Leaf from Vienna Book of Hours: Virgin and Child

This Book of Hours was written in German in Vienna, Austria, ca. 1460-65. It is one of a series of manuscripts commissioned at the court of Emperor Frederick III of Austria (1415-1493), some of which were made for his son, Prince Maximilian (1459-1519). The name of the artist is unknown, but due to his connection with these commissions, he is known as the Master of the Maximilian Schoolbooks. Unfortunately, only three of the original sixteen full-page, richly painted miniatures remain in this manuscript, but ten of the missing folios have been identified. Nine cuttings are in the Musée Bonnat, Bayonne, France (inv. nr. 1244-1252), and one cutting is in the Cleveland Museum of Art (Dudley P. Allen Fund Accession 1959.40). Other related manuscripts include Vienna, Nationalbibliothek Codicies 2368, 2617, and 2289.

This image would have originally been facing the incipit for matins, but the manuscript was misbound.

Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.

Probably commissioned by a member of the court of Emperor Frederick III of Austria (1415-1493) for his son Prince Maximilian (1459-1519), Vienna, Austria, ca. 1460-65, with illuminations by the Master of the Maximilian Schoolbooks; Bernard Quaritch, London, 1910, [mode of acquisition unknown, no. 238]; C. G. Boerner, Leipzig, November 28, 1912, by purchase [Auction CX]; Jacques Rosenthal, Munich, 1928 [Catalog 90, no. 196] and 1929 [Catalog 91, no. 6], by purchase; Sale, H. P. Krauss, New York, 1959, [Catalog 88, no. 14]; Walters Art Museum, 1959, by purchase.