The Morgan Library
225 Madison Ave
212.685.0008
This event has passed.
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Hours of Catherine of Cleves, Illuminated by the Master of Catherine of Cleves, Utrecht, ca. 1440
- When
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Jan 22, 2010 – May 2, 2010
Daily
- Where
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- Price
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$12
- Links
“Taking apart a rare book can be cultural barbarism but that is what the Morgan Library has done to show off its treasure The Hours of Catherine of Cleves. Truth is, disbounding is the best way to appreciate the artistry of the unknown 15th-century Dutch "Master" whose 157 miniatures are each unique. The Master humanizes religious themes, and the final "Office of the Dead" chapter is a sophisticated visual transition from medieval to Renaissance thinking. Demons and Devotion is an apt title for exhibiting 100 pages of the Hours the Duchess used in prayer, because it is also a thinly disguised biography of Catherine's struggles with invaders and her husband Arnold, who is depicted as anything but saintly.”
Patricia Contino, Flavorpill
Note:
A companion exhibit, Flemish Illumination in the Era of Catherine of Cleves, is running simultaneously.
The Morgan says:
The manuscript is as rich in pictures as it is in prayers: it contains 157 (originally 168) miniatures that reveal colorful landscapes and detailed domestic interiors. In The Holy Family at Work, for example, Joseph planes a board and the Virgin Mary weaves while the infant Jesus takes his first steps in a walker. Throughout the miniatures are meticulously depicted buildings, textiles, furniture, jewelry, and even fish—painted over silver foil. Many miniatures comprise long elaborate cycles of iconographic and theological complexity. One such cycle includes eight miniatures detailing the legend of the True Cross. The exhibition also includes manuscripts illuminated by both predecessors and contemporaries of the Master of Catherine of Cleves, who is considered the finest as well as the most original illuminator of the northern Netherlands.
