![THE CREATION OF THE EPICYCLES, miniature on a cutting from Guillaume de Digulleville's Le Pèlerinage de l'Âme, in French, ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT ON VELLUM, [Metz, c.1440].](https://www.christies.com/img/LotImages/2014/CKS/2014_CKS_01568_0002_000(the_creation_of_the_epicycles_miniature_on_a_cutting_from_guillaume_de090441).jpg?w=1)
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THE CREATION OF THE EPICYCLES, miniature on a cutting from Guillaume de Digulleville's Le Pèlerinage de l'Âme, in French, ILLUMINATED MANUSCRIPT ON VELLUM, [Metz, c.1440].
123 x 110mm. The miniature is an artistic representation of the moment in which the soul listens to the melody of the seven spheres, which by their movement create the epicycles — here depicted as two varicoloured circles made up of concentric rings, against a striking sky of vermillion red and rolling green hills. The composition is starkly modern: the soft, pastel palette of the rings is set against the complementary red-green background pairing to lively visual effect. The artist may be Henri d'Orquevault, active in Metz in the first half of the 15th century and identified by Paul Durrieu by a colophon in an example of the Chronicle of Livy. The text is from Le Pèlerinage de l'Âme (vv. 8895-8900) of Guillaume de Digulleville (1295-after 1358), one of three allegorical 'Pilgrimages' composed by the author, inspired by the Roman de la Rose and the medieval theme of Homo Viator.
123 x 110mm. The miniature is an artistic representation of the moment in which the soul listens to the melody of the seven spheres, which by their movement create the epicycles — here depicted as two varicoloured circles made up of concentric rings, against a striking sky of vermillion red and rolling green hills. The composition is starkly modern: the soft, pastel palette of the rings is set against the complementary red-green background pairing to lively visual effect. The artist may be Henri d'Orquevault, active in Metz in the first half of the 15th century and identified by Paul Durrieu by a colophon in an example of the Chronicle of Livy. The text is from Le Pèlerinage de l'Âme (vv. 8895-8900) of Guillaume de Digulleville (1295-after 1358), one of three allegorical 'Pilgrimages' composed by the author, inspired by the Roman de la Rose and the medieval theme of Homo Viator.
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