The Morgan Library and Museum recently announced the acquisition of an extremely rare manuscript leaf by the finest and most original illuminator of the Dutch Middle Ages, the Master of Catherine of Cleves. The work is from an otherwise lost “Book of Hours” and is the first to be discovered by the artist since 1980.
The Master of Catherine of Cleves was active in Utrecht, the Netherlands, from around 1430 to 1460. He is named after his masterpiece, the “Hours of Catherine of Cleves,” which is part of the Morgan’s collections, and only 15 of his illuminated manuscripts survive. The newly discovered page contains the beginning of the “Seven Penitential Psalms,” written in Dutch, and the artist framed the text in an elaborate gold and foliate border. Figures depicted in the leaf include David playing the harp, two fighting birds, and an abbot praying to the Virgin Mary, who holds the Christ Child.
“This is an extraordinary addition to the collections of our Department of Medieval and Renaissance Manuscripts and testimony to the connoisseurship and eagle eye of department head Roger Wieck,” said Morgan director Colin B. Bailey. “The work of the Master of Catherine of Cleves is exceptionally scarce, and any new discovery is an important development for art history. We are delighted that we can share the leaf with the public almost as soon as it arrives at the Morgan, and we are deeply grateful to the anonymous donor to the manuscript department who made the purchase possible.”
To learn more, visit www.themorgan.org.