Manuscript Leaf with the Annunciation from a Book of Hours

Manuscript Leaf with the Annunciation from a Book of Hours

Jean Bourdichon

An item at Metropolitan Museum of Art

As part of a daily cycle of prayers in honor of the Virgin, Matins is habitually illustrated by an Annunciation, with the angel Gabriel announcing to Mary that she will bear the infant Jesus. Inhabitual, however, are details of this composition by Jean Bourdichon of Tours, the foremost illuminator to the court of France during the reigns of Louis XI, Charles VIII, Louis XII, and Francis I (1461-1547). Despite his magnificent wings, the angel appearing from the right with crossed arms seems less a heavenly apparition than a confidant. However, it is the golden light suffusing the scene that conveys an otherworldly aspect. Originally the image would have been framed by a floral border, partly visible at the upper left and upper right, and by the opening words of the prayers.

Medieval Art and The Cloisters

An exhibit at Metropolitan Museum of Art

Manuscript Leaf with the Annunciation from a Book of HoursManuscript Leaf with the Annunciation from a Book of HoursManuscript Leaf with the Annunciation from a Book of HoursManuscript Leaf with the Annunciation from a Book of HoursManuscript Leaf with the Annunciation from a Book of Hours

The Museum's collection of medieval and Byzantine art is among the most comprehensive in the world. Displayed in both The Met Fifth Avenue and in the Museum's branch in northern Manhattan, The Met Cloisters, the collection encompasses the art of the Mediterranean and Europe from the fall of Rome in the fourth century to the beginning of the Renaissance in the early sixteenth century. It also includes pre-medieval European works of art created during the Bronze Age and early Iron Age.