Hand C
Artists
Hand C painted the historiated initials for the first three offices in the Hours of the Virgin and for the suffrages to saints (quires 16-19) as well as the single bas-de-page scene in the manuscript (fol. 174r). His compositions are clear and legible, despite the small painted areas, often densely populated. The imposing figures are well proportioned and fully engaged in the pictorial narrative, their eye contact, expressive faces, gestures and dynamic poses enhancing the drama. The draperies are skilfully modelled, conveying the three-dimensional forms beneath. The most advanced examples are found in blue and white fabrics. Hand C uses a brilliant palette, richer and more nuanced than that of the previous two artists.
This talented artist also painted one quire with full-page miniatures in the prefatory cycle of the St Louis Psalter (Paris, BnF, MS lat. 10525, fols. 25v-28).
St Nicholas’ charity (suffrage to St Nicholas)
This image illustrates the story of St Nicholas giving money to an ailing and impoverished father who feared that prostitution might be the only path left to his daughters. The monumental figures and the diapered blue and pink grounds characterise the work of Hand C.