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This manuscript contains prayers and devotional texts for the private use and edification of the laity. It was produced around 1480 in the area of Bruges or Ghent for Mary of Burgundy (1457-1482), daughter of Charles the Bold, the last duke of Burgundy. The identity of the master who illuminated this tiny book is not known, the name of Alexander Bening (died 1519), Simon Bening's father, has been suggested several times.
The enchanting beauty of this Burgundian prayer book mirrors the heyday of late medieval culture.
The open double page (folios 114v and 115r) of the manuscript shows on the left a nocturnal miniature of the Taking of Christ and on the right the Visitation. The beholder's eye is particularly drawn to the trompe-l'oeil borders framing the miniatures.
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