The Pontifical of Renaud de Bar

Blue pigments

Artists' Materials

Azurite and ultramarine blue are used side by side and cleverly combined in overlapping layers to create multiple shades of blue throughout the manuscript.

Azurite is used in the diamond-patterned backgrounds of some miniatures, as well as for all the small blue initials and line-fillers and for blue areas of the decoration extending into the borders, including blue leaves.

Ultramarine is reserved for the blue robes and for other small details such as the blue decoration of the white tent on fol. 1r. It is also mixed, in very small amounts, with lead white in the criss-crossing lines which decorate the pink backgrounds of some miniatures.

The two pigments are combined in the miniatures’ blue frames, where a light blue base layer of azurite is overlapped by darker details painted in ultramarine and ornamental motifs added in lead white.

Finally, indigo provides a cool, blue-grey ground for the raised gold leaf in the initials’ inner backgrounds and the miniatures’ frames.

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1
Detail of the bishop’s blue robe under magnification (10x). The robe was painted with ultramarine mixed with variable amounts of lead white to obtain a range of hues.
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2
Detail of a cleric’s light blue robe under magnification (20x). The delicate hue of the robe was obtained by painting a thin layer of ultramarine blue over a base of lead white. The crisp carbon black outlines contribute to create a three-dimensional effect.
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3
Detail of the decorated initial S under magnification (20x). A dark blue layer of azurite was painted over a lighter-coloured base containing the same pigment. The initial’s decoration lacks the elegance and refinement visible in the miniature’s border (see hotspot 4).
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4
Detail of the miniature’s border under magnification (20x). A light blue layer of azurite was covered with a darker thin layer of ultramarine blue. Smooth lead white lines complete the decoration, incredibly refined despite its small scale.
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5
Detail of the miniature’s background under magnification (20x). Particles of ultramarine blue can be seen mixed with lead white in the criss-crossing lines which decorate the organic pink background.

Bishop anointing an altar with oil (Office for the Dedication of a Church)

The partial bar border and ornamental initial S are decorated with foliate motifs. In the historiated initial E, a standing figure pours oil upon an altar. He may represent the Old Testament patriarch, Jacob, who is mentioned in the accompanying text.

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