Clothilde Missal

Clothilde Coulaux, a young French woman living in German-occupied Alsace, created this manuscript in 1906, as described in a colophon accompanying her charming self-portrait on p. 173. All 174 pages are illuminated with a rich variety of imagery, including scenes of everyday life, music, feasting, courtship and child rearing, warfare, and regional architecture, combined with more traditional religious imagery. The latter often draw upon prints by Albrecht Dürer, Hans Holbein, and other early masters, as well as stained glass, sculpture, and liturgical instruments. Much of the other imagery, however, is uniquely her own. Paintings of her cat looking out a window, or of couples drinking together, add touches of whimsy and humor. Other images are more sobering, such as those of Habsburg eagles and Joan of Arc, and taken together with her choice to write in French while under German rule, suggest a struggle to define her national identity.

Provenance

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

Created by Clothilde Coulaux, Molsheim, France, 1906 [1]. Acquired by Dorine van Heerdt tot Eversberg, Fine Medieval Books, Amsterdam, before 2007. Purchased by Maggs Bros., Ltd., London, 2014; purchased by Les Enluminures, New York and Chicago, 2014; purchased by Walters Art Museum, 2016.

[1] The colophon on p. 173 records that she completed her work on June 29, 1906, in Molsheim on the Rue Notre Dame, across from the parish church