Lombard illuminator - photo 1
Lombard illuminator - photo 2

Lombard illuminator

Lot 39
10.12.2025 12:00UTC +00:00
Classic
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CHRISTIE'S
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Event locationUnited Kingdom, London
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ID 1514539
Lot 39 | Lombard illuminator
Estimate value
£ 7 000 – 10 000
Lombard illuminator
St Benedict, historiated initial ‘V’ on a leaf from a Gradual, illuminated manuscript on vellum [Italy, Lombardy, final quarter 15th century]
A vibrant example of Lombard illumination at the end of the quattrocento.

540 x 415mm. The initial opening the introit ‘Vir Dei Benedictus’, on a ground of burnished gold with acanthus border extension, rubrics in red, 5 lines of text and music on 4-line staves, penwork initial in red and blue on verso, folio number ‘21’ added in the bottom margin (small instances of pigment loss and light surface soiling to initial, text and music a little rubbed and with a few small holes).

Provenance:
(1) Hoepli, Manoscritti, incunabuli, libri figurati, libri rari, opere da biblioteca, edizioni di lusso, legature, Milan, 1923, no 1, described as a leaf from an antiphonal.

The refined shading of the face of St Benedict, with his fine, softly curling beard, the naturalistic treatment of the sky, and the stony foreground are all characteristic of Lombard illumination in this period, reflecting the early 'Leonardesque' currents emanating from Milanese late-quattrocento painters.
Address of auction CHRISTIE'S
8 King Street, St. James's
SW1Y 6QT London
United Kingdom
Preview
10.12.2025 – 10.12.2025
Phone +44 (0)20 7839 9060
Email
4FQ.AYGKAGLUQ@FO3G@
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