Psalter and Biblia Latina

Provenance

Probably made for use in a mendicant context, bearing 15th-century notes. European private collection.

Description / Expertise

In this small bible, all decorative elements have been executed with extraordinary care. The human figures inside the initial-fields are
so meticulously drawn that their gestures and physiognomies seem
to be relating the events in the biblical narrative. The burnished golden background lends a warm tone to the whole decorative scheme. Comparably delicate paintings are known from Parisian workshops of the 13th and 14th centuries, yet these differ stylistically in the manner of
structuring the figures’ faces and clothes. Very few surviving
manuscripts from Metz are in any way comparable with this
manuscript.