fredag 5 februari 2010

Reading today

The Beaufort Book of Hours, 1399-1419
Herman Scheere, 1403-1419
Have to admit that I don't understand this, the artist was born in 1403 and died when he was only 16 years old. And he started this painting four years before he was born?

4 kommentarer:

  1. This is beautiful, although, I wonder if it is really as pink as it looks in this reproduction. Henry VIII inherited this from his grandmother Margaret, and I think it was made for her. I'm confused about what the dates refer to also. There is a lot on the internet about it.

    SvaraRadera
  2. Kristi,
    It happens quite often that I find the same image on different sites, and they look very different because the color differ a lot. So it's hard to know what the original painting look like.
    Margaretha

    SvaraRadera
  3. From what I can find out so far the 1403 to 1419 refers to when he was actively working in England.
    There seems to be a scholarly puzzle over his exact work and origins.
    His name is mentioned in various art histories and museum collections as either a German or Flemish master illuminator or minitarist.
    There are slides of his work in the Bodleian library in Oxford refered to as displaying "Continental influence on English illumination"
    There is an article [held here http://www.jstor.org/ ] that people refer to that I haven't been able to access yet it's ...
    [Kuhn, Charles L. “Herman Scheerre and English Illumination of the Early Fifteenth Century.” Art Bulletin 22 (1940): 138–56.]which is precised here
    http://www.jstor.org/pss/868326
    the interesting bit starts a couple of lines under Recent Research...
    The only other significant reference was this "http://arts.jrank.org/pages/16711/Herman-Scheerre.html
    Painter active in England. An illuminator who signed his name ‘hermannus scheere me fecit’ in the background of a miniature of S. John the Evangelist in a missal (London, BL, Add. MS16998) may be
    the same as the ‘herman youre meke seruant’ whose name appears twice in the magnificent book of hours illuminated for John, Duke of Bedford, shortly after 1414 (London, BL, Add. MS42131). Herman
    of Cologne, a lymnour (illuminator), witnessed a will in London in 1407 , and Herman Scheerre's identifiable works show very strong connections with Cologne painting of the time, particularly that of the S. Veronica Master . An equally strong Burgundian influence may be explained by the recorded
    employment, 1401 – 3 , of one Herman of Cologne by Jean Malouel , court painter to Philip the Bold. An artist with a truly international training, Herman Scheerre was one of the key figures responsible for the transformation of English illumination from about 1400 , and his workshop remained active for the first quarter of the century.
    Bibliography and More Information about Herman Scheerre from Rickert, M. , Painting in Britain: The Middle Ages (1965)."

    Gosh sorry this is too long..and I should be washing up...it's just an artist puzzle was far more interesting than domestic chores

    SvaraRadera
  4. Val,
    Thank you for your reserch!
    Much more interesting than washing up - I agree!
    Margaretha

    SvaraRadera