Painting the flesh
Artists' Techniques
In flesh areas, a thin grey wash was laid down as an under-layer. An even pink base, a mixture of lead white, red earth and vermilion, was applied next. The main facial features, the nose, mouth and eyes, were outlined with brown, iron-based ink, and highlighted in an organic red pigment. The eyes were further defined with small black dots.
The same brown ink and red pigment were used to model the skin texture with vertical strokes. They were either used sparingly to create youthful, porcelain-smooth complexions or laid down in a dense pattern, resulting in the ruddy faces of older men. Greenish-brown earth was used for shaded areas and lead white for highlights. Finally, a thick impasto of lead white was applied to simulate the texture of bushy eyebrows and in some cases to provide highlights on the cheeks.
Despite general similarities, the work of different artists can be distinguished in the magnified images captured with an optical microscope, by slight differences in the way they blended the paint layers, outlined facial features, and shaped faces, eyes, noses and lips.
The Virgin and Child (prayer Creator celi)
The Virgin and Child are cradled within a crescent moon, a depiction inspired by the Apocalyptic Woman (Revelation 12:4). St Peter leans over the crescent, holding the keys to Paradise and pointing at Christ, the way to salvation. A contemplative St Paul, his sword sheathed, flanks the Virgin on the right. Angels descend from heaven. Their gesturing hands link the group below to the Trinity above, half circled by red seraphs whose arrangement echoes the crescent shape. The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit seem to share a body, but have distinct physiognomies. This ingenious visualisation of a central tenet in Christian theology – the triune nature of the three persons of the Trinity – is embedded here in a devotional image. It introduces the prayer to God that begins on the facing page (fol. 137r).
The image of the Virgin and Child within a crescent moon features among the Limbourg brothers’ works and the Madonna Master, who was responsible for this miniature, may have been familiar with them.
The Madonna Master is the most accomplished artist in the Hours of Isabella Stuart. He uses a palette of bright, bold colours – ultramarine blue, vermilion red, malachite green, organic pink and lead white – set against highly burnished gold leaf, outlined in carbon black. Faces and draperies are modelled with subtle, blended brushstrokes. The artist painted this miniature freehand; no underdrawing was detected in the infrared image.