The Missal of Cardinal Angelo Acciaiuoli

Cardinal Angelo Acciaiuoli

Owners

Cardinal Angelo Acciaiuoli (1340-1408) was a major patron of Florentine artists, including Gherardo Starnina and the illuminators involved in the production of his Missal. He resided mostly in Rome after becoming Chancellor of the Holy See in 1387, and especially after he was appointed Archpriest of St Peter’s in the Vatican in 1404 and Dean of the College of Cardinals in 1405. Nevertheless, from 1385 until his death Acciaiuoli was also the commendatory abbot of the Badia in Florence, a Benedictine monastery with an active scriptorium. The Badia’s account books, which survive in the State Archives of Florence, preserve the names of the artists responsible for Acciaiuoli’s Missal. Three of them painted the Cardinal’s portrait within the volume.

Lightbox: 112
1
Detail of the Cardinal’s portrait under magnification (7.5x), exemplifying the delicate faces with long eye lashes, fine modelling and complex layering of flesh tones that characterise the work of Hand A.
Lightbox: 113
2
Detail of Christ’s face under magnification (25x), showing the delicate modelling of the flesh tones, with subtle brown shadows and pink highlights over a white base layer. The facial features are defined with reddish brown lines and the eyes are outlined in black. XRF analysis (below) allows the identification of lead white (Pb), vermilion (mercury, Hg) and an earth pigment (iron, Fe) in this area.
Lightbox: 116
3
Detail of the angel’s mantle under magnification (7.5x). FORS analysis (below) reveals the presence of lead white (absorption band at 1448 nm) and a red dye, probably extracted from insects (absorption maxima at 523 and 565 nm), in the pink portion of the mantle. Additional absorption bands at 1730, 1760, 2310 and 2352 nm are due to the presence of egg yolk used as a paint binder.
Lightbox: 115
4
Detail of the green folds of Christ’s mantle under magnification (60x). The blue particles which can be clearly distinguished were identified as azurite by FORS analysis. The XRF spectrum (below) reveals the additional presence of lead-tin yellow (Pb, Sn) as the yellow component of this green mixture.

Historiated initial A with Christ blessing and border with Angelo Acciaiuoli’s portrait and arms (Mass for Advent Sunday)

The elegant figures with delicate faces are representative of Hand A. The complex modelling and careful blending of the flesh tones demonstrate his remarkable technical skill (hotspots 1 and 2). He used egg yolk as a binder to paint the figures, both in the miniature and in the border (hotspot 3), and favoured mixtures of azurite with yellow pigments to obtain green hues (hotspot 4).

Related content: The Missal of Cardinal Angelo Acciaiuoli

Related content: Lab