Master of the Grandes Heures
Artists
A talented associate of the Master of the Bible of Jean de Sy painted nine of the ten large miniatures of the Grandes Heures, together with their bas-de-page scenes, as well as most of the small miniatures of the original campaign. Given his significant contribution, he is named the Master of the Grandes Heures. Active in Paris c. 1350-1380, he illuminated manuscripts for Charles V in the 1370s. He followed closely the Jean de Sy Master’s compositions, figure and facial types, palette and painting technique.
Coronation of the Virgin with bas-de-page scene of a man attacking a lion (Hours of the Virgin, Compline)
This page was illuminated by the Master of the Grandes Heures. A pentimento is apparent in the bas-de-page image of a man attacking a lion (hotspot 1). The man was originally supplied with a sling, suggesting that a model of David and Goliath might have been used for the sketch. The sling was then replaced with a club, perhaps judged to be more effective in an encounter with a lion that was unlikely to attract God’s protection, or considered a more accurate representation of a famous myth, if the scene was intended to show Hercules approaching the Nemean lion.