![ST ELIZABETH OF THURINGIA, historiated initial 'L' on a leaf from an illuminated Antiphonal in Latin on vellum [southern Germany, probably Augsburg, third quarter 15th century]](https://www.christies.com/img/LotImages/2018/CKS/2018_CKS_16018_0023_001(st_elizabeth_of_thuringia_historiated_initial_l_on_a_leaf_from_an_illu084216).jpg?w=1)
![ST ELIZABETH OF THURINGIA, historiated initial 'L' on a leaf from an illuminated Antiphonal in Latin on vellum [southern Germany, probably Augsburg, third quarter 15th century]](https://www.christies.com/img/LotImages/2018/CKS/2018_CKS_16018_0023_000(st_elizabeth_of_thuringia_historiated_initial_l_on_a_leaf_from_an_illu094212).jpg?w=1)
Details
ST ELIZABETH OF THURINGIA, historiated initial 'L' on a leaf from an illuminated Antiphonal in Latin on vellum [southern Germany, probably Augsburg, third quarter 15th century]
St Elizabeth of Thuringia, symbol of Christian charity, is simply and affectingly represented on a large Antiphonal leaf illuminated in Augsburg, one of the most important centres of German manuscript production at the end of the 15th century: its style is reminiscent of work commissioned for the monastery of St Ulrich and St Afra by its abbot Melchior von Stammheim in 1459.
c.560 x 355mm, initial: 100 x 115mm, 9 five-line staves, the initial 'L' opening the office for St Elizabeth ('Letare germania'), the verso bearing the end of the office for St Martin (slightly cropped). Frame (760 x 550mm).
The style of the present initial is close to an example painted by Johannes Franck (d.1472), a novice who entered the community of St Ulrich and St Afra in 1447, in an Antiphonal produced in 1459 at the order of Abbot Melchior von Stammheim to mark the assumption of his post a year earlier (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Clm 4302, f. 197v). The monastery of St Ulrich and St Afra was at the centre of Augsburg manuscript production during the latter half of the 15th century; the tradition of Franck – described by a contemporary chronicler as 'vir bonus et optimus illuminista, qui suis manibus, illuminavit libros chori' – and his associate, Heinrich Pittinger (d. 1483), was continued by brothers including Conrad Wagner (d.1495), known for his monogram in a Gradual (Augsburg, Diocesan Museum, ms. DM 11), before the capacity of the illuminators active in the community began to lag behind demand for splendid books for the mass and office. After this lay ateliers were engaged to fulfil commissions; most famous of these was Georg Beck, who with his son decorated two volumes of a Psalter for the house in 1495. The present initial reflects the stylistic inheritance of Johannes Franck in the elliptical figure of St Elizabeth, her curved profile defined by heavy-lidded eyes beneath arched eyebrows.
St Elizabeth of Thuringia, symbol of Christian charity, is simply and affectingly represented on a large Antiphonal leaf illuminated in Augsburg, one of the most important centres of German manuscript production at the end of the 15th century: its style is reminiscent of work commissioned for the monastery of St Ulrich and St Afra by its abbot Melchior von Stammheim in 1459.
c.560 x 355mm, initial: 100 x 115mm, 9 five-line staves, the initial 'L' opening the office for St Elizabeth ('Letare germania'), the verso bearing the end of the office for St Martin (slightly cropped). Frame (760 x 550mm).
The style of the present initial is close to an example painted by Johannes Franck (d.1472), a novice who entered the community of St Ulrich and St Afra in 1447, in an Antiphonal produced in 1459 at the order of Abbot Melchior von Stammheim to mark the assumption of his post a year earlier (Bayerische Staatsbibliothek, Clm 4302, f. 197v). The monastery of St Ulrich and St Afra was at the centre of Augsburg manuscript production during the latter half of the 15th century; the tradition of Franck – described by a contemporary chronicler as 'vir bonus et optimus illuminista, qui suis manibus, illuminavit libros chori' – and his associate, Heinrich Pittinger (d. 1483), was continued by brothers including Conrad Wagner (d.1495), known for his monogram in a Gradual (Augsburg, Diocesan Museum, ms. DM 11), before the capacity of the illuminators active in the community began to lag behind demand for splendid books for the mass and office. After this lay ateliers were engaged to fulfil commissions; most famous of these was Georg Beck, who with his son decorated two volumes of a Psalter for the house in 1495. The present initial reflects the stylistic inheritance of Johannes Franck in the elliptical figure of St Elizabeth, her curved profile defined by heavy-lidded eyes beneath arched eyebrows.
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