ENLUMINURE. ANTIPHONARY. Historiated initial P. Ascension Illuminated...

[ENLUMINURE]. [ANTIPHONARY].
Historiated initial P.
Ascension
Illuminated border: architectural decoration with pilasters and laurel garlands.
Leaf from an antiphonary.
Recto and verso: Beginning of Ascension matins.
Music with square notation on 4-line staves.
Tempera, gouache and liquid gold on parchment.
Belgium, Ghent or Bruges, circa 1500-1510.
Sheet size: 342 x 480 mm; size of historiated initial: 110 x 120 mm
A few small holes in the parchment, due to the acidity of the ink, at the level of certain letters traced in black ink. Parchment a little creased in places, but in good condition overall.
From an antiphonary painted in Bruges, whose historiated initials and borders recall the art of the so-called Raphael de Mercatellis Masters. These artists formed a collective of anonymous miniaturists active around 1470-1510, probably in various workshops in Ghent and Bruges. They bear the name of their most notable patron Raphael de Mercatellis (1437-1508), illegitimate son of Philip the Good of Burgundy, who served as abbot of Saint Bavo in Ghent and became the most important humanist bibliophile in the Low Countries. The workshop also executed famous commissions for many other illustrious clients, such as the Missal of Jan van Broedere (d. 1526), abbot and humanist scholar of Grammont Abbey (Geraardsbergen).
Bibliography :
As-Vijvers, A.-M., Re-Making the Margin..., Turnhout, 2013. - Derolez, A. The Library of Raphael de Mercatellis, Ghent, 1979. - Dogaer, G. Flemish miniature painting in the 15th and 16th centuries, Amsterdam, 1987, pp. 151-155. - Wijsman, H. Luxury Bound: Illustrated Manuscript Production and Noble and Princely Book Ownership in the Burgaudain Netherlands (1400-1550), Turnhout, 2010, pp. 282-283. - Vanwijnsberghe, D. " L'Antiphonaire d'Oosteeklo et son enlumineur (Cornelia van Wulfschkercke?)", in CeROArt, June 2015.