treasures in the Grimani Breviary: the splendor of the manuscript finds expression in the full-page miniatures with the typical depictions of the course of the agricultural year. For example, there is an especially beautiful scene of winter, which simultaneously depicts an interior space and the events outside under the nightβs sky. Yet this is only one of countless grandiose miniatures adorning the manuscript. 120 full-page and numerous smaller miniatures illustrate Christian scenes above all. This exceptional visual experience is brilliantly rounded out by the exuberant decoration of the ornamental and figurative marginal decorations with flowers, animals, fruits, and architectural motifs.
A Highpoint of Flemish Illumination
The Grimani Breviary is considered to be an outstanding specimen of Flemish illumination during the Renaissance because of its exceptionally high-quality and lavish book adornment, a highpoint in the history of illumination! Originating ca. 1510β20 in Flanders, numerous artists with famous names contributed to its genesis, including Gerard Horenbout, Simon and Alexander Bening, Gerard David, and the so-called Master of the David Scenes in the Grimani Breviary.
Miniature Painting at the Highest Level
The manuscriptβs namesake, Cardinal Domenico Grimani (1461β1523), acquired the codex ca. 1520 and bequeathed it to the Republic of Venice. Thus, the Grimani Breviary belonged to the San Marco treasury until 1781 and is housed today in the Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana in Venice. A splendid binding with dark-red velvet and gilded bronze ornaments makes the connection to Cardinal Domenico Grimani clear. A portrait of him is recorded on the front cover and a portrait of Doge Giovanni Grimani, his father, is found on the back. In this way, the exterior also fits the outstanding position of the Grimani Breviary as one of the most complex and interesting, beautiful and valuable Flemish manuscripts of the 16th century!
Codicology
- Alternative Titles
- Breviarium Grimani
Breviario Grimani - Size / Format
- 1,662 pages / 27.5 Γ 21.5 cm
- Origin
- Belgium
- Date
- 1510β1520
- Epochs
- Style
- Language
- Illustrations
- 120 full-page miniatures and 1550 quarter-pages motifs depicting vegetation, animals, insects and architecture
- Artist / School
- Gerard Horenbout
Simon Bening
Alexander Bening (the Master of the First Prayer Book of Maximilian)
Gerard David
Master of the David Scenes in the Grimani Breviary - Previous Owners
- Cardinal Domenico Grimani
Giovanni Grimani
Doge Pascale Cocogna
Grimani Breviary
August: A Noble Hunting Party
Dressed in the finest garments with elaborate feathered hats and riding gorgeous examples of horseflesh, a group of gentlemen and one lady are out for an aristocratic hunt. The figure in light blue with his back turned to us carries a grey hawk or falcon, the ultimate aristocratic accessory. Walking behind the party are their huntsmen, including a Moor β having exotic servants had been a symbol of great wealth since ancient Rome, when blonde-haired slaves from Germania were highly prized.

Grimani Breviary
February: Rural Life in the Deep Winter
Gerard Horenbout was responsible for the calendar section of this masterpiece. Upon viewing this manuscript in 1521, the Venetian art historian Marcantonio Michiel declared that the calendar miniatures were especially fine, the February scene the best of all. This is an intimate glimpse of rural life when labor grinds to a halt because of snow.
The sheep stay warm together in their stall, a pig and chickens roam the yard, and a little boy pees out the door into the snow as a cat watches. Icicles hang down over the doorway, revealing a warm interior scene showing prosperous, brightly dressed farmers sitting around a fire, the smoke of which rises through a vent in the roof. In the background, a man and mule march toward a village in the snowy landscape.

#1 Breviario Grimani
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