Workshop of the Huntington Master (fl.1570-1600)
A leaf from a Dogal Commission, with the arms of the Bon family of Venice [Venice, final quarter 16th century]
A sumptuous leaf from a commissioneto elected office, possibly made for Alessandro Bon (1514-1566), illuminated by an associate of the Huntington Master.

254 x 173mm. The miniature showing Alessandro Bon (1514-1566) being presented to Christ by St Mark, all within a Renaissance architectural frame with the arms of the Bon family of Venice, per pale, argent and gules (trimmed, a little cockled, a few tiny losses of pigment). Mounted and framed.

Illumination:
The style of illumination is comparable to a number of dogal commissions at the Fitzwilliam Museum (Marlay cuttings It. 50-54), which are attributable to the Huntington Master and his associates. The illumination of ducali was 'serially dominated' over the course of the 16th century by a succession of artists and their workshops (see H. Szepe. 'Distinguished Among Equals [...]', Manuscripts in Transition, 2005, p.442). The Huntington Master led one of the dominant workshops in Venice from the 1570s onwards: he is named after a cutting from a Ducal commission of 1578 (San Marino, Huntington EL 9 H 13, f.10) that opened a commission from Niccolo' da Ponte (1578-85) to Francesco Duodo as Captain of Brescia. Marlay Cutting It.54 is also a commission for a member of the Bon family: the holder is dressed in white (probably a Carmelite) and kneels in prayer before an altar.

The recipient of this commission was a member of the Bon family of Venice, perhaps Alessandro Bon (1514-1566), an intriguing figure who, along with Alvise Cornaro, was one of the great Venetian landowners of the 16th century. His name appears among the Council of Eleven who elected doge Marcantonio Trevisan in 1553. This is perhaps a commission to the Procuratorship of St Mark. In 1565 he plotted against the Republic, and was consequently tortured and executed in Piazza San Marco on 7 January 1566.

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