Characterized by an astounding level of spatial illusionism, the Spitzer Hours offer a captivating display of Flemish illumination at its height, featuring 12 magnificent full-page miniature paintings, six of them with broad historiated borders and four with trompe l’oeil borders. 24 near-full-page miniatures and 12 historiated borders surrounding the calendar capture scenes of incredible detail and beauty.
One of the primary artists associated with this manuscript is the Master of the David Scenes in the Grimani Breviary, celebrated for his dynamic compositions, architectural borders, and vibrant use of color. He contributed to the most prestigious illuminated manuscripts of his time and his involvement here suggests the manuscript’s patron was of considerable wealth and status. We can also assume that he was a very discerning patron, who chose to ‘taste’ samples of all the special refinements Flemish illuminators had to offer. There are Ghent-Bruges books of hours including three loose motifs which appear to be strewn on the blank vellum of the margins on each page – the patron of the Spitzer Hours limited himself to ordering five of such samples. Furthermore, there was a wide repertoire of architectural borders to choose from, two of which were picked by the patron of the present manuscript. He could almost certainly select them from a catalogue in the workshop.
In addition, there is evidence that motifs from other books of hours are revisited and adapted in the Spitzer manuscript, taking inspiration from the work of the Master of the Dresden Prayerbook, for instance. By tracing back some of the motives to antecedent manuscripts, one can assume that border decorations deviating from the originals might have been selected by the patron from pattern sheets provided by the workshop. The question arises why the Dresden Master himself, whose work is ‘cited’ in the illuminations of the Spitzer Hours, was not included in the creation of this book. A loss of his eyesight or un untimely death could have made his involvement impossible.
The journey of this manuscript is no less fascinating than its production: After being kept in Saint-Maur in Verdun until the French Revolution, it belonged to two of the most renown bibliophiles of the 19th century, John Boykett Jarman and Frédéric Spitzer (1815–1890). Spitzer settled in Paris and became one of Europe’s leading buyers and sellers of art, known for his passion for the Middle Ages and the Renaissance. Upon his death in 1890, his private collection was one of the largest and most coveted in fin-de-siècle Europe.
The complexity of its creation, as well as the outstanding quality of its imagery make the Spitzer Hours an astounding source for the wonders of Renaissance bookmaking.
