t h e h a n d

o f t h e m a s t e r The Hours of Catherine of Cleves

9 7 8 9 0 5 5 4 4 8 2 3 4

th

e h

an

d o

f t

he

m

as

te

rT

he Hours of C

atherine of Cleves

the hand of the master The Hours of Catherine of Clevesanne margreet w. as-vijvers (Ed)

With contributions of anne margreet w. as-vijvers,

saskia van bergen,

claudine a . chavannes-mazel,

kathryn m. rudy

Around 1440 the masterful hand of an anonymousartist created an unbelievably beautiful Book of Hoursfor the duchess of Guelders, Catherine of Cleves (1417-1476). Because his name has not come down to us, theartist is called the Master of Catherine of Cleves afterthis prayer book.

This richly illustrated art historical publication accom-panies the once-in-a-lifetime exhibition Demons andDevotion: The Hours of Catherine of Cleves, which will beon view in the autumn of 2009 at the Valkhof Museumin Nijmegen and thereafter, beginning in January 2010,at the Pierpont Morgan Library and Museum in NewYork.Numerous illustrations and four accessibly written essays guide the reader into the world of the Book of

Hours and the Master of Catherine of Cleves. Topicsaddressed include the ingenious programme of illustra-tion in the Hours of Catherine of Cleves, the extremelycreative miniatures that the artist designed, his incom-parably fantastical border decorations, and the specialattention he paid to the representation of daily life, including, above all, that of children.

In addition to these essays, this beautifully designedpublication contains a reconstruction of the originalprogramme of decoration in the Hours of Catherine of Cleves, as well as a series of colour plates, in whichnearly 40 folios from the precious manuscript are represented in their original size, each accompanied by a detailed commentary. All of the contributions have been written by specialists in the field of medievalillumination.

From the Hand of the Master is a book that will bring the pleasure of the exhibition home, and it provides anexcellent introduction to one of the most beautiful examples of art and devotion that have survived fromthe medieval Northern Netherlands.

this publication is available in dutch,

english and german.

omslag getijdeboek:omslagen Katharina 02-09-2009 13:54 Pagina 2