Customer Reviews

The Hours of Catherine of Cleves

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The local museum in my city currently has a hundred pages from this magnificent book on loan from the Pierpont Morgan Library. With the real thing so freshly imprinted on the mind, this reprint from the 1960s cannot but disappoint. The picture resolution is insufficient to allow the viewer to discern the very tiniest details, and overall the colours are too saturated, at times even somewhat harsh, compared to the freshness, brilliance and translucency of the originals. Sometimes this, too, goes at the expense of detail; e.g., in the Trinity in an Apse (nr. 32) the border around the image seems to consist of crude red onionshapes; it is only from reading the accompanying text that the viewer will know that these actually contain depictions of angels: the orange angels are invisible against the red. Also, the paper on which the artwork was painted appears almost yellow in this reprint, whereas in the book itself it is near-white. Don't expect too much either from the gold detailing mentioned in the editorial review above; gold is reproduced as a kind of beige with a slight shine to it, but obviously doesn't come close to the glittering sparkle (and doesn't even try to emulate the relief) of the original's gold leaf. (Still, the effect is much better than the awful reddish brown found in the horrible edition of the Duc de Berry's Tres Riches Heures from this same publisher.)

But all that said, there is no alternative to this book if you want to really get to know Catherine's Hours (unless you are a very determined and very rich collector and want to go for the new limited-edition facsimile that a Swiss publisher is coming out with - it has a whopping 14.000 dollar price tag, and even that version doesn't quite match the original, as I found out when I perused a copy on view at the museum). This is a well-made, heavy little volume that offers more than enough to give you a fair impression of these dazzling miniatures, and even if it is far from perfect, that will hardly mar your enjoyment of this Master's inventive borders, where surprising and sometimes funny little scenes from daily life contrast with the more serious religious matter they frame. Also, some decorative work involving muscles and butterflies is quite stunning in its realism. But there is room for an affordable modern reprint of this gem. Until that comes along, do grasp the opportunity to see the original pages when they are on view!

This beautiful and richly illustrated book of hours was made for Catherine of Cleves on the occasion of her marriage to the Duke of Guelders. It was created around 1440 in Holland by an unknown artist. The illustrations are of biblical scenes;the latter 56 pages are suffrages with illustrations of various saints. It is unusual to find a book of hours that is so liberally illustrated.

The first section of this book contains a useful and informative introductory essay. Following this, there are 160 color ilustrations (in the original size)with a brief commentary by the author.

This book was originally released in 1966 and is now reissued at a very reasonable price. While I cannot claim to have seen the original manuscript, the colors of the reproductions, while quite acceptable, are somewhat hard and unnatural. Otherwise this is a beautifully produced book that will give great pleasure to fans of illuminated manuscripts.

considering this small book is printed at the orignal scale, the details are astonishing. the printing quality delievers the art work right to your hands. it is a superb full color reproduction. the introdution is an indepth study of the history of the two original copies and the process of reconstruction of the book. the related history, manuscript making of the time are well studied.

however, the published book does not translate the Latin text in to any language i can understand. but, i guess, the text is just explaining what the picture is, which the editor always gave a longer explaination paragraph for every picture in the book, in modern eyes.

this is one of the best reproduced manuscript available today.

The Hours of Catherine of Cleves is one of the most exquisite book of hours of all time! This edition is not doing justice to it. The colors are hash and unnatural, and the gold here masks the details of the prints without doing any good. Just go to the Morgan Library online exhibition to see for yourself how beautiful this book of hours actually is!

I still suggest getting a copy of it so you can use it as a reference when you browse through the Morgan Library online exhibition. I got hold of a 1966 copy, it is much better than the 2002 edition. The color is still off, but the details are better. for example, golden peas are like peas, while in the 2002 edition, they are flat gold circles.

I recreate period manuscripts for a reenacting group. This jewel is a great source. Simply beautiful!

First published in 1966, The Hours Of Catherine Of Cleves is a wonderfully beautiful work that reproduces a fifteenth-century illuminated manuscript featuring unforgettably beautiful Bible illustrations of scenes from the Old and New testaments. These artworks were originally created for Catherine of Cleves on the occasion of her marriage to the Duke of Guelders. Each page of this splendidly illustrated book is accompanied by the commentary of John Plummer, who offers insight and a descriptive vibrancy to the splendor of the illustrations. A treasure to read, view, and absorb, The Hours Of Catherine Of Cleves is recommended for Christian Studies and Christian Art History collections.

One doesn't need to be Christian to fall in love with this book. Each tiny painting is rich in detail and imagination. There is not one careless or unnecessary brushstroke. The artists who produced this work did the very best in their power and each image glows with their intention. There is a wonderful awkwardness in many of the human figures, but the natural and imaginal worlds are depicted with loving fidelity. This is religious art that stands with miniatures from India and Persia as some of the greatest art ever created for an intimate scale.

This book of hours is full of beautiful illuminated pages that illastrate the detailed manuscrips of the historical period. A wonderful addition to a collection of Books of Hours.

Between 1400 and 1440 in a line between Paris and Utrecht, including Tournai, Ypres, Ghent, Bruges, and Brussels, hand-painted manuscripts known as Books of Hours were at the height of their popularity and were produced in great numbers. Less complicated than the breviaries used by the clergy yet not without their own substantial comprehensiveness, the Hour Books were daily devotionals used by pious lay people. Despite the smallness of the illuminations in these manuscripts, they were and still are valued as major artistic works of exquisite workmanship. Once one gets past the expectations of modern artistic sensibilities and focuses upon the details of the miniatures, one realizes that these "Horae" are real treasures.

This particular book is an attractive, high-quality, slip-cased edition of miniatures reproduced from the prayer book made for Catherine of Cleves, Duchess of Guelders. The manuscript has been dated at around 1440. The actual identity of "the Master of Catherine of Cleves" is unknown but art historians have been able to agree that he worked from Utrecht. His work is highly esteemed, on a par with such well-known artists as the Limbourg brothers who came originally from Guelders and who created the Tres Riches Heures of Jean Duc de Berry; the "Boucicaut Master"; the "Bedford Master"; and the "Rohan Master" who created the Rohan family's Hour Book. Subtle, intricate, and exacting in style, these manuscript painters are believed to have been greatly influenced by the art of Jan van Eyck

The "Catherine of Cleves Master" demonstrates what is termed in this book's Introduction by manuscript specialist John Plummer "a remarkable orderliness and rationality" whose execution of the plan for these Hours "reveals a mind that delights in systems and in organizing large numbers of things." Plummer estimates that the program for the illustrations probably took some years to accomplish. In analyzing the individuality of this particular artist, Plummer focuses upon his attention to amazingly inobtrusive detail: "[In a depiction of St. Christopher], one becomes aware of the first level of details, such as drapery, rocks, clouds, and sunset sky; but for some time one does not see, not until one uses a magnifying glass, such details as the fish jumping from the water, or the ducks, which measure about one thirty-second of an inch, floating among the reeds." Plummer also notes that this particular artist enriches surfaces with a luster of luminous transparency reminiscent of precious metals and jewels. He seems to have a jeweler's "delight in luxury." His characteristic "transmutation of the ordinary into the precious" links him, in Plummer's opinion, with "that later Dutch 'alchemist,' Jan Vermeer."

The reconstruction of this manuscript not only reveals, according to Plummer, the "sustained originality and consistently high quality" of its artwork, but it "enlarges our knowledge of Catherine's milieu and of the potential of contemporary Dutch patronage." Further, it "revises our understanding of the development of Dutch art in the fifteenth century."

Studying these miniatures and tracing their border decorations will surely delight those scholars who enjoy the symbolism of medieval iconography. With the help of commentaries accompanying the miniatures, one learns such things as the significance of large, stylized "peas in pods" that enhance a border decoration; why bee-hives signify the Virgin Mary; why a log sticks up out of the pool of Bethesda; what is signified by a pelican beating its breast to produce blood for a nest full of baby pelicans to drink. Almost every commentary imparts symbolic information.

Since the Suffrage section with over fifty devotions to individual saints contains some unusual and less well-known medieval iconography and also some of the most innovative border decorations, it is a source of occasional delightful surprises. For instance, one can't help smiling to see floor tiles under St. Gertrude's feet depicting an alternating pattern of rats and rat traps alluding to her patronage over rat-catching! One may not already know why a drinking scene is depicted in the border of St. James Minor's page, or why a baking scene is depicted in St. Philip Apostle's border. A unique and intriguing border made up of pretzels and biscuits surrounding St. Bartholmew Apostle remains inexplicable, and there are other unsolved mysteries of iconography in the book that cognoscenti readers may be able to supply an answer for. --Nevertheless, page after page, author Plummer supplies meaningful iconic information.

Although the portraiture in these miniatures is repetitious of certain facial types, it rises above a cartoonish effect and there is a great deal of naturalistic individuality conveyed by this artist. He seems to me to do particularly well depicting distinguished and venerable traits in the Jewish holy men and peoples. Among a number of other miniatures, I was struck, for instance, by the naturalistic detail in a depiction of the face and hands of Jesse in Plate 143.

I have my favorites among the plates, and two of them are 92 and 93, showing the Holy Family at work and at supper. (The little family seems very cramped, however, within the limited confines of their Miniature-sized living quarters!) I like the homely humor and warmth of these scenes, Joseph's flamboyant red turban and bulging paunch, the satisfied/pleased smile on the plump Virgin's face as she weaves and watches over with approval a very young child Jesus. He is learning to get about in a wooden walker (with wheels yet!) that Joseph must have made for him. (I thought, "So they had walkers in those days, too!") A banderole written in Latin rises from Jesus' lips toward his mother Mary saying, "I am your solace"! (Notice that the floor tiles are triangular, evoking the Holy Trinity.)

Interestingly, van Eyck did a portrait of a man in a red turban, but the man's face is very different from Joseph's face in this miniature.

Maybe it's my imagination but, subjectively speaking, I experience an overall sweetness and pleasantness radiating from this artist by way of his Book of Hours.

Besides being of use to medieval scholars, the book can still impart certain residual devotional effects to viewers receptive along those lines, but, unfortunately, it would not be possible to use it as an actual prayer book.

The plates are arranged as follows, one to a page, each with its informative commentary on the opposite page:

Hours of the Virgin Plates 1-15
Hours of the Cross Plates 16-31
Sunday Hours of the Trinity Plates 32-40
Monday Hours of the Dead Plates 41-50
Tuesday Hours of the Holy Ghost Plates 51-60
Wednesday Hours of All Saints Plates 61-69
Thursday Hours of the Holy Sacrament Plates 70-78
Friday Hours of the Compassion of God Plates 79-86
Mass of the Cross Plate 87
Saturday Hours of the Virgin Plates 88-97
Penitential Psalms Plate 98
Office of the Dead Plates 99-100
Suffrage (devotions to saints) Plates 100-157

I am a re-creator of medieval illuminations for modern use. This reference contains some very interesting illustrations in the borders, scenes of people working, and charming little references to tools and such. I'm enjoying this book as a source of inspiration for my artwork.