Bening, Simon. Flämischer Kalender. Clm 23638 der Bayerischen Staatsbibliothek in München. Faksimile, Kommentar und Transkription und Übersetzung. 2 Bände und 1 Heft. 14 x 10,5 cm bzw. 21 x 15 cm. Violetter OSamtband über Holzdeckeln mit 8 silbernen Eckbeschlägen und sternförmiger silbener Vignette auf den Deckeln bzw. OSamtband bzw. OUmschlag (mit kleinen Quetschfalten ), zusammen in OPlexiglasschuber (gering berieben). Luzern, Faksimile Verlag, 1987. -- Simon Benings Flämischer Kalender, der aus dem Kalenderteil eines Stundenbuches besteht und somit ein Fragment ist, stellt einen der schönsten Landschaftszyklen innerhalb eines Kalenders überhaupt dar. Er ist nicht nur ein Meilenstein flämischer Buchmalerei des 16. Jahrhunderts, sondern auch ein Höhepunkt in Benings künstlerischer Entwicklung als Landschaftsilluminator. – Wohlerhalten.
Bening, Simon. Das Blumen-Stundenbuch. Le livre d'heures aux fleurs. Clm 23637, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek München. Faksimile und Kommentar. 2 Bände. 16,5 x 11,5 cm bzw. 32 x 23 cm. OSamt mit dreiseitigem Goldschnitt bzw. OSamt mit goldgeprägtem RSchild, zusammen in OPlexiglasschuber. Luzern, Faksimile Verlag, 1991. -- Eines von 290 arabisch nummerierten Exemplaren (Gesamtauflage: 980). Originalgetreue Nachbildung der Bilderhandschrift Clm 23637 in der Bayerischen Staatsbibliothek München, mit dem Kommentar von Bodo Brinkmann und Eberhard König. Das kurz nach 1520 in Gent oder Brügge entstandene Stundenbuch mit Streumustern von Blumen und Vögeln auf jeder Textseite und 70 Miniaturen wird dem flämischer Miniaturenmaler Simon Bening (1483-1561) zugeschrieben. – Nahezu tadellos frisch und sauber.
Attribué à Simon BENING Gand, 1483-84 - Bruges, 1561 Scènes de la vie de la Vierge : l'Annonciation, le Repos pendant la Fuite en Egypte, la Nativité et le Couronnement de la Vierge Petit polyptique portatif composé de quatre panneaux peints Dimensions ouvert : 24 x 24,50 cm Dimensions fermé : 12 x 7,50 cm Scenes from the life of the Virgin: the Annunciation, the Rest during the flight into Egypt, the Nativity and the Coronation of the Virgin, small polyptych with four painted panels, attr. to S. Bening Open : 9,45 x 9,65 in. ; Closed : 4,72 x 2,95 in. Provenance : Galerie Robert Finck, Bruxelles, en 1965 ; Collection baron et baronne Vaxelaire, Bruxelles ; Puis par descendance Expositions : 'Exposition de tableaux de maîtres flamands du XVIe au XVIIe siècle', Bruxelles, galerie Robert Finck, 1965, n° 7 '1000 Jaar Kunst en Cultuur', Gand, musée des Beaux-Arts, 19 avril - 29 juin 1975, fig. 38, une étiquette au verso du présentoir Commentaire : Le XVe siècle représente pour les Pays-Bas une période particulièrement prospère. Située non loin de la côte Nord de l'actuelle Belgique, la ville de Bruges entretenait des relations commerciales importantes avec l'Italie et l'Espagne, ainsi qu'avec l'Angleterre et les états allemands. La résidence du Prinsenhof accueillait régulièrement les ducs de Bourgogne et leur cour, ne manquant pas d'attirer ainsi les artistes. Les plus grands noms de ce qu'il est convenu d'appeler les Primitifs flamands s'y succédèrent : Jan van Eyck, Petrus Christus, Hans Memling ou encore Gerard David qui vient clore cette prestigieuse liste. Tous laissèrent une empreinte notable sur les artistes de la génération suivante, actifs au début du XVIe siècle, la plus durable étant sans doute celle du tournaisien Rogier van der Weyden. Ce délicat petit polyptique illustrant la vie de la Vierge, la mesure et la douceur qui s'en dégagent, sont caractéristiques de cette école brugeoise. Il témoigne de la dévotion alors pratiquée par les fidèles dans l'intimité, en dehors des lieux de culte et de la vie publique, issue notamment du mouvement de la 'Devotio moderna' qui naît aux Pays-Bas au XIVe siècle et met l'accent sur la vie intérieure par la lecture de textes, la méditation et la prière au sein de la sphère domestique. Les représentations religieuses de petit format, aisément transportables, se multiplièrent pour aider les fidèles à la contemplation et au recueillement. Parmi les iconographies privilégiées par ces supports de prière, les représentations de Marie sont nombreuses, souvent sous les traits de la Vierge à l'Enfant, ou de la Vierge de douleur. Ici, chaque volet illustre un épisode de la vie de la Vierge. Les trois volets inférieurs sont consacrés à l'annonce de la naissance du Christ, à sa nativité et au repos de la Sainte Famille pendant la fuite en Egypte, tandis qu'au registre supérieur se déploie sur un volet l'iconographie de la Vierge glorieuse, entourée d'anges et couronnée par la Trinité. Chacune des scènes est traitée avec beaucoup de minutie et de raffinement et la petitesse du format n'a pas empêché le peintre d'offrir à l'œil du spectateur de nombreux détails que celui-ci découvre au gré de sa contemplation : enluminure que l'on devine sur le livre de prière de Marie, anges cueillant des fruits en haut des arbres pour la Sainte Famille, bergers s'approchant de l'étable où est né le Christ ou encore instruments de musique variés des anges qui célèbrent la Vierge au ciel. Cette touche précise est servie par un coloris franc et chaleureux, qui souligne le caractère joyeux des épisodes représentés. L'aisance du peintre à offrir de riches compositions sur de petits formats, l'œil attentif qu'il semble avoir porté aux inventions de ses prédécesseurs tels Rogier van der Weyden, Hugo van der Goes ou encore Gérard David, dont une version du Repos pendant la Fuite en Egypte semble avoir inspiré celui de notre polyptique (fig. 1) (1), ont permis de proposer de reconnaitre la main du peintre en miniatures Simon Bening. L'art de l'enluminure était encore florissant dans les Flandres au XVIe siècle et Bening, héritier de l'atelier paternel, produisait pour une clientèle aisée de beaux ouvrages religieux richement ornés de lettrines et de miniatures vivantes et colorées. 1. Madrid, musée du Prado. Estimation 80 000 - 120 000 €
Bening, Simon. Flämischer Kalender. Clm 23638 der Bayerischen Staatsbibliothek in München. Faksimile, Kommentar und Transkription und Übersetzung. 2 Bände und 1 Heft. 14 x 10,5 cm bzw. 21 x 15 cm. Violetter OSamtband über Holzdeckeln mit 8 silbernen Eckbeschlägen und sternförmiger silbener Vignette auf den Deckeln bzw. OSamtband bzw. OUmschlag (mit kleiner Quetschfalte in der unteren Ecke), zusammen in OPlexiglasschuber (gering berieben). Luzern, Faksimile Verlag, 1987. -- Simon Benings Flämischer Kalender, der aus dem Kalenderteil eines Stundenbuches besteht und somit ein Fragment ist, stellt einen der schönsten Landschaftszyklen innerhalb eines Kalenders überhaupt dar. Er ist nicht nur ein Meilenstein flämischer Buchmalerei des 16. Jahrhunderts, sondern auch ein Höhepunkt in Benings künstlerischer Entwicklung als Landschaftsilluminator. – Wohlerhalten.
Bening, Simon. Das Blumen-Stundenbuch. Le livre d'heures aux fleurs. Clm 23637, Bayerische Staatsbibliothek München. Faksimile und Kommentar. 2 Bände. 16,5 x 11,5 cm bzw. 32 x 23 cm. Blutroter OSamt mit 2 jeweils 3-teiligen schweren geschmiedeten Metallschließen aus vergoldetem 925-Sterlingsilber mit zahlreichen bunten Kaltemail-Elementen und gefassten bunten Rubinen, dreiseitiger Goldschnitt bzw. OSamt, zus. in OPlexiglasschuber. Luzern, Faksimile Verlag, 1991. -- Eines von 290 arabisch nummerierten Exemplaren der Vorzugsausgabe mit den mit "echten Rubinen" und Kaltemail gezierten massiven Silberschließbeschlägen (Gesamtauflage: 980). Originalgetreue Nachbildung der Bilderhandschrift Clm 23637 in der Bayerischen Staatsbibliothek München, mit Kommentar von Bodo Brinkmann und Eberhard König. Das kurz nach 1520 in Gent oder Brügge entstandene Stundenbuch mit Streumustern von Blumen und Vögeln auf jeder Textseite und 70 Miniaturen wird dem flämischer Miniaturenmaler Simon Bening (1483-1561) zugeschrieben. – Nahezu tadellos frisch und sauber.
- BENING, Simon (South Netherlandish 1483/1484 - 1561) - after. Six village scenes with knights and farmers. Oil on six copper plates. Minor wear to the edges, some superficial scratches, else in good condition.
Simon Bening (c.1483-1561) The Passion of Christ, a leaf from the Enriquez de Ribera Prayerbook, Flanders, probably Bruges, c.1508-9 A dramatic miniature painted by Simon Bening, one of the greatest and most famous Netherlandish manuscript illuminators, from the intriguing Enriquez de Ribera prayerbook. Dismembered and its miniatures dispersed, the lost manuscript is recognised for its striking beauty and iconographical innovation: the present miniature depicts scenes from the Passion of Christ. Full-page miniature divided into four separate panels depicting the Passion of Christ, on vellum, mounted on strong paper: 135 x 90 mm; miniature including painted frame: 129 x 85 mm; single panel excluding painted frame: c.61 x 40 mm. Mounted and framed. Provenance: (1) From the Prayerbook that was made for the Spanish aristocratic family Enriquez de Ribera. The coats of arms of the Ribera family as well as of the Enriquez family are to be found in the border decoration of several companion leaves (see below). Ribera: or three fess vert; Enriquez: Chape ploye, 1 and 2: gules a castle triple towered or [Castile], 3, in base argent a lion passant proper crowned or [Leon]. See Alberto and Arturo Garcia Caraffa, Enciclopedia Heraldica y genealogica hispano americana, 57 vols. Madrid, 1828, vol. 31, pp. 32, 49-52, 80-81, arms, pl. 3a, 264 [Enriquez]; vol. 78, 220-21, 224, 249-50, arms, pl. 7a, 320 [Ribera]. The original manuscript was most likely made for the Spanish nobleman Fadrique Enriquez de Ribera, Marquis of Tarifa (1476-1539). Count Paul Durrieu was the first to identify both armorials – of Enriquez and of Ribera – that appear in the borders of the extant leaves: these two great Sevillan families were only united for the first time through the marriages of Fadrique’s father, Pedro Enriquez de Quiñones, first to his aunt, Beatriz de Ribera, and, after her death, to Fadrique's mother, Catalina de Ribera. Of the male descendants to have borne the Enriquez and Ribera arms, Fadrique stands out as by far the most likely candidate to have commissioned such a manuscript: not only did he spend time in the Netherlands, becoming a Knight of the Golden Fleece in 1518, but he is known to have owned splendid books and manuscripts. The inventory of the c.260 items he added to the Tarifa library includes at least three costly prayerbooks in rich bindings (see María del Carmen Alvarez Márquez, ‘La Biblioteca de don Fadrique Enríquez de Ribera, I Marqués de Tarifa (1532)’, Historia. Instituciones. Documentos, no 13 (1986), pp.1-40). (2) It is possible that the present leaf was formerly in the Ch. A. De Burlet collection in Berlin. 'Only three of the four miniatures owned by De Burlet were sold, when they were attributed to Simon Bening, in Eine Wiener Sammlung, Berlin, H. Ball and P. Graupe, 12 May 1930, Pt. II, pp. 10-11, nos 20-22, ills.' (see Hindman 1989, p.6, no 8). Judith Anne Testa (1991, p.89) mentions five miniatures from the 'Albert Figdor collection in Vienna', which are identical to the ones that Hindman identifies as the ex-De Burlet leaves. (3) Private Collection. Companion leaves: The Enriquez de Ribera prayerbook must have been a unique devotional manuscript, made to order for Fadrique Enriquez de Ribera. It was likely very densely illustrated; the scenes depicted across the extant leaves are taken from Christ’s Ministry, Passion, Resurrection, Pentecost and beyond, and must have formed part of an unusually full cycle. Furthermore, many of these scenes are rarely illustrated in manuscript art – the depiction of the Rending of the Veil of the Temple (Sotheby’s, 6 July 2000, lot 35), or Joseph of Aramathea and Nicodemus on the way to Calvary in the present leaf are virtually unknown in Netherlandish art, not just rare in Ghent-Bruges illuminated manuscripts. The verso text is preserved for just one of the sister leaves: Lewis E M 6:1 at the Free Library of Philadelphia, a devotion in Spanish that is neither from a standard Book of Hours, nor is it related to those found in any Rosary Psalter produced by Bening and his shop. When the remnants of the manuscript are considered together, it is possible to imagine just how splendid and iconographically innovative a prayerbook this must have been. Sixteen companion leaves (including cuttings) from the same manuscript are known; the present leaf is either the unidentified leaf formerly in the Ch.A. De Burlet collection (no 8 below), or a new addition to the group. 1. Christ washes the Feet of the Apostles (formerly Paul Durrieu, Paris and Jörn Günther Antiquariat Hamburg, Mittelalterliche Miniaturen und Handschriften , 1993, pp.172-174, no 32). 2. Last Supper and the Institution of the Eucharist (formerly Paul Durrieu, Paris and now Cleveland Museum of Art, 2002.52). 3. Christ's Appearances to the Apostles (formerly Paul Durrieu, Paris; see Literature). 4. Christ's Appearance to Thomas (formerly Paul Durrieu, Paris; see Literature). All leaves formerly in the possession of Paul Durrieu have been mounted on wood; for an extensive discussion see Hindman 1989 and Testa 1991. 5. Jesus and the Apostles at the Sea of Tiberias (formerly Ch.A. De Burlet, Berlin; present location unknown). 6. Jesus, Peter and John at the Sea of Tiberias (formerly Ch.A. De Burlet, Berlin; probably originally on the same leaf with no 5, present location unknown). 7. Christ performing Miracles (formerly Ch.A. De Burlet, Berlin; now St Louis, Missouri, the St Louis Museum of Art, acc.no. 66:1952; see Testa 1992). 8. Subject unknown, possibly the present leaf? (formerly Ch.A. De Burlet, Berlin). 9. Passion, Resurrection, Last Judgement, Parable of the Fig Tree (Philadelphia, Free Library, John Frederick Lewis Collection, E M 6:1). 10. Pentecost, the Mocking of the Apostles, and St Peter preaching (Philadelphia, Free Library, John Frederick Lewis Collection, E M 6:2). 11. Crucifixion, Veil of the Temple rent in two (formerly Peter Sharrer, New York; Sotheby's, 6 July 2000, lot 35; Hindman 1989, p.14 notes that this leaf 'was recently purchased in Spain, [which] suggests the possibility that the manuscript remained in Spain following its initial execution and, moreover, encourages optimism about the eventual recovery of additional leaves and cuttings from the original manuscript.'). 12. Supper at Emmaus (Christie's, 1 December 2016, lot 9; Private Collection). 13. The Resurrection of the Dead, the Resurrected Christ before Mary, The Last Judgment (formerly in a Lille Collection, sold at Rob Michiels Auctions, European and Islamic Arts, 28 April 2019, lot 1201 [unidentified in the catalogue]) 14. The Betrayal and Arrest of Christ (formerly in a Lille Collection, sold at Rob Michiels Auctions, European and Islamic Arts, 28 April 2019, lot 1201 [unidentified in the catalogue]) 15. The Agony in the Garden (acquired in 2020 by the Louvre, Cabinet des dessins du Louvre) 16. The Crucifixion (acquired in 2020 by the Louvre, Cabinet des dessins du Louvre) Illumination: The last of the great Netherlandish illuminators and the most widely renowned, Simon Bening was attracting high-status commissions almost immediately after receiving his mastership in Bruges in 1508, and worked for important patrons across Europe for the next half-century. Presumably trained in Ghent by his father, the illuminator Sanders Bening, Simon’s work drew upon a knowledge of his predecessors while developing his own style, which brought a new humanity to the divine narrative and a new naturalism to the landscape. As summed up by Thomas Kren, ‘the art of no other Flemish illuminator so fully epitomizes the triumph of Flemish miniature painting in Europe and its enduring eminence as a court art’ ( Illuminating the Renaissance, 2003, p.447; for Bening pp.447-486). His documented or signed miniatures form a secure basis for further attributions but differences in scale and intent make chronological certainty impossible, especially since Bening, like many great artists, frequently reworked earlier compositions in his search for perfection.\u2028 While Depositions and Lamentations are frequently found in Passion Cycles in manuscript and panel painting, the scenes in the upper panels of the present miniature are rare: Joseph of Arimathea kneeling in front of Pilate asking for the body of Christ with Nicodemus standing by; and Nicodemus and Joseph on their way to Calvary equipped with myrrh, aloe and white linen. The Gospels tell us that Joseph and Nicodemus were both high-ranking members of the Sanhedrin Council that had condemned Jesus to death, but as closet-Christians, they had dissented. Joseph's desire was to bury Jesus' body according to Jewish custom in his own tomb. In the first compartment, although the banderole referring to Joseph has been scraped off, Pilate's seems to be acceding to Joseph's request to be given the body of Christ: 'CO[N]CEDITUR TIBI S[...]E MORTUUS' (Matthew 27:57-60; Luke 23:50-53; Mark 15:42-64 and John 19:38-42). The scene with Joseph of Arimathea kneeling before Pilate is found in other illumination cycles from the artistic milieu of Simon Bening. For example, in the Grimani Breviary (Venice, Biblioteca Nazionale Marciana, Ms. Lat. 99 [2138], ff.138v-139), the Master of James IV of Scotland painted an illusionistic carved wooden frame around the Crucifixion and the typologically related scene of Moses and the Brazen Serpent containing a very detailed cycle of the Passion of Christ (see exh. cat. Illuminating the Renaissance 2003, cat.no 126, p.21, fig. 126a) which includes this very scene. Simon Bening only had a small part in the illumination of this important masterpiece of Flemish book-painting, but he must have had access to the enormous reservoir of iconographic patterns that his senior colleagues had used. Simon himself had depicted the scene of Joseph in front of Pilate in a full-page miniature in the Prayerbook of Albrecht of Brandenburg (J. Paul Getty Museum, MS Ludwig IX 19, f.311v), and in the border of the Crucifixion miniature in the Golf Book (British Library, Add MS 24098, f.12v), but there too the compositions differ substantially. The encounter of Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus on their way to Calvary with the ointments and the linen does not, on the other hand, find an iconographic parallel in contemporary painting. In each panel Joseph and Nicodemus are recognisable by their clothes and exotic hats. Joseph, in red, kneels before Pilate, and carries the linen to Calvary (Mark 15:46); Nicodemus, in blue, carries the aloe and the myrrh (John 19:39). We see Bening experimenting with the unfamiliar iconography of Joseph and Nicodemus, but he does not rely here on on older models and patterns (as he does, for example, in his earliest recorded work, dating to 1511, the Imhof Prayerbook, sold at Christie's, The Arcana Collection, part III, 6 July 2011, lot 26; or in the Prayerbook of Albrecht of Brandenburg, c.1520-25). Testa sees this as 'the amplification of more conventional illustrated cycles that characterizes the Spanish Prayerbook' (Testa 1991, p.102). Stylistic echoes can also be found in the Stein Quadriptych at the Walters Art Gallery in Baltimore (MS 422), which is datable to the late 1520s (see cat.no 146 in Illuminating the Renaissance 2003, p.458 ff.; Hindman 1989, p.18); and the Prayerbook of Joanna of Ghistelles (dated c.1516, London, BL, Egerton Ms 2125, f.154v, see exh. cat. Illuminating the Renaissance, 2003, cat.no 141, p.452, fig. 141). There are two contrasting opinions regarding the dating of the Enriquez de Ribera cycle: Testa argues in favour of an earlier date, c.1508-9, supporting Destrée's hypothesis first published in 1923, whereas Hindman argues for a date in the later 1520s, linking it to the Stein Quadriptych and the Prayerbook of Albrecht of Brandenburg, and pointing to Bening's increased activity for Spanish and Portuguese patrons in the 1530s: 'two other features of the leaves help to buttress a date in the late 1520s: their borders and their script. Although Bening executed many figural borders during the 1520s and 1530s, the trompe l'oeil borders presented here are entirely consistent with those of other works generally dated in the 1520s and 1530s [...]' (Hindman 1989, p.18). Conversely, Testa argues that these connections to Spanish and Portuguese patrons could have been bequeathed to Simon by Sanders Bening. And it is also true that Simon Bening makes constant use of older patterns throughout his career (see e.g. T. Kren: 'The importance of patterns in the emergence of a new style of Flemish manuscript illumination after 1470' Manuscripts in Transition. Recycling manuscripts, texts and image: Proceedings of the International Congress held in Brussels, November 5-9, 2002, 2005, pp. 372-373), which often makes dating his works particularly difficult. This, together with the occasional stylistic awkwardness, and the iconographically experimental compositions lead Testa to believe that the Enriquez de Ribera manuscript illuminations must be among the earliest witnesses of Simon Bening's art: 'in comparison to Bening's landscapes in the Brandenburg and Beatty [Rosary in Dublin, Chester Beatty Library, MS W 99] manuscripts, the outdoor settings of both the Spanish Prayerbook and the Beels Prayerbook [today identified as the Imhof Prayerbook] miniatures appear much less accomplished. Of the two, however, the Beels illuminations seem more advanced' (Testa 1991, p.106). Hence, she argues, the manuscript was probably made before the Imhof Prayerbook, which is dated 1511. Moreover, she sees compositional parallels between the panel painting of the 'Virgin enthroned' by Gerard David, dated 1509 (Musée des Beaux-Arts, Rouen) and made in Bruges, and Bening's depiction of Pentecost in this cycle (sister leaf no 10, see Hindman 1989, p.13). Bening could have seen this painting in 1509 when it was still in Bruges, before it was delivered to its commissioner. ",
This work shows Christ being betrayed by the kiss of Judas and captured by Roman soldiers. In the background of the image we see the fence surrounding the garden of Gethsemane and a large rock formation. The tightly packed composition of half-length figures, closely placed landscape background and the head of Christ all display parallels to the work of the Flemish manuscript painter Simon Bening, indicating that this panel was probably originates from his circle.
[Ghent, c.1500] 184 x 127mm (visible painted area). Initial D with acanthus-frond staves in ochre and liquid gold 'casting' a dark pink shadow on a lighter pink ground, full-page border of an aquatic battle between an armoured merman and a wildman mounted on a fantastic water-bird, swans swimming on the lake beyond them and birds flying above a landscape of wooded hills, 17 lines of text written in black ink in a gothic bookhand between two verticals and 18 horizontals ruled in pink, justification: 119 x 74mm, rubric in red, one-line initials in burnished gold on grounds and infills of blue and pink with white penwork decoration, similar initials and line-endings visible on verso (minor losses of pigment). Mounted, in a gilt wood frame. As signalled in the rubric, the leaf opens with the first of the Penitential Psalms and so formed part of a Book of Hours or prayerbook. The engaging border is attributable to the workshop of the Master of the Older Prayerbook of Maximilian, named from the manuscript made for the Emperor Maximilian, Vienna ™NB cod.1907. The Master was one of the leading figures in the so-called Ghent-Bruges School of illumination, collaborating with Gerard Horenbout and Simon Bening as well as the anonymous Master of the Prayerbooks of c.1500 and exerting such a formative influence on Simon Bening that he is plausibly identified as Simon's father, Alexander Bening. He apparently first used the design, around the opening of the Psalter of St Jerome, in the Hours of William, Lord Hastings, datable before his execution in 1483 (BL, Add. 54782, f.279, ill. in D. Turner, The Hastings Hours ). Clearly of great appeal, it reappears in some of the finest Netherlandish manuscripts of the early sixteenth century: the Hours of James IV of Scotland (™NB cod.1897, f.211v) and for St Thomas in the Rothschild Prayerbook (sold in these rooms 8 July 1999, lot 102, f.212). The workshop of the Master of the Prayerbooks of c.1500 also adopted it in a richly illuminated hours in Cambridge, Fitzwilliam 1058-1975 (A. Arnould and J.-M. Massing Splendours of Flanders, p.88) and the Prayerbooks Master is the likely source for the birds which here animate the empty sky of the Hastings Hours. The battling figures bear no relation to the psalm and were used for several different texts. The new independent validity of pictorial borders allowed owners of these luxurious devotional manuscripts to delight in their extended imagery, as this attractive leaf bears out.
[Bruges, 1530-1535] 59 x 42mm. 216 leaves including a first blank endleaf and two final leaves ruled otherwise blank, mostly in gatherings of eight with 13 inserted singletons with miniatures, apparently COMPLETE, 15 lines written in black ink in a round gothic bookhand between two verticals and 16 horizontals ruled in red, justification: 38 x 25mm, rubrics of pink, one- and two-line initials of liquid gold on grounds alternately of blue, grey and red, four- to six-line initials of foliage or branches of liquid gold or white against coloured grounds flecked and framed with liquid gold, TWELVE CALENDAR MINIATURES of the occupations of the months, TWENTY-TWO FULL-PAGE MINIATURES in narrow frames most with spandrel brackets in the upper corners, TWENTY-THREE FULL-PAGE BORDERS of Ghent/Bruges type, many of strewn flowers on grounds of yellow or brown flecked with gold, and including birds or insects, others where the flowers are replaced with jewels, emblems, animals or figures (slight thumbing and darkening at edges, particularly affecting the Calendar, small pigment losses affecting the face of the Virgin in the Annunciation, the hair of God in the Coronation of the Virgin, the face of one of the angels in the Man of Sorrows, the mantle of the Virgin in the Virgin and Child, a small smudge to the face of the Virgin in St Anne with the Virgin and Child, a v-shaped loss from the border of f.94 the fragment surviving in the gutter). Spanish or Portuguese early 19th-century panelled red morocco with a double gilt fillet, gilt spine in four compartments tooled with a leaf spray, copper-gilt clasp and catch with crossed cross and anchor and a flaming heart, the symbols of the Theological Virtues. AN UNKNOWN WORK FROM BENING'S FINEST PERIOD: OF JEWEL-LIKE EXECUTION AND SIZE PROVENANCE: Like many of the most splendid 16th-century Flemish manuscripts this exquisite Book of Hours contains no certain evidence to indicate its early ownership. The sparse Calendar does, however, include in red the feast of Vincent of Saragossa (22 January), and the Litany has Berard and his associates among the martyrs, and Engratia of Saragossa as the final virgin. All three of these saints were venerated in Portugal, and it is possible that the manuscript went to, and remained in, that country for the binding seems most likely to be Portuguese or Spanish. It is clear from Damiao de Goes' oft-quoted appraisal of Bening's work how high his reputation was in Portugal by 1530, and he is known to have undertaken several commissions for Portuguese royalty and members of their court. CONTENT: Calendar ff.2-8; Office of the Virgin, use of Rome ff.10-114v: matins f.10, lauds f.37, prime f.54, terce f.62, sext f.69, none f.76, vespers f.83, compline f.94, variants f.101v; Seven Penitential Psalms ff.116-129v; Litany ff.129v-141v; Office of the Dead ff.143-175v; Prayers to Christ ff.177-194: Conditor celi et terre rex regum f.177, Salve sancta facies f.182, O dulcissime domine iesu f.f.185, O domine iesu xpe adoro te in cruce pendentem f.192; Obsecro te ff.195-199v; Suffrages ff.201-214v: to Sts Michael f.201, John the Baptist f.203, Peter f.205, James f.207, Christopher f.209, Anne f.212, Mary Magdalene f.214 ILLUMINATION: No renaissance illuminator had a higher reputation than Simon Bening -- 'the best master in the art of illumination in all of Europe' -- and the assessment of his contemporaries remains undisputed. By the 1530s -- the likely date of the present Hours -- he was patronised by princely patrons in Spain, Portugal and Germany as well as in his homeland. Later in the century his achievements were not only celebrated by compatriot historians, Denis Harduyn and Antonius Sanderus, but also by Guicciardini and Vasari. Simon was born around 1483, probably in Ghent, the son of the illuminator Sanders Bening (fl.1469, d.1519) and Kathelijn van der Goes, probably the sister or niece of the great painter Hugo. His family was also connected to the great painter Rogier van der Weyden. Simon could hardly have been born into circumstances more favourable for his artistic development. In 1500 he was required to register his mark at the painters' hall in Bruges, showing that he must already have been producing miniatures for sale in the city, and he joined the Guild of St John and St Luke there in 1508. From 1517 onwards he paid annual dues to the Bruges guild and became a citizen, settling there permanently, in 1519. In 1522 he presented the guild with a large Crucifixion miniature in lieu of fees, and he often contributed considerable sums for the decoration of the guild chapel. He served as dean of the guild in 1525, 1536 and 1546. Everything shows his career to have been long, prosperous and prolific. He lived until 1561 and two self-portraits dated 1558 attest to his enduring artistic activity and ability (London, V&A, P.159-1910 and New York, Metropolitan Lehman Collection, M.191). Few documented works survive from this long and successful career: and those that are the most certain -- the five leaves of the Genealogy of the Infante Dom Fernando of Portugal (BL, Add. Ms 12531), which Bening painted between 1530 and 1534 on drawings by the Portuguese artist Antonio de Hollanda -- are far from characteristic products of an illuminator's output. Of the known signed works, the Crucifixion in a Missal made in 1530 for the town hall at Diksmuide, which was the basis for the early attributions to Bening, was destroyed in the First World War. The surviving signed works are limited to the self-portraits and the Passion Prayerbook of Albrecht of Brandenburg (Los Angeles, J.Paul Getty Museum, Ludwig Ms IX, 19), which is signed with the initials SB. Around this core a large and ever-increasing body of work has been identified as Bening's. The present manuscript -- entirely unrecorded and previously unknown -- is an exceptional and exciting addition. Small, personal prayerbooks, either Hours or Rosaria, seem to have been a speciality of Bening. A number of such manuscripts survive with miniatures by him, and of a size that would have enabled their owners to have carried them around and kept them close. Few of these books are as extensively autograph as the present manuscript and none, as far as we have been able to ascertain, is as small. It seems likely that it was intended to be worn, serving both as devotional aid and as jewellery; it could have been hung around the neck or, more probably, from the girdle of its owner. In spite of their size the miniatures of this Book of Hours are of the highest quality: incredibly detailed, affecting and atmospheric and painted in Bening's most polished technique. Many of the compositions are both iconographically and compositionally inventive. There are no concessions to scale: it is a virtuoso performance. In the Calendar miniatures, often no taller than 11mm 7/16 inch), lively figures are set in extensive landscapes that convincingly convey seasonal conditions. Bening's full-page Calendar scenes are rightly accepted as one of his greatest achievements but the restricted space available to him in this manuscript clearly triggered a fresh and thoughtful response. Where possible he exploited the relative sparseness of the feasts listed by the scribe to extend the miniature field up into the two text columns. This resulted in variable and irregular stepped tops to the scenes. In each case his composition of the month's occupation makes use of these extensions to focus attention, emphasise movement or augment the content. For February this is exploited to provide a composition more pertinent to its place in a liturgical Calendar than the habitual subjects of pruning or wood-gathering. On the left a family of four carries candles as they follow a path that joins a wider way on the right-hand side. The additional height on that side houses an abbey, the destination of various groups of waiting or processing figures, all of them heading to celebrate one of February's major feasts, Candlemas: Bening has given expression to the liturgical context in contemporary terms. November's miniature of a stag-hunt is the most irregular shape with two central stepped projections. These are used to show diagonal progression as hounds from both sides pursue the stag who, unwittingly, heads towards the most distant -- and highest -- figure of a horseback hunter. There is a comparable resourcefulness and the display of supreme skill in the full-page miniatures. Although these miniatures are no more than 45mm (1 and 3/4 inches) tall, single figures of saints have an imposing presence and a monumental solidity, narratives are populous and packed with incident, and the iconic devotional images are deeply touching. The sweet, contemplative Virgin in the half-length Virgin and Child of folio 194v, so clearly adored by her infant son, would no doubt have seemed the perfect conduit for the prayers of the owner. Following James Marrow's listing of dated and datable manuscripts (see below) several scholars have analysed the evolution of Bening's style and suggested a chronological framework. There was a change in style around 1530, a move to using smaller brushstrokes resulting in a velvety texture, softer-edged forms and a more atmospheric character to the miniatures; landscapes are more convincingly articulated and include deep vistas in cool blues and greens; figures are more convincingly set in space and shown in a more realistic scale to their setting (see Kren, Testa and Hindman in the references below). The Calendar scenes are an almost magical demonstration of these qualities and they also characterise the full-page miniatures. Even those compositions based on treatments found in other Bening manuscripts are transformed to heighten the impression of recession. The Virgin and Elizabeth in the Visitation, for example, are a familiar pair and the entire composition is clearly a reworking of a commonly used model, for example in the Norfolk Hours (Duke of Norfolk collection, Arundel Castle) and the 'Flower' Book of Hours in Munich (Bayerische Staatsbibl. Clm 23637). Yet the rocky outcrop that forms a backdrop behind the saints in those manuscripts has been moved from its central, middle-ground position -- its distinctive contour is visible over to the left and so far off that aerial perspective renders it blue. All of the space has been opened up, the central couple no longer stands on a foreground stage but on a path that winds back towards Zachariah's house. Zachariah too no longer has a prominent position in the middle-ground; although recognisably the same figure, he is now so scaled down and far removed from the central event that were it not for knowledge of the other versions he might be thought an anonymous piece of scene-setting. The Visitation and the Flight into Egypt were the only subjects in the Infancy cycle that were suitable stages for Bening to demonstrate his accomplishment in representing open country and aerial perspective; but in the illustrations to the Suffrages he was able to create a succession of remarkable landscapes. Rather than the sequence, sometimes repetitive, of half-length figures that often introduce such prayers, here Bening has chosen to show the saints full-length and in complex and detailed settings. The river, banks and landscape in the St Christopher miniature -- a remarkable and fresh interpretation of the subject -- is very similar to that of the Baptism of Christ in the Beatty Rosarium (Dublin, Chester Beatty Lib. Ms W.99), thought to date around 1530. This is just one of the analogies found in the two manuscripts and it seems most likely that the present Hours was painted during the same period. Comparison with the Book of Hours written by Anthony van Damme (New York, Pierpont Morgan Lib. Ms M.451), and dated by him 1531, confirms such a dating. Several compositions are found in both books but the treatment of the New York miniatures, albeit they are fifty percent larger, is broader and less detailed: there is no deep architectural setting behind the group of figures in the Mass of St Gregory, and St Michael vanquishes Lucifer against a mandorla of coloured light rather than the more detailed sombre, rocky and fiery background of Hell. The miniatures of the van Damme Hours are framed in a variety of ways, including some with surrounding Ghent/Bruges borders but in the present manuscript Bening uses just one framing device, a simple moulding, usually with spandrels in the upper corners, that he continued to use in his latest works. His miniatures are presented like panel paintings, in defiance of their tiny size and flexible pages. By banishing the Ghent/Bruges borders to text pages, Bening minimised the attraction of the spectator's eye back away from the prospect into sacred history that he had so naturalistically portrayed. The greater attention to detail, the expansion of subject-matter and the display of his mastery of landscape and delight in different light effects -- the miraculous light of the Christ Child illuminating the Nativity, the fire in the stable lighting Joseph's face in the Adoration of the Magi, the reflection of St Christopher's clothing in the water -- all suggest that this manuscript was made by Bening as a demonstration of his supreme technical mastery and artistic sensibility. Everything is consistent with this being a work of the early 1530s, described by Testa as 'the period of greatest accomplishment'. MINIATURES: Each month of the Calendar occupies a single page. Framed within a simple fictive moulding, the feasts are written in two columns above a bas-de-page scene of the relevant occupation in a landscape setting. The occupations are as follows: f.1v a snow-covered landscape with a house on the left where a woman warming herself before the fire is visible through the open door, an old woman with her overskirt over her head and blowing on her fingers walks by followed by two snowballing children (January): f.2 a family carrying candles walk towards a road leading to an abbey, two other men, perhaps friars, approach from the right foreground (February): f.2v a woodcutter chops at the trunk of a large tree watched by two noblemen with a greyhound (March): f.3 two shepherds release their sheep from a hut and lead them towards summer pasture (April): f.3v a nobleman and woman walk in a wood, his horse tethered at the left (May): f.4 a shepherd shearing a sheep, two other sheep grazing and another man passing by (June): f.4v haymaking, a man scything in the foreground, a woman in the middle distance (July): f.5 harvesting, in the foreground a man cuts corn while a woman to the left ties sheaves, on the right beyond a five-bar gate a woman from a distant house brings food (August): f.5v ploughing, one man behind the plough pulled by two horses, another man in the foreground taking ?water from a bucket (September): f.6 three men and a child wait with an ox in the yard outside the room where two men slaughter another ox (October); f.6v hunting, in the foreground two huntsmen on foot, one blowing a horn, send their hounds in pusuit of a stag who runs towards open country and the waiting rider (November): f.7 slaughtering a hog, a man straddling the pig and slitting its throat while a woman catches the blood in a pan, a woman in the doorway of a cottage and two children watch (December) The subjects of the full-page miniatures are as follows: f.9v Annunciation, in a late gothic bedchamber, with countryside and a distant town visible through the open window f.36v Visitation, Zachariah outside his large country house towards the background f.53v Nativity, a night scene with the adoring figures of the Virgin, Joseph and angels lit by the miraculous light coming from the Christ Child f.61v Annunciation to the Shepherds, a night scene with two shepherds in the foreground and two in the distance looking up towards the angel f.68v Adoration of the Magi, set under the eaves of the stable, a midwife visible inside heating water, Herod's soldiers approaching from the distance f.75v Presentation in the Temple f.82v Flight into Egypt, with the ox following the Holy Family, the idol falling behind them and a squad of soldiers in the distance f.93v Coronation of the Virgin, the Virgin kneeling in front of a gothic bench where identical figures of God the Father and Christ are seated f.115v King David in Penitence f.142v Raising of Lazarus with St Peter unbinding Lazarus's hands f.176v Crucifixion with the Virgin and John the Evangelist, Jerusalem in the valley f.181v St Veronica displaying the vernicle after the passage of Christ on the way to Calvary f.184v Man of Sorrows, Christ seated on the lid of a tomb, flanked by two angels, holding the nails and displaying the wound in his side f.191v Mass of St Gregory, set in a gothic church with spectators watching through the screen as Gregory elevates the host and the figure of Christ appears on the altar, a cardinal in the foreground holding Gregory's papal tiara f.194v Virgin and Child in half-length f.200v St Michael conquering Lucifer, with the fires of Hell in the background f.202v St John the Baptist, beside the Jordan and pointing Christ out to his three companions f.204v St Peter, standing and holding a key and a book, and visible again penitent in a cave in the right background, Jerusalem with the Holy Sepulchre in the distance f.206v St James, in the background two travellers and their dog head towards the shore and the ships f.208v St Christopher, the saint, nearly waist-deep in water, scoops the tiny figure of Christ into his arms, deer and a shelter on the distant shore f.211v St Anne with the Virgin and Child, Anne enthroned with the Virgin and Child seated at her feet, houses and people visible to either side of the cloth of honour f.213v St Mary Magdalene, the penitent saint, bare-breasted and holding a crucifix aloft, kneels in a grotto, a prowling fox and grazing deer up above REFERENCES: J. Marrow, 'Simon Bening in 1521: A group of Dated Miniatures', Liber amicorum Herman Liebaers (1984), pp.537-59 T. Kren, Renaissance Painting in Manuscripts, Treasures from the British Library (1983), pp.79-85 T. Kren, J. Rathofer, Simon Bening: Fl„mischer Kalendar (1998), facsimile of Munich Bayerische Staatsbibl. Clm.23 638 J. Testa, The Beatty Rosarium: A Manuscript with Miniatures by Simon Bening (1986), facsimile of Dublin, Chester Beatty Lib. Ms W.99 J. Testa, 'An unpublished manuscript by Simon Bening', Burlington Magazine, 136 (1994), pp.416-426 S. Hindman in The Robert Lehmann Collection, IV, Illuminations (1997), pp.98-119.
