La Flora Book of Hours
The so-called La Flora Book of Hours in an impressive testimonial to the exceptional art of Simon Marmion. 22 large-format miniatures present gorgeous compositions from the hand of this master, and this is only a small portion of the 100+ miniatures by various great masters of their craft that adorn the precious book of hours. A grandiose overview of 15th century Flemish illumination in a single manuscript!
La Flora Book of Hours
Simon Marmion (ca. 1425–89) was already famous among his contemporaries as one of the greatest miniaturists of his time, the second half of the 15th century. Marmion came from a family of illuminators out of Amiens and was active in northern France and Flanders. He worked in Lille under Duke Philip the Good of Burgundy and also stood in service to Charles the Bald and Margaret of York at the Burgundian court. His painting is characterized by the exceptional, emotional expressiveness of his figures and a wonderful treatment of light.
Various Masters in One Manuscript
In the La Flora Book of Hours, stored today in Naples’ Biblioteca Nazionale “Vittorio Emanuele III” in Naples, the grandiose painting of Simon Marmion is strikingly perceptible. This precious manuscript originated from Flanders during the period of 1483–1505 – presumably in Ghent of Bruges, the centers of the famous Flemish illumination of the 15th century. The manuscript was presumably assembled from fragments of various older manuscripts, which alongside the miniatures by Simon Marmion also contained works of art by the Master of the Dresden Prayer Book, the Master of the Older Prayer Book of Emperor Maximilian I, and the Master of the Prayer Books of around 1500.
The Rich Book Decoration
The book of hours presents 102 miniatures of the highest quality on 736 pages, of which 36 are full-page, 28 half-page, 30 small miniatures, and 24 calendar pictures. Historiated initials and the coat of arms with the insignia of Charles VIII of France (1470–98) additionally adorned the pages alongside rich floral ornamentation. Of the full-page miniatures 22 are from Simon Marmion and 8 from the Maximilian Master. These are all cut and pasted and thus allow one to assume that they originally came from another manuscript.
Close by the Beholder
An idiosyncrasy of this book-treasure is found in Marmion’s miniatures: in an innovative form of presentation positioning the figures at the front of the picture. As a result, they stand near to the beholder and appear almost like portraits, e.g. Elisabeth and Mary in the depiction of the Visitation. These close-up and monumental depictions by Simon Marmion simultaneously effected an unmitigated focus on the main occurrences. In this way, the La Flora Book of Hours simultaneously allows an overview of the Flemish illumination of various artists and gives a wonderful inside view into the art of the great Simon Marmion!
Codicology
- Alternative Titles
- La Flora (Horae Beatae Mariae Virginis)
Il codice Flora
La Flora-Stundenbuch - Size / Format
- 736 pages / 21.5 × 13.5 cm
- Origin
- Belgium
- Date
- 1483–1505
- Epochs
- Style
- Genre
- Language
- Illustrations
- 102 miniatures, 36 of them full-page. Rich floral decoration
- Artist / School
- Simon Marmion (ca. 1425–89)
Gerard Horenbout (ca. 1465 – ca. 1541)
Master of the Dresden Hours (fl. 1460 – 1520)
Master of the First Prayerbook of Maximilian (fl. ca. 1460 – ca. 1520)
The Master of the Prayerbooks of around 1500 (fl. ca. 1485– ca. 1520) - Previous Owners
- King Charles VIII of France (1483–1498)
La Flora Book of Hours
February: Sitting by the Fire
In the cold climates of the Northern Hemisphere, February is often the snowiest and bitterest of the winter months. Labor was virtually impossible during this time in a medieval agrarian society, so rather than a “labor of the month”, the miniature for February typically showed a domestic scene of people gathered around the hearth. Although all richly-clad as nobles, one of the people in this scene is shamelessly emptying a flagon of wine into his mouth as the others look on disapprovingly.

La Flora Book of Hours
Beheading of John the Baptist
This scene is unusual in that it depicts John the Baptist in the moment of his martyrdom, instead of showing the immediate aftermath or the presentation of his head, as is common. Despite the size of this miniature, it is extremely refined with realistic bodies, garment folds, and use of perspective as well as expressive faces, fine architectures, and a pastoral landscape in the background.
The frame is as impressive as the scene itself, and these golden frames with detailed depictions of flowers appear throughout the codex, giving the book of hours its name. Not only are the flowers depicted with incredible realism, but their shadows are as well. A handful of insects, including a marvelous butterfly, pollinate these gorgeous blossoms.

#1 La Flora (Horae Beatae Mariae Virginis)
Language: Italian
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