MINIATURIST, French
(active 1450s in Paris)

Missal of Jean Rolin

1450-55
Manuscript (Ms. 517), 396 x 285 mm
Bibliothèque municipale, Lyon

The Missal is a liturgical book containing the fixed and changing texts of the Mass for the liturgical year. It was commissioned by Jean Rolin (1408-1483), Bishop of Autun. He was the son of Nicolas Rolin (1376–1462), a leading figure in the history of Burgundy and France, who became chancellor to Philip the Good. The manuscript is decorated by 2 full-page and 7 smaller miniatures, attributed to an anonymous master called the Rolin Master.

The Crucifixion scene on folio 183v shows this master characteristic style: from a compact composition, self-enclosed sub-groups emerge in an optically effective way, such as the Virgin, being supported by others as she faints, the bodies of Christ and the two crucified robbers, offsetting each other in formal terms.