Book of Hours

Jean Pichore (French, active ca. 1501-1520) (Artist)

Gotha Master (Illuminator)

Guillaume Anabat (French) (Printer)

Gilles Hardouyn (French, active 1497-1521) (Publisher)

Germain Hardouyn (French, active 1505-1540) (Publisher)

ca. 1505 (Renaissance)

paint on metalcut print on parchment
(Manuscripts and Rare Books, Renaissance Europe )

Books of Hours, which contained daily prayers, were the jewels of manuscript production, so the creation of acceptable printed equivalents was challenging. Printing Books of Hours on parchment and employing artists to paint the images and initials by hand went a long way toward retaining the aura of preciousness and individuality found in their manuscript counterparts. The imagery in this book combines metalcut designs by Jean Pichore with the rich illumination of a painter known as the Gotha Master, resulting in a fascinating hybrid of hard printed lines and soft colorful brushstrokes.

Provenance

**Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.**

Acquired by Henry Walters, Baltimore; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.

Exhibitions

2014-2015	From Pen to Press: Experimentation and Innovation in the Age of Print. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.
2009	Prayers in Code: Books of Hours from Renaissance France. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore.
2000-2001	Book Arts in the Age of Durer. Baltimore Museum of Art, Baltimore.

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Geographies

France, Paris (Place of Origin)

Measurements

Overall closed: H: 8 15/16 × W: 5 9/16 × D: 1 7/16 in. (22.7 × 14.2 × 3.7 cm)
Open H: 8 7/8 × W: 9 7/8 × D: 3 3/4 in. (22.6 × 25.1 × 9.5 cm)

Credit Line

Acquired by Henry Walters

Location in Museum

Not on view

Accession Number

In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.

91.614

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