The Holy Trinity, full-page miniature on a leaf probably from a Book of Hours [southern Netherlands (Ghent), c.1490-1500]

single leaf, 114x78mm, vellum, with a miniature probably for a suffrage to the Trinity in a Book of Hours, recto originally blank, inscribed with a prayer in a professional 16th-century hand, vellum slightly darkened toward the edges, overall in fine condition

From the collection of Constantin Raderschatt of Cologne, who formed a rich collection of prints and drawings around the mid-19th century (stamp on recto in lower right corner, Lugt 623), and whose collection was sold by M. Heberle, Cologne, 24-26 January 1887.

This miniature belongs stylistically to a large number of manuscripts that have been grouped around the MASTER OF THE FIRST PRAYER BOOK OF MAXIMILIAN, who was named for his work in the earliest of the devotional manuscripts made for Maximilian, Emperor of the Holy Roman Empire (1459-1519). The productive workshop of the Maximilian Master involved a number of collaborators who shared patterns, similar figure types, and often a comparable sense of colouring. Characteristic are relatively large, broad figures with strong brows and pointed jaws, and a grey undertone that shows through especially in flesh tones. The extended career of the Maximilian Master and the numerous commissions he seems to have directed have prompted some scholars to identify him with the Flemish illuminator Alexander Bening, whose name is only known from guild records and other documents. The representation of the Throne of Mercy in a landscape rather than in heaven is unusual and highly engaging.