MINIATURIST, French
(active around 1550)

Statutes of the Order of Saint-Michel

c. 1550
Manuscript
Bibliothèque Municipale, Saint-Germain-en-Laye

The picture shows a manuscript illustration from the statutes of the Order of Saint-Michel. This Order, the French equivalent of the Burgundian Order of the Golden Fleece, was established in 1469 by Louis XI.

The miniature, painted around 1550 by the Master of the Getty Epistles, a court illuminator, represents St Michael triumphing over the Devil. Its composition is based on a famous painting by Raphael.