01 Work, Interpretation of the bible, Rohan Hours' Lamentation of the Virgin, Nothing has changed in over 2000 years, with Footnotes #212

Rohan Hours

Lamentation of the Virgin (f. 135, Pl. 57) 

The Hours of the Cross

Tempera paints and gold leaf

 Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, France

The grieving Virgin cannot be consoled by the Apostle John, who looks up in consternation at a saddened God.

The Grandes Heures de Rohan (The Rohan Hours) is an illuminated manuscript book of hours, painted by the anonymous artist known as the Rohan Master, probably between 1418 and 1425, in the Gothic style. It contains the usual offices, prayers and litanies in Latin, along with supplemental texts, decorated with 11 full page, 54 half page, and 227 small miniatures, decorated with tempera paints and gold leaf. The book margins are decorated with Old Testament miniatures with captions in Old French, in the style of a Bible moralisée. The full page illuminations are renowned for the highly emotional and dramatic portrayal of the agonies of Christ and the grief of the Virgin. According to Millard Meiss, "The Rohan Master cared less about what people do than what they feel. More on this manuscript

This anonymous illuminator, known as the Rohan Hours. The Rohan Master's work shows the influence of the greatest Parisian artists of the day. Striking contrasts in scale, distorted perspective, and a forceful linear quality all contribute to the distinctive nature of the Rohan Master's illumination.

Although the Rohan Master's origins are unknown, he seems to have worked early in his career in the Champagne region of France, before moving around 1415-1420 to Paris, where he formed a large workshop and often collaborated with other illuminators. His work during this period encompassed not only books of hours, but several ambitious secular manuscripts as well. At some point, he returned to Champagne, and his later career is closely associated with the Angevin court and its center at Angers. More on the Rohan Hours

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