Livro de Horas de la Condessa de Bertiandos

Livro de Horas de la Condessa de Bertiandos

This manuscript was created for Duarte, Duke of Guimarães (1515-40), on the occasion of his nuptials with Isabel de Braganza in 1537. He was the tenth child of King Manuel I of Portugal (1469-1521) and the ninth for his second wife, María de Aragón (1482-1517), who was the sister of his first wife, Isabel de Aragón (1470-98). Although Duarte’s life was short, his spectacular book of hours is one of the most magnificent works of late medieval book art: its 236 pages are filled with 2,066 illuminations. It is the work of Antonio de Holanda (ca. 1480-1557), one of the leading miniaturists in 16th century Portugal about whom little is known other than he was from Holland, possibly trained by the great Alexander Bening (d. 1519) and thus brought the refinement of Netherlandish art with him to Portugal.

A Gorgeous Glimpse of the 16th century

This rich image program means that the work is pregnant with information on the customs, clothing, and details from everyday life in 16th century Iberia along with an endless number of flowers, fruits, insects, fish, wild game, domestic animals, trumpets and other musical instruments, boats, ladders, farming and nautical instruments, and hybrid forms. Religious iconography like the Holy Shroud is mixed in with these secular themes. Holanda introduced new techniques for lighting a scene and allowed the action to unfold before the eyes of the beholder. The exquisiteness and breadth of the monochromatic range leaves medieval limits behind. Finally, art was a family business and Antonio was the father of Francisco de Holanda, a court painter for King John III (1502-57), essayist, architect, and historian considered to be one of the most important figures of the Portuguese Renaissance.