St Michael vanquishing Satan, miniature on a leaf from a Book of Hours, illuminated manuscript on vellum [Rouen, c.1500]

An engaging leaf from a Rouennais Book of Hours.

c.180 x 130mm. 18 lines, ruled space: 128 x 82mm., the miniature opening the Suffrage for St Michael in a Book of Hours, rubrics in red, illuminated initials (a few smudges, else in good condition). Mounted and framed.

Illumination:
The Rouennais artist who painted this manuscript was part of a moment of transition in Rouen illumination, as Robert Boyvin (active c.1485-1515) emerged from the shadow of his predecessor, the Master of the Échevinage de Rouen (active c.1465-1485), to become the leading illuminator in the Norman city. Boyvin painted more than fifty manuscripts across his long and successful career, mostly Books of Hours, and his style proved enormously influential on the Rouennais workshops (see I. Delauney, 'Le manuscrit enluminé à Rouen au temps du cardinal Georges d'Amboise: l'oeuvre de Robert Boyvin et de Jean Serpin', Annales de Normandie, 3 (1995), pp.211-244).

Comparisons can be made between this leaf and an Hours sold at Christie's London on 12 July 2023, lot 58, especially in the treatment of the face of the Saint, his porcelain complexion, downward glance, lightly sketched eyes, nose, and mouth, and his gilt-streaked hair. A further parallel can be drawn with another Book of Hours for the use of Rouen at Rhode Island School of Design (2011.30).