HORENBOUT, Gerard
(b. ca. 1465, Ghent, d. ca. 1541, London)

The Rothschild Prayer Book

1510s
Manuscript, 228 x 160 mm
Private collection

This prayer book was formerly in the Österreichische Nationalbibliothek, Vienna from the heirs of the Rothschild family (Codex Vindobonensis Ser. n. 2844). It constitutes an outstanding example of the Ghent/Bruges style in the period around 1510. The 67 full-page miniatures are largely the work of Horenbout, although Gerard David, Simon Bening and others also contributed to it.

In the depiction accompanying the Masses, Horenbout makes use of a special device, arranging the iconographic programme of the pictures on two levels: pictures with the actual ceremonial instructions face those containing the liturgical contents of the Mass.

The left-hand miniature on the open double page of the manuscript (folios 236v and 237r) shows a procession of saints. The border is ornate with various flowers and a butterfly, below a Moor is shown waving a cornflower. The ornamental page on the right shows a wide variety of flowers. The scattered elements in the border decoration are painted in such a naturalistic and illusionistic manner that they even seem to cast shadows on the parchment ground.