The Presentation in the Temple, cut from a choirbook, illuminated manuscript on vellum [Florence, c.1340s]

A distinctive example of the style of the great Florentine illuminator Pacino di Bonaguida.

83 x 85mm. The initial 'S' with the Presentation in the Temple likely opening the Feast of the Purification on 2 February: 'Suscepimus Deus'. Mounted and framed.

Illumination:
The present initial, with the distinctive palette of varying tonalities of red, blue and green; the delicate pink stave; and the soft treatment of the faces and hands, is highly characteristic of the work of Pacino di Bonaguida. Pacino was both painter and illuminator, but the final phase of his career appears to have been dedicated exclusively to manuscripts. His style was popular and his workshop productive, and he came to dominate Florentine manuscript production in the first half of the 14th century. His own contributions to his most prestigious commissions—in particular the Laudario of the confraternity of Sant'Agnese di Santa Maria del Carmine in Florence—perfectly exemplify the qualities that caused his success.