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A series of miniatures cut from a Grandes chroniques de France, in French, illuminated manuscript on vellum [Paris, c.1400-1410]Nine miniatures cut from a manuscript of the Grandes chroniques de France illuminated by Perrin Rémiet, whose richly illuminated copies of secular texts made him a favourite of the court of Charles VI.The first iteration of the Grandes chroniques de France – a milestone in the development of French vernacular prose historiography – emerged from the abbey of St Denis near Paris at the end of the 13th century in response to the prevailing royal and aristocratic taste for texts that presented models from ancient history as a guide for personal self-development at the same time as emphasising the line of dynastic descent to the incumbent Valois rulers. In the first instance, the Chroniques covered the history of France from its foundation after the Fall of Troy to the death of Philip Augustus in 1223, while subsequent recensions continued the chronicle towards the modern day. The British Library holds a copy of the Chroniques (Royal MS 16 G VI) made for John II of France before 1350, while he was Duke of Normandy; this copy ends with the death of Saint Louis in 1270. Multiple copies were also made for Charles VI (1369-1422) and his uncle, the Duc de Berry (1340-1416). Perrin (Pierre) Rémiet, documented in Paris from 1386 to 1428, was a favourite of the court of Charles VI during Paris’s greatest period as a centre of illumination (see François Avril, 'Trois manuscrits napolitains des collections de Charles V et du duc de Berry', Bibliothèque de l'École des chartes, 127, 1969, pp.291-328; for a convincing refutation of Michael Camille's misleading identification of Rémiet with the Maître de la mort and consequent attribution of Remiet’s work to Jean de Nizières, see R. and M. Rouse, Manuscripts and their Makers, Commercial Book Production in Medieval Paris 1200-1500, 2000, I, pp.293-6, and II, pp.79 and 115). His style is characterised by the use of a crisp black line to outline the figures, to define the curls of their hair and their large, deep-set eyes as well as the drapery; his miniatures are populated with the type of naturalistically modelled figures set against patterned backgrounds. Of the nine cuttings offered as lots 15-23, four were sold at Christie’s, 27 June 1979, lot 148; one was acquired from a private Belgian collection in 1999; three were sold at Sotheby’s, 7 July 2008, lot 3; and a final cutting was offered at Marc van de Wiele Auctions, 7 March 2009, lot 765. The four cuttings sold at Christie's were cited in Anne D. Hedeman, The Royal Image, Illustrations of the Grandes Chroniques de France, 1274-1422, 1991, pp. 185 and 195, where they are ascribed to the second artist of the Bibliothèque nationale de France, ms fr. 823. This is the celebrated manuscript of Guillaume de Digulleville, Pèlerinage de la vie humaine, which includes the marginal instruction addressed to Rémiet.
Perrin Rémiet (fl.1386-1428)
Emperor Tiberius finds a God-given treasure
Details
Perrin Rémiet (fl.1386-1428)
Emperor Tiberius finds a God-given treasure
EMPEROR TIBERIUS FINDS A GOD-GIVEN TREASURE, miniature cut from a Grandes chroniques de France, manuscript on vellum illuminated by Perrin Rémiet [Paris, c.1400-1410].
Miniature: 71 x 90mm on a cutting 113 x 117mm, depicting the Roman Emperor Tiberius gesturing towards the uncovered hoard of coins, the miniature above a four-line illuminated initial with extended border flourishing, 6 lines of text in a single column, 17 lines on verso. Mounted. Provenance: Marc van de Wiele Auctions, 7 March 2009, lot 765.
The subject matter of the miniature is unusual; it appears in Royal MS 16 G VI (f.50r) opening book 3, chapter 6.
Emperor Tiberius finds a God-given treasure
EMPEROR TIBERIUS FINDS A GOD-GIVEN TREASURE, miniature cut from a Grandes chroniques de France, manuscript on vellum illuminated by Perrin Rémiet [Paris, c.1400-1410].
Miniature: 71 x 90mm on a cutting 113 x 117mm, depicting the Roman Emperor Tiberius gesturing towards the uncovered hoard of coins, the miniature above a four-line illuminated initial with extended border flourishing, 6 lines of text in a single column, 17 lines on verso. Mounted. Provenance: Marc van de Wiele Auctions, 7 March 2009, lot 765.
The subject matter of the miniature is unusual; it appears in Royal MS 16 G VI (f.50r) opening book 3, chapter 6.
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