Hours of Gian Galeazzo Visconti

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Visconti Hours LF46v, attributed to Belbello da Pavia

The Hours of Giangaleazzo Visconti (Florence,

Hours of the Virgin, a daily devotional that was popular at the time. This particular Book of Hours was created by two master illuminators, beginning with Giovannino dei Grassi before his death, and completed by Luchino Belbello da Pavia.[2]

The Visconti Hours is a classic example of the personal prayer books of the period, which were generally made for wealthy lay persons.

The book remained unfinished until after Visconti's (and the dei Grassi's) death. It is now in the Biblioteca Nazionale in Florence.

Description

The pages are large in comparison to similar books, such as the

historiated initials, with most pages still containing decoration throughout.[3] Three types of gold were used in the creation of this text including gold emulsion and burnished gold leaf.[4]

The pages are decorated in a distinctly Italian

Byzantine style that envelopes the figures by utilizing a background usually created with gold leaf. On multiple pages, the artists also inserted the Visconti family crest, consisting of a serpent devouring a child.[citation needed
]

History and commission

Production of this codex is attributed to Frate Amedeo; Amadeo signed his work, which was not typical of the time period. It was commissioned by Gian Galeazzo Visconti in the late 14th century, but only completed after his death at the request of his son Filippo Maria Visconti. The first artist commissioned was the master Italian illuminator Giovannino dei Grassi; after the latter’s death the work was completed by Luchino Belbello da Pavia.[citation needed]

Gian Galeazzo Visconti, first Duke of Milan

Visconti was the first Duke of Milan and is accredited with creating the first modern bureaucracy due to the system of administration and programs he implemented, including a program of bookkeeping, "committing to books and ledgers the minutest items of his private expenditure and the outgoings of his public purse…"[5]

Artists

Giovannino dei Grassi

Born in Milan in about 1350, Giovannino dei Grassi was an Italian painter, sculptor, architect, and celebrated illuminator. He worked as an architect for the Milan Cathedral though he is better known for his works in illumination and painting. He is also well known for his notebook of drawings kept in the Library Angelo Mai of Bergamo. This notebook is considered one of the most important examples of late Gothic Italian art and consisted of scenes of daily activities, animals, and images from nature, as well as illuminated letters. He died in 1398.[citation needed]

Luchino Belbello da Pavia

Belbello da Pavia was an Italian miniaturist and painter active between approximately 1430 and 1470. His life and career remained mostly undetected until the beginning of the twentieth century when two scholars, Toesca and Pacchioni, identified him.[6] His style was influenced by the work of Giovannino dei Grassi, as well as that of Michelino da Besozzo. His contribution to the Offiziolo Visconti, the second half, is described primarily as an unusual chromatic fantasy.[citation needed]

Gallery

  • BR1: Marriage of Anna and Joachim
    BR1: Marriage of Anna and Joachim
  • LF153: Foxes with Firebrands Judges 15
    LF153: Foxes with Firebrands Judges 15
  • LF129v of the Visconti Hours
    LF129v of the Visconti Hours
  • LF150v: Samson in battle
    LF150v: Samson in battle
  • LF11v: Celestial Court
    LF11v: Celestial Court
  • LF12: Fall of the Rebel Angels
    LF12: Fall of the Rebel Angels
  • LF155: Samson steals the gates of Gaza Judges 16
    LF155: Samson steals the gates of Gaza Judges 16
  • LF33v of the Visconti Hours
    LF33v of the Visconti Hours
  • LF46v: Creation of Eve, attributed to Belbello da Pavia
    LF46v: Creation of Eve, attributed to Belbello da Pavia

References

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Offiziolo di Gian Galeazzo Visconti - BNC Firenze.
  1. ISBN 978-0714834528
    .
  2. ISBN 978-3822847503
    .
  3. ^ "Visconti Book of Hours". FacsimileFinder. Retrieved 11 June 2017.
  4. ISBN 978-0807606513
    .
  5. ^ Symonds, John Addington (1888). Renaissance in Italy: The Age of Despots. New York: Henry Holt & Company. p. 142.
  6. ^ De Agostini, Novara (1964). "The Muses". 3: 155. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)

External links

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