(active in mid 15th century)

The Goddess Diana, page from the Chroniques de Hainaut c. 1448 Opaque paint, gold, and pen and ink on parchment, 44 x 31 cm Bibliothèque Royal de Belgique, Brussels

The great period of Flemish illumination began around 1445, under the patronage of Duke Philip the Good. Until that time Philip had shown little interest in commissioning manuscripts. He had inherited some 250 books from is forebears, and acquired only a few more during the first 25 years of his reign. However, he now began ordering manuscripts on a large scale. Historical and political texts, legends of saints, religious tracts, scholarly treatises and other works were the texts of these often magnificently bound and illuminated books. On Philip's death, his library amounted to about 1,000 volumes, half of them illustrated, a number that made it the largest in Europe.

The most importants of these manuscripts were connected from the first with specific political ideas and claims. The three-volume Hainault Chronicle, ordered by the duke early in this period, gives an account of the history of Hainault, a region that he had only just acquired. It traces the genealogical tree of the legitimate ruler from the Trojans to Philip's immediate ancestors.

On the page of the Goddess Diana, the worship in classical antiquity of the goddess of the hunt, Diana, identifiable by her bow and the stag, is depicted in a very contemporary Netherlandish style. The fact that the scene takes place very much earlier is indicated only by a few exotic details such as the headband of the kneeling priest, and the temple itself, a curious mixture of Romanesque and Gothic forms.

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Author: MINIATURIST, Flemish Title: The Goddess Diana, page from the Chroniques de Hainaut Time-line: 1401-1450 School: Flemish Form: illumination