Mayer van den Bergh Breviary

Mayer van den Bergh Breviary

The Mayer van den Bergh Breviary representsone of the greatest masterpieces from the last flowering of European manuscript art before it was almost entirely replaced by printed books. It is an exemplary specimen of the so-called Ghent-Bruges style, which has been studied inter alia for the links it had to panel painting and for the insights it allows researchers into the practices of late medieval artists’ workshops. Around 80 miniatures, 149 decorative borders, and numerous decorative initials from some of the finest artists of the period adorn the text, which was masterfully written by skilled scribes working in competition with the printing press. The manuscript appears to have been completed in two stages, possibly finished by a second owner after the original commission was cancelled. It is believed to have originated from a commission by a member of the Portuguese royal family.

A Mysterious Patron

Due to the lavish adornment of the manuscript and the inscription written in Portuguese, it has long been theorized that King Manuel I of Portugal (1469–1521) either commissioned the work or received it as a gift. However, there are no obvious indications of a book made for the King – neither his coat of arms, the insignia of the Templar Order (of which he was grand master), nor an emphasis on Manuel’s patron saint, Jerome, are found in the manuscript. There are indications of a patron sympathetic to the Franciscans and Augustinians, which applied to various members of the Portuguese royal family, but there are even more indicators of a female patron. The large number of miniatures depicting the Virgin Mary suggests that Manuel’s wife, Maria of Aragon and Castile (1482–1517), may have been the original owner, but all this remains only an unproven theory. Nonetheless, the work is a manuscript of the highest quality which was commissioned either by or for a member of the Portuguese royal family or possibly a high-ranking courtier.

The Last Flowering of Flemish Illumination

The Ghent-Bruges school represents the last and most prolific episode in Flemish manuscript production, which is distinguished by a new style characterized by lavish, innovative, and imaginative illuminations making use of the most recent artistic techniques of the Italian Renaissance, which spread to the Low Countries through trade via Bruges. Even as overall manuscript production declined during the 16th century, the upper echelons of the European nobility as well as wealthy members of the emerging bourgeoisie continued to commission luxury manuscripts. Breviaries originated from the Liturgy of the Hours and were originally used by monks and priests, but lay breviaries emerged in the Late Middle Ages as members of the upper nobility employed chaplains to perform private masses. Lay breviaries evolved into prestige objects rather than practical texts for daily use, as evidenced by the pristine state of the Mayer van den Bergh Breviary.

An All-Star Team of Artists

This manuscript has been hailed as the pinnacle of the Ghent-Bruges school and is attributed to some of the leading miniaturists of the period. The Maximilian Master and his workshop appear to have created the majority of the miniatures as well as the decorative frames and initials. Their style is marked by male figures with powerful figures and calm, serious faces with heavy eyebrows, defined cheekbones, and a protruding upper lip. Meanwhile, female figures have oval faces with pale skin and narrow chins. All figures are depicted with long, graceful hands. The Master of James IV of Scotland contributed five miniatures to the manuscript, which are distinguishable by similarly robust figures but with livelier and more expressive faces. Gerard David (ca. 1460–1523) is credited with at least three and possibly four miniatures characterized by their masterfully painted faces with transparent layers of white and soft pink as well as a sense of depth created with soft grey tones. Two miniatures, which are completely different stylistically from the rest of the manuscript, appear to have been created by Gerard Horenbout (ca. 1465 – ca. 1541). They are highly detailed with special attention paid to garment fall of folds and a wonderful sense of depth and space.

Contents of the Great Tome

This large breviary is made of 706 vellum folia measuring 224 x 160 mm. A breviary is essentially an expanded book of hours containing all the prayers of the liturgical year arranged chronologically. They always begin with a calendar, which in the case of this manuscript is furnished with corresponding zodiac signs and seasonal activities or so-called labors of the months. The next section is a Psalter, followed by a series of hymns, and a temporal containing prayers for all the liturgical feasts of the year beginning with Advent and ending with the Easter season. Following this is the proprium sanctorum, commune sanctorum with general offices for saints, and finally a number of unchanging divine offices that could be celebrated throughout the year.

A Mysterious Ownership History

All the manuscript’s contents are remarkably well preserved thanks to the apparent neglect of the manuscript over the centuries. There is virtually no record of the manuscript between 1500 and the end of the 19th century, when it resurfaced in England. It was sold to Martin Heckscher, an art collector in Vienna, after whose death the manuscript was exhibited in the Kunstgewerbemuseum in Berlin. It was auctioned at Christie’s in London on May 4, 1898 and was bought for £1420, considered a high price for a manuscript at the time, by H. Wareham Harding, a representative of Fritz Mayer van den Bergh (1848–1901).