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The Collection of The Hon. Patrick and Lady Amabel Lindsay
Don Silvestro dei Gherarducci (1339-1399)
Sts Peter and Paul, historiated initial 'N' from an illuminated Gradual on vellum, Italy, Florence, Santa Maria degli Angeli, 1371-1374
Details
Don Silvestro dei Gherarducci (1339-1399)
Sts Peter and Paul, historiated initial 'N' from an illuminated Gradual on vellum, Italy, Florence, Santa Maria degli Angeli, 1371-1374
A sumptuous, monumental miniature by one of the outstanding illuminators of the 15th century, Don Silvestro dei Gherarducci: one of the finest Italian miniatures to have come to the market in recent memory, in near pristine condition, from the collections of William Ottley, Lord Northwick and Lord Crawford.
c.300 x 300mm. The historiated initial 'N' with St Peter holding the cross as symbol of his martyrdom and his keys; St Paul with his sword and book; both within an elaborate dragon letter-form, cut to shape, opening the introit for the mass of Sts Peter and Paul on June 29 'Nunc scio vere, quia misit Dominus Angelum suum', reverse with 4 partial lines of text and music on a red stave, a rubric in red, one initial in blue with red penwork decoration (a blemish to the tip of St Paul's sword, a small brown stain to St Paul's robe, a few tiny losses of pigment and burnished gold, overall in near-pristine condition). Mounted and framed.
Provenance:
(1) This exceptional miniature by Don Silvestro dei Gherarducci was once part of f.104 of Corale 2 of Santa Maria degli Angeli, now at the Biblioteca Laurenziana in Florence, excised some time before 1809 (see below). Don Silvestro entered the monastery of Santa Maria degli Angeli in 1348 and became its Prior in the 1390s, leading its scriptorium until his death and training its next generation of artists, including Lorenzo Monaco. Corale 2 stands out as one of the grandest and most stylistically accomplished of the various choirbooks that Don Silvestro illuminated for his monastery; it is also the only one that bears a date: ff.161v and 207 in the parent manuscript show that the text was completed in 1371 (modern calendar). Folio 161v is inscribed 'monasterii sancte marie de angelis de florentia MCCCLXX'; f.207 has the colophon 'Completus est liber iste Anno domini MCCCLXX. VII kalendas februarii. In loco sancte Marie de Angelis de Florentia. Cuius liber est iste Deo gratias. Amen. Mando ergo lectori Christum roget ore fideli ut det scriptori post mortem gaudia celi'.
The illumination itself was likely completed around 1375: documentary evidence (see Freuler, 1997, p.351) from this time shows that a certain Fra Leonardo left a large bequest to Santa Maria degli Angeli, part of which was spent on a white cloth dossal for the altar, a new lectern, and various works around the church; 100 florins were spent on a new mass book, '[...] Item ne toglemmo per gli antifanari nostri f. C' (see Levi d'Ancona, 1978, pp.225-235).
Corale 2 is identifiable in the 1729 inventory of Santa Maria degli Angeli (see S.B. Cherubini, 'I manoscritti della biblioteca fiorentina di S. Maria degli Angeli attraverso i suoi inventari', La bibliofilia, 74, 1972, pp.9-47). In 1809, Corale 2 (already lacking many of its miniatures) and the other choirbooks from Santa Maria degli Angeli were incorporated into the Biblioteca Laurenziana. The volume was mutilated in the Napoleonic period and many of the illuminated pages found their way into the collection of:
(2) William Young Ottley (1771-1836), collector, early enthusiast for Italian Renaissance art, and Keeper of the Department of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum. No fewer than 12 of the 20 miniatures cut from Corale 2 are known to have belonged to Ottley. Freuler suggests that he could have bought all the missing pages in around 1800. The present miniature was sold at his sale at Sotheby's, 11-12 May 1838, lot 184, described as 'Another—St. Peter and St. Paul' and bought by Rodd for the not insignificant sum of £2 11s, almost certainly for:
(3) John Rushout (1769-1859), 2nd Lord Northwick, who formed the famous art collection at Northwick Park. He was succeed by his nephew:
(4) George Rushout (1811-1887), 3rd Lord Northwick, who married Elizabeth Augusta Warburton in 1869. After his death the title became extinct and the inheritance passed to Augusta's son-in-law from her first marriage, Lord Edward Spencer Churchill (d.1911), father of Edward George Spencer-Churchill (1876-1964).
(5) Northwick Park sale, Sotheby's 16 November 1925, lot 158, described as 'Siena. A magnificent initial N [...] beautifully painted full-length figures of SS. Peter and Paul', bought for the enormous sum of £200 by Maggs.
(6) David Alexander Robert Lindsay, 28th Earl of Crawford and 11th Earl of Balcarres (1900-1975), Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire for his services to the Arts, trustee of the Tate Gallery, the National Gallery, the British Museum, Chairman of the National Trust and Premier Earl of Scotland. Almost certainly acquired from Martin Breslauer.
(7) The Collection of The Hon. Patrick and Lady Amabel Lindsay.
Illumination:
The present miniature is one of the best examples of Florentine – and indeed Italian – book illumination. To quote Freuler, 'the miniatures illuminated between 1371 and 1374 for Gherarducci's own monastery (Corale 2) show an artistic maturity characterized by spontaneity and greater freedom' (Freuler, 1997, p.294). Don Silvestro moves away from the influence of Orcagna that so marked his experience in Siena, and towards a 'more serene monumentality' that is defined by an exquisitely rich palette, a sensitivity in pictorial arrangement, and a polished elegance in the articulation of his quietly introspective figures, lush draperies and joyful ornamentation. His tendencies towards a 'refined, lyrical Gothic style' are in full view in this monumentally-conceived composition: Sts Peter and Paul, standing on an ornately tiled floor, fill the initial space, revealing all of Don Silvestro's exceptional qualities as as panel painter. Particularly striking is the fantastical dragon that forms the initial 'N'. 'For Gherarducci it is primarily colour which is the means of unifying the letter's ornament with the imagery; usually the subtle colour sequences of the saints and scenes echo those of the initial. These characteristics of Gherarducci's illumination are easily understood in the light of a style subordinated to the requirements of linear dynamism, precious materials and gold – in brief, to an art of courtly elegance' (Freuler, 1997, p.295). The painter, art historian and biographer Giorgio Vasari said of Don Silvestro's work 'I have myself often examined these books, and have been astonished at the accuracy of design, and beauty of execution'.
Sts Peter and Paul, historiated initial 'N' from an illuminated Gradual on vellum, Italy, Florence, Santa Maria degli Angeli, 1371-1374
A sumptuous, monumental miniature by one of the outstanding illuminators of the 15th century, Don Silvestro dei Gherarducci: one of the finest Italian miniatures to have come to the market in recent memory, in near pristine condition, from the collections of William Ottley, Lord Northwick and Lord Crawford.
c.300 x 300mm. The historiated initial 'N' with St Peter holding the cross as symbol of his martyrdom and his keys; St Paul with his sword and book; both within an elaborate dragon letter-form, cut to shape, opening the introit for the mass of Sts Peter and Paul on June 29 'Nunc scio vere, quia misit Dominus Angelum suum', reverse with 4 partial lines of text and music on a red stave, a rubric in red, one initial in blue with red penwork decoration (a blemish to the tip of St Paul's sword, a small brown stain to St Paul's robe, a few tiny losses of pigment and burnished gold, overall in near-pristine condition). Mounted and framed.
Provenance:
(1) This exceptional miniature by Don Silvestro dei Gherarducci was once part of f.104 of Corale 2 of Santa Maria degli Angeli, now at the Biblioteca Laurenziana in Florence, excised some time before 1809 (see below). Don Silvestro entered the monastery of Santa Maria degli Angeli in 1348 and became its Prior in the 1390s, leading its scriptorium until his death and training its next generation of artists, including Lorenzo Monaco. Corale 2 stands out as one of the grandest and most stylistically accomplished of the various choirbooks that Don Silvestro illuminated for his monastery; it is also the only one that bears a date: ff.161v and 207 in the parent manuscript show that the text was completed in 1371 (modern calendar). Folio 161v is inscribed 'monasterii sancte marie de angelis de florentia MCCCLXX'; f.207 has the colophon 'Completus est liber iste Anno domini MCCCLXX. VII kalendas februarii. In loco sancte Marie de Angelis de Florentia. Cuius liber est iste Deo gratias. Amen. Mando ergo lectori Christum roget ore fideli ut det scriptori post mortem gaudia celi'.
The illumination itself was likely completed around 1375: documentary evidence (see Freuler, 1997, p.351) from this time shows that a certain Fra Leonardo left a large bequest to Santa Maria degli Angeli, part of which was spent on a white cloth dossal for the altar, a new lectern, and various works around the church; 100 florins were spent on a new mass book, '[...] Item ne toglemmo per gli antifanari nostri f. C' (see Levi d'Ancona, 1978, pp.225-235).
Corale 2 is identifiable in the 1729 inventory of Santa Maria degli Angeli (see S.B. Cherubini, 'I manoscritti della biblioteca fiorentina di S. Maria degli Angeli attraverso i suoi inventari', La bibliofilia, 74, 1972, pp.9-47). In 1809, Corale 2 (already lacking many of its miniatures) and the other choirbooks from Santa Maria degli Angeli were incorporated into the Biblioteca Laurenziana. The volume was mutilated in the Napoleonic period and many of the illuminated pages found their way into the collection of:
(2) William Young Ottley (1771-1836), collector, early enthusiast for Italian Renaissance art, and Keeper of the Department of Prints and Drawings at the British Museum. No fewer than 12 of the 20 miniatures cut from Corale 2 are known to have belonged to Ottley. Freuler suggests that he could have bought all the missing pages in around 1800. The present miniature was sold at his sale at Sotheby's, 11-12 May 1838, lot 184, described as 'Another—St. Peter and St. Paul' and bought by Rodd for the not insignificant sum of £2 11s, almost certainly for:
(3) John Rushout (1769-1859), 2nd Lord Northwick, who formed the famous art collection at Northwick Park. He was succeed by his nephew:
(4) George Rushout (1811-1887), 3rd Lord Northwick, who married Elizabeth Augusta Warburton in 1869. After his death the title became extinct and the inheritance passed to Augusta's son-in-law from her first marriage, Lord Edward Spencer Churchill (d.1911), father of Edward George Spencer-Churchill (1876-1964).
(5) Northwick Park sale, Sotheby's 16 November 1925, lot 158, described as 'Siena. A magnificent initial N [...] beautifully painted full-length figures of SS. Peter and Paul', bought for the enormous sum of £200 by Maggs.
(6) David Alexander Robert Lindsay, 28th Earl of Crawford and 11th Earl of Balcarres (1900-1975), Knight Grand Cross of the Order of the British Empire for his services to the Arts, trustee of the Tate Gallery, the National Gallery, the British Museum, Chairman of the National Trust and Premier Earl of Scotland. Almost certainly acquired from Martin Breslauer.
(7) The Collection of The Hon. Patrick and Lady Amabel Lindsay.
Illumination:
The present miniature is one of the best examples of Florentine – and indeed Italian – book illumination. To quote Freuler, 'the miniatures illuminated between 1371 and 1374 for Gherarducci's own monastery (Corale 2) show an artistic maturity characterized by spontaneity and greater freedom' (Freuler, 1997, p.294). Don Silvestro moves away from the influence of Orcagna that so marked his experience in Siena, and towards a 'more serene monumentality' that is defined by an exquisitely rich palette, a sensitivity in pictorial arrangement, and a polished elegance in the articulation of his quietly introspective figures, lush draperies and joyful ornamentation. His tendencies towards a 'refined, lyrical Gothic style' are in full view in this monumentally-conceived composition: Sts Peter and Paul, standing on an ornately tiled floor, fill the initial space, revealing all of Don Silvestro's exceptional qualities as as panel painter. Particularly striking is the fantastical dragon that forms the initial 'N'. 'For Gherarducci it is primarily colour which is the means of unifying the letter's ornament with the imagery; usually the subtle colour sequences of the saints and scenes echo those of the initial. These characteristics of Gherarducci's illumination are easily understood in the light of a style subordinated to the requirements of linear dynamism, precious materials and gold – in brief, to an art of courtly elegance' (Freuler, 1997, p.295). The painter, art historian and biographer Giorgio Vasari said of Don Silvestro's work 'I have myself often examined these books, and have been astonished at the accuracy of design, and beauty of execution'.
Literature
M. Levi d'Ancona, '"Don Silvestro dei Gherarducci" e il "Maestro delle Canzoni"', Rivista d'Arte, XXXII (1957), p.17 n.5 and 'I corali di S. Maria degli Angeli ora nella Bibliteca Laurenziana e le miniature da essi asportate,' Miscellanea di studi in memoria di Anna Saitta Revignas, 1978, p.223.
F. Russell, 'Don Silvestro dei Gherarducci and an illumination from the Collection of William Young Ottley', Burlington Magazine, CXIX, no 888 (March 1977), pp.192-195 and 'A "signature" unmasked', The Nelson Gallery and Atkins Museum Bulletin, V, 5, 1979, pp.88-90.
G. Freuler, Tendencies of Gothic in Florence: Don Silvestro dei Gherarducci, 1997, pp.393-4.
F. Russell, 'Don Silvestro dei Gherarducci and an illumination from the Collection of William Young Ottley', Burlington Magazine, CXIX, no 888 (March 1977), pp.192-195 and 'A "signature" unmasked', The Nelson Gallery and Atkins Museum Bulletin, V, 5, 1979, pp.88-90.
G. Freuler, Tendencies of Gothic in Florence: Don Silvestro dei Gherarducci, 1997, pp.393-4.
Brought to you by
Eugenio Donadoni
Senior Specialist, Medieval & Renaissance Manuscripts