![DAVID LAMENTING THE DEATH OF SAUL, historiated initial 'P' cut from an illuminated Antiphonal on vellum, [Lucca, c.1405-10]](https://www.christies.com/img/LotImages/2017/CKS/2017_CKS_14299_0005_000(david_lamenting_the_death_of_saul_historiated_initial_p_cut_from_an_il101841).jpg?w=1)
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DAVID LAMENTING THE DEATH OF SAUL, historiated initial 'P' cut from an illuminated Antiphonal on vellum, [Lucca, c.1405-10]
A sparkling and rare example of Lucchese illumination at the turn of the 15th century, a vibrant and colourful composition revealing the influence of the Sienese painter and illuminator Martino di Bartolomeo (act. 1389-1434)
240 x 176mm. Historiated initial ‘P’ opening 2 Samuel 1: 17-27, reverse with music and fragments of an antiphon in vespers and an invitatory in matins. Mounted on card.
Provenance: Perhaps made for a Dominican convent in Lucca, thence in the Carthusian abbey of Santo Spirito – Lord James Dennistoun of Dennistoun (1805-55), his no 69: purchased in 1838 in Lucca along with 38 other cuttings from the same series of choirbooks. One of these included the arms of Niccolò di Lazzaro Guinigi, archbishop of Lucca in 1394, who was expelled in 1402 and recalled in 1432. It may be that the choirbooks to which the miniatures belonged were produced under his patronage – Herbert Hensley-Henson (1856-1947), Bishop of Durham – Lord Kenneth Clark of Saltwood (1903-1983): his sale, Sotheby’s, 3 July 1984, lot 93/1 – Nella Longari: no VII in Una Collezione di Miniature Italiane, I, 1993, pp.41-43.
The illumination of the present cutting is a testament to the melting-pot of styles and influences present in Lucca towards the end of the 14th century. Gaudenz Freuler points to the presence in Tuscany at this time of painters from the Iberian Peninsula such as Álvaro Pires de Évora, and indicates how their style was absorbed into the local idiom by painters such as the Maestro di Barga (see G. Freuler’s entry for lot 130 in the Zeileis Collection, sold by Koller, 18 September 2015). In discussing the series to which the present miniature belongs, both Freuler and Bollati also suggest strong links to the Sienese painter and illuminator Martino di Bartolomeo, who is recorded as working on the choirbooks for the cathedral in the final years of the 14th century (see F. Todini and M. Bollati, Una Collezione di Miniature Italiane, I, 1993, pp.41-43). We see this fusion of stylistic flavours in the present cutting: bright, vibrant colours, strong, defined postures and a heavy, gothic portrayal of the characters.
A sparkling and rare example of Lucchese illumination at the turn of the 15th century, a vibrant and colourful composition revealing the influence of the Sienese painter and illuminator Martino di Bartolomeo (act. 1389-1434)
240 x 176mm. Historiated initial ‘P’ opening 2 Samuel 1: 17-27, reverse with music and fragments of an antiphon in vespers and an invitatory in matins. Mounted on card.
Provenance: Perhaps made for a Dominican convent in Lucca, thence in the Carthusian abbey of Santo Spirito – Lord James Dennistoun of Dennistoun (1805-55), his no 69: purchased in 1838 in Lucca along with 38 other cuttings from the same series of choirbooks. One of these included the arms of Niccolò di Lazzaro Guinigi, archbishop of Lucca in 1394, who was expelled in 1402 and recalled in 1432. It may be that the choirbooks to which the miniatures belonged were produced under his patronage – Herbert Hensley-Henson (1856-1947), Bishop of Durham – Lord Kenneth Clark of Saltwood (1903-1983): his sale, Sotheby’s, 3 July 1984, lot 93/1 – Nella Longari: no VII in Una Collezione di Miniature Italiane, I, 1993, pp.41-43.
The illumination of the present cutting is a testament to the melting-pot of styles and influences present in Lucca towards the end of the 14th century. Gaudenz Freuler points to the presence in Tuscany at this time of painters from the Iberian Peninsula such as Álvaro Pires de Évora, and indicates how their style was absorbed into the local idiom by painters such as the Maestro di Barga (see G. Freuler’s entry for lot 130 in the Zeileis Collection, sold by Koller, 18 September 2015). In discussing the series to which the present miniature belongs, both Freuler and Bollati also suggest strong links to the Sienese painter and illuminator Martino di Bartolomeo, who is recorded as working on the choirbooks for the cathedral in the final years of the 14th century (see F. Todini and M. Bollati, Una Collezione di Miniature Italiane, I, 1993, pp.41-43). We see this fusion of stylistic flavours in the present cutting: bright, vibrant colours, strong, defined postures and a heavy, gothic portrayal of the characters.
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