Nantes Artists
Artists
Two Breton illuminators amended and expanded the imagery.
In 1442, an artist working in Nantes for Francis I of Brittany painted the portrait of Isabella Stuart over that of the original owner on fol. 20r. The image was adapted in two stages. Around the same time Isabella’s arms were added to the borders on fol. 20r and throughout the volume. Another Breton illuminator painted a new miniature including the image of Margaret of Brittany for the prayer added c. 1455 on fol. 28r.
Margaret of Brittany praying to the Virgin and Child (prayer Omnis virtus)
The prayer and its image were added for Margaret of Brittany. She is shown kneeling before the Virgin and Child at a prayer desk draped in fabric embroidered with the arms of Brittany. Margaret received the manuscript from her mother, Isabella Stuart, probably around 1455, the year of her marriage to her cousin, the future Francis II of Brittany. The text and image would have been added shortly after that and certainly before 1458 when Margaret became a duchess. Her tall, gold turret and its magnificent veil find parallels in manuscripts of the mid-1450s and denote Margaret’s wealth, but after 1458 she might have chosen to have herself depicted with a ducal coronet instead.
The marginal scene of Pentecost, illustrating the Pilgrimage of Jesus Christ cycle, belongs to the original campaign.
The added miniature was painted with an organic green, azurite and vermilion instead of the malachite, ultramarine and red lead found in the marginal scene and in most other images that belong to the original campaign. The use of cheaper blues and greens implies that Margaret may not have had access to the resources which were at the disposal of her parents, let alone of the manuscript’s original owner.