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Book of Hours of Daniel Rym
(Manuscripts and Rare Books, Medieval Europe )
This richly illuminated Book of Hours was created ca. 1420-30 for Elizabeth van Munte and her husband Daniel Rym. The couple is represented throughout the manuscript in a number of ways. Rym's heraldic shield is held by a dragon on fol. 42r, while van Munte's heraldy is painted on fol. 18r. Both are also depicted in donor portraits, with Van Munte kneeling on fol. 62r, and Daniel Rym kneeling before his namesake, St. Daniel, on fol. 168v. Made for personal use, this exquisite Book of Hours begins each hour with a full-page miniature. Gold is widely used in the illumination, and drolleries throughout the book depict playful figures and hybrids engaging in a variety of activities, such as reading texts, kneeling in devotion, playing with or climbing the foliate fillet of the initials, or emerging from large flowers. Especially touching is a sweet couple of lovers embracing on the folio facing the Deposition and the Veronica (fol. 118r).
Provenance
Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object.
Commissioned by Elizabeth van Munte and Daniel Rym, Ghent, ca. 1420-1430 [1]. Acquired by Léon Gruel, Paris, late 19th-early 20th century; purchased by Henry Walters, Baltimore; by bequest to Walters Art Museum, 1931.
[1] heraldic shield on fols. 18r and 42r, portraits of Daniel Rym on fol. 168v and of Elizabeth van Munte on fol. 62r
Exhibitions
| 2020 | Van Eyck. An Optical Revolution. Museum of Fine Arts, Ghent, Gent. |
| 2015-2016 | Henry Walters, Léon Gruel, and the Reinvention of the Medieval Manuscript . |
| 2010 | Checkmate! Medieval People at Play. The Walters Art Museum, Baltimore. |
| 2002 | Medieval Mastery, Book Illumination from Charlemagne to Charles the Bold (Meesterlijke Middeleeuwen). Stedelijik Museum Vander Kelen-Mertens, Leuven. |
| 2000 | Small Northern European Portraits from The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. National Gallery of Art, Washington. |
| 1995-1996 | Medieval Games of Love and War. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1992 | Manuscript Illumination in Flanders. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1991 | The Gothic Revival: The Illuminated Manuscript in Medieval and Modern Times. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1988 | Time Sanctified: The Book of Hours in Medieval Art and Life. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1987 | Real People in the Middle Ages: Donor Portraits in Illuminated Manuscripts. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1984-1985 | Illuminated Manuscripts: Masterpieces in Miniature. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1980 | Undercover Stories in Art. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1977-1978 | Splendor in Books. Grolier Club, New York; The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
| 1962 | The International Style: The Arts in Europe Around 1400. The Walters Art Gallery, Baltimore. |
Conservation
| Date | Description | Narrative |
|---|---|---|
| 4/1/1975 | Examination | examined for condition |
| 4/15/1975 | Treatment | stabilized |
Geographies
Belgium, Ghent (Place of Origin)
Measurements
Folio H: 6 1/4 × W: 4 5/8 in. (15.9 × 11.8 cm)
Closed H: 6 9/16 × W: 5 1/4 × D: 1 3/4 in. (16.7 × 13.3 × 4.4 cm)
Credit Line
Acquired by Henry Walters, after 1894
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.
In libraries, galleries, museums, and archives, an accession number is a unique identifier assigned to each object in the collection.
W.166
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Related Objects
Leaf from Book of Hours of Daniel Rym and Elisabeth van Munte
Leaf from Book of Hours of Daniel Rym and Elisabeth van Munte
